On Sunday night, Anthony Bourdain went on a journey to New Mexico to relive his childhood dream of becoming an American cowboy in the mighty West in an episode of "Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown" on CNN.

During his travels he discovered much more than an adolescent reconnection; he discovered a state that embodies a complicated past, a diverse culture and a spicy cuisine so hot he almost needed the fire department to put the fire out in his mouth.

"This show is about the American cowboy ideal, about the romantic promise of the American West, about individuality and the freedom to be weird. New Mexico, where Spanish, Mexican, Pueblo, Navajo and European cultures mix and have mixed -- at times painfully and lately, more easily," he said. "New Mexico, where everyone from artists, hippies, cowboys, poets, misfits, refugees and tourists of every political stripe have interpreted the promise of its gorgeous, wide-open spaces and the freedom that it offers in their own, very different ways."

Part of this treasured freedom embraces the right to bear arms, which is largely factored into the identity in New Mexico.

"Gun culture runs deep in this culture," Bourdain said.

During the episode Bourdain teamed up with a group of native New Mexicans to shoot AR-15s, which he says is considered "American's favorite rifle" that make up most of the gun purchases in the U.S. with 4 million in circulation.

A "New York lefty with all the experiences, prejudices and attitudes that one would expect to come along with that," Bourdain pointed out the major differences between the East and West coasts when it comes to gun use, but offered a different perspective and approach on the matter.

"The conversation so far has illuminated, instead of any substantial issues, mostly the huge cultural divide between those like me who live in coastal cities with restrictive gun laws and that vast swath of America that lives very differently. We don't understand how they live. And they don't understand how we could POSSIBLY live the way we live," he explained. "A little respect for that difference might be a good thing. The contempt, mockery and total lack of understanding for all those people 'out there' by deep thinkers and pundits who've never sat down for a cold beer in a bar full of camo-wearing duck hunters is despicable and counterproductive."

"We are too busy expressing disbelief at the ways others have chosen to live to ever really talk about the nuts and bolts of making America safer and less violent," he added. "No middle ground is possible when even the notion of a sane, reasonable person who likes to shoot lots of bullets at stuff is seen as so foreign -- so 'other.'"

A native of New Mexico told Bourdain, "Mexican, Spanish, Pueblo, Reservation , White, we are all cowboys."

Whether your family history dates back to the Spanish conquistadors or you have Mexican roots, but were born in New Mexico, Bourdain was told that "people love the Hispanic culture" in this culturally-rich state. At the same time, while many love the land and its past, many flee the desert terrain for a new start somewhere else, but many also return.

"People want to leave but eventually you have that yearning to want to know your culture," a native of New Mexico explained. Bourdain pointed out that many generations of New Mexican families have also served in the armed forces.

So, how American do they feel?, Bourdain inquired. "It varies by individual," a native of New Mexico said.

"We continue to be outdoors men, but we are survivors, we are who we are, we're still going to be here."

Bourdain summed it up the best way he could given the complexity of the American identity.

"We are an immigrant culture, we are a gun culture, this is the heart of the American dream, love it or hate it, this is it," he said.