I spent the first 24 years of my life living deep in the heart of southwest Montana. Not only that, I spent 18 of those years in the exact same farmhouse, on the same gorgeous, breath-taking ranch that I will always, always call home. I would not and could not imagine trading those 18 years for anything. In fact, if I could, I would make it so that every child and teen in America had the opportunity to spend some time on a ranch, living off of the land.

Most people visit New York City and want to see the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building or other tourist points of interest. Not me. I wanted to see what New Yorkers eat when they eat local.

Santa Fe is a soulful place for me. I’ve traveled here often since I was a kid and, upon arriving, my pulse slows down a bit and my breath deepens. It is one of the few places where I don’t feel like I have to have a plan and a busy day usually means I have a spa appointment or dinner reservations.

Saturdays are my market days and while it may seem odd, late winter is actually one of my favorite times of year at the farmer’s market. As you stroll past the tables week after week, more and more vendors setup shop as the spring approaches.

With so much color and variety, it is easy to get lost in these markets, which is exactly what Lorraine Plaxico did one day when she was looking for something to draw. Without the intention to start a new line of artwork, she stumbled into the Asheville, NC farmers market, one of most impressive local food scenes in the country. Entranced by the colors and shapes, she set up her pad and pastels and just started making quick sketches of the booths there.

My friends and I used to spend our days shopping at the mall when I visited them, but now they indulge me by planning our weekends around visiting farmers markets. During a recent trip to Denver, my friend spoiled me by taking me to visit two farmers markets and two neighborhood markets that feature local goods.

When I think of New York City, I think of abundance. You can find anything – any cuisine, any spice, any ingredient. It’s no surprise that you can also find a farmers market any day of the week.

When I visited New York in August, I skipped the morning session of my conference so that I could explore the crown jewel of the cities farmers markets – Union Square Greenmarket. I was there on a Friday so there weren’t quite as many vendors as a Saturday, but there were still sufficient treasures to find.

The first thing I noticed about Mary Mitchell, owner of Eagles’ Nest Organic Citrus grove, was the power of her commanding presence….She hails from Paducah, Kentucky, having been a city girl before her husband bought the grove about 30 years ago and as she says, “didn’t have a damn bit of sense about how to run it which means I had to figure it out because all our money was tied up in it.” He passed a way a few years ago but “run it” she has.