The Michael Martin Murphey (MMM) Cabin is located 3.5 miles from Red River on Bobcat’s Peak. We purchased the home from Mr. Murphey in 2004 and have tried as much as possible to keep the cabin as it was when he spent time in it writing songs, perfecting his music and enjoying its solitude. A number of memorabilia signed by Murph adorns the house. On occasion he and his family rent the cabin back from us to enjoy the seclusion of a quiet get-away in the mountains. Murph says he feels at home at the cabin because we haven't changed it very much. The cabin sits on six acres at an elevation of 10,200 feet and borders the Carson National Forest. The views to the West are of meadows where elk and deer come out of the forest in the summer, sometimes in the winter for a late evening and early morning snack. Summer brings the hummingbirds, chipmunks, ground squirrels, Stellar jays and grey jays (camp robbers) and chickadees, occasionally a wild turkey or a bear. We do have neighbors but most have jobs and are only able to get away a few days now and then, two of our neighbors are full-timers but work commitments seem to keep them away from home quite a bit. We are close by down at the Bobcat Mountain Lodge, if you need something.
The MMM cabin is an authentic log cabin, logs 12-16 inches, two porches, one on either side of the house and a back deck with a small grill and a train grill/smoker made especially for Mr. Murphey. The porches have chairs for relaxing and the deck has chairs and a table for outdoor eating. Mr. Murphey ordered the logs from Tennessee and had the cabin built in 1993. The kitchen counter tops are of galvanized steel, per Mr. Murphey, made to stand fish cleaning, or anything else that needed doing when preparing food! The cabin dining area has deer antler chandelier and a dining table, with what we call twig furniture. Each chair has a sheep skin to ease the derriere a bit when sitting on the twig. The cabin has several twig rockers with sheepskins so that you can sit by the real wood-burning rock fireplace in the living area. We furnish firewood free for your use as extra heat in the winter and in the summer to just knock a bit of the chill off. Summer nights can easily get down into the 40s and 50s! Nothing feels as good as a warm fire, in a log cabin high in the mountains! Please clean the ashes from the fireplace before your departure and put them in the trash can at the back steps. This helps prevent forest fires. Please NO SMOKING in the cabin. If you are a smoker, please smoke outside and carefully dispose of all butts. New Mexico has been a drought for more than three years. A careless butt could burn our beautiful forests and our forests would not recover in our lifetimes. The living area has a flat screen TV, with Direct TV. We have a number of paperbacks on our book shelves, games, and a couple of decks of cards for quiet times when you are not out and about. We do not have a phone or Wi-Fi in the cabin. Wi-Fi is available at the library in Red River usually 3G or better.
The cabin has a washer and dryer for your convenience. The cabin does not have a dishwasher so don’t forget paper plates. We provide towels, linens, supplies, such as, toilet paper, dishwashing liquid, and laundry detergent and trash bags. The cabin has a coffee pot, toaster, crock pot, hand mixer, full set of dishes and silverware for six people, pots and pans, microwave. A half bath down stairs, with a sink and commode, the upstairs bathroom has a sink, a door closes to the commode and claw foot tub for bathing and has a shower curtain surround on the claw foot tub when showers are your thing. The two bedrooms are upstairs. One bedroom has a queen-size bed; the second bedroom has a queen size bed, and two twin beds. The cabin will sleep six people comfortably.
Parking is available for your four wheeler and snowmobile trailers with easy turn-around. The cabin property connects to the Carson National Forest. There are a few short logging roads that you can ride/walk on, but careful not to ride/walk on private property. Check with the Forest Service near Questa for required ATV permits. You can also walk into the Carson from the cabin to hunt. Northern New Mexico has a large population of elk. The area around the MMM cabin is Area 52. Trout fishing on the Red River, Fawn Lakes and at the town ponds is great fun and usually successful as the Red River is the most stocked river in the state of New Mexico. Eagle Nest Lake is 12 miles away and stocked with rainbows, perch and salmon. Northern Pike are also being caught in Eagle Nest Lake. The MMM Cabin is across Highway 38 from the Enchanted Cross Country Ski area and 3.5 miles from the Red River downhill ski area, approximately 25 miles from Angel Fire Ski area, 35 miles from Taos Ski area. Our neighbors at Bobcat Wilderness Adventures has snowmobiling, 4-wheeling, and horseback riding and Cowboy Evening, an evening of great food and entertainment just across Highway 38. Michael Martin Murphey provides an evening of entertainment as his venue on Bitter Creek (check his website for dates and details). Oh, and don’t forget River Rafting on the Rio Grande in the summer, hook up with a Rafting company in Taos, if you have a need to gamble there is the Taos Pueblo Casino.
Red River has a small grocery store and a number of restaurants. Some of the more popular restaurants require reservations. Red River has a celebration for every holiday and seems to make some holidays up! It is a fun town. At the MMM cabin, you will be close enough to town to get into town for all the “doings” yet far enough away to enjoy some quiet relaxing time too.
Four-wheel drive is an absolute necessity in the winter from mid-October to mid-April. We plow the road and the MMM cabin driveway as needed. We have a 'Boss' snow plow and chains on our truck to clear the road down to the highway. You will still need a 4-wheel vehicle in the winter.
So you want to stay at the MMM cabin……
February 2016 Homeaway/VRBO has started charging the traveler a fee of 4-10% on a sliding scale. This fee does not come to the owners but goes directly to Homeaway for "improvements to" and advertising of Homeaway. I hate this for our guests, but can't do anything about it. My apologies for this additional fee.
You will be charged the nightly rate, plus 8.4375 tax, and $100 cleaning/supplies fee per stay. Most times we have a three (3) night minimum. A Refundable Damage Deposit of $200 will be charged initially and refunded to your credit card if no damage is found when cleaning the cabin. Bag and dispose of your trash at the dumpsters in Red River or Eagle Nest. Also, wash your dishes and put them away. Trash or dirty dishes will result in an a $25 charge to your damage deposit. Occasionally, due to commitments, we have to hire cleaning folks to clean the cabin and they don’t like to wash dishes or take out trash, thus the $25 charge to your damage deposit for either one. We clean the MMM cabin most of the time ourselves and we don’t like to wash dishes or take out trash either! Any damages will also be charged against your $200 damage deposit. It is not our desire to keep any portion of your damage deposit so do your dishes, take your trash and respect the MMM Cabin like you would your own home and you will see your damage deposit refunded to your credit card in 5-7 days after departure. If something doesn’t work properly, tell us and we will take care of it. We love the MMM cabin and believe you will too. Thanks in advance for treating the MMM cabin with the respect you would like for your own home.