I should have taken a left at Albuquerque

[Liberty1]

An article about my home town.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/tr ... erque.html

[Gob]

Sounds neat!

[BoSoxGal]

It is a neat city. I enjoyed my stay there, as much as I could while nursing my terminally ill friend.

[loCAtek]

New Mexico = 'The Land of Enchantment', and home of the 'Tekka Family

[Lord Jim]

One of my favorite stories about New Mexico concerns the city of Taos...

Those who remember the 70's Dennis Weaver detective series McCloud will recall that McCloud was supposed to hail from Taos....

At the time the series was made, the town was a backwater, hick-cowboy West Bumblefuck kind of place; it was the butt of running gags on the show...

Today Taos has been transformed into a Mecca for well-heeled New Age nimrods just begging to be separated from their cash by the local businesses....

Ka-ching!

Three Cheers for the Taos Chamber Of Commerce!

[Liberty1]

That pretty well nails it LJ.


It's always had its share of the artist community, now they have a built in market.


Taos is a really cool town though, can't say I blame anyone who lives there.

[loCAtek]

I remember when Roswell (pre-X-files) was mainly known for it's Hopi Reservation and their Kachina dolls. My kin who've lived there many moons, are pretty dismayed that the International UFO Museum (really? International? ...and not interstellar? ...which if you think about it, would make more sense.) ...has taken the place of anything of any real historical value.

[quaddriver]

My current J hails from there as does my step dads current RV. ABQ is a convenient fly in point if we are visiting up Ramah way...

whats the little mex chain we like - anitas?

[Liberty1]

I remember when Roswell (pre-X-files........................has taken the place of anything of any real historical value.

Yea they did, may still, have a pretty good space museum there. It used to be know as the US birthplace of rocketry, it's where Goddard did his first experiments. Kind of ironic.

whats the little mex chain we like - anitas?

Little Anita's, but most local places actually serve New Mexcian food.........there is a difference.

There are lots of good ones.


BTW, Ramah? Why there, just curous.

[BoSoxGal]

When I stayed in New Mexico, I learned to adore New Mexican food - which is very different from typical Mexican and much, much tastier.

El Pinto was the best, hands down. LOVED that place! Still buy salsa from them mail order.

My friend who died in Albuquerque lived in Roswell before, and that's where I first visited her. I toured the museum, which is very good. I loved the alien theme of that town. It's a nice little town, too. My friend taught at the New Mexico Military Institute, which is located in Roswell and has a beautiful campus.

[Liberty1]

El Pinto was the best, hands down. LOVED that place! Still buy salsa from them mail order.

Took my advice I see. Yes El Pinto has good food, good drinks and a great patio. Their valley location is the best in town IMO. And their salsa they sell is actually the best I've ever had, it retains the roasted chilli flavor you get so much in New Mexican food.

My friend who died in Albuquerque lived in Roswell before, and that's where I first visited her. I toured the museum, which is very good. I loved the alien theme of that town. It's a nice little town, too. My friend taught at the New Mexico Military Institute, which is located in Roswell and has a beautiful campus.

NMMI is a great school, I've known a couple of people who attended there.

[quaddriver]

they got 20 acres up outside the res over 10 years ago and had a 28x40 bunkhouse style log built by the navajo. I came out one fall and wired it up for them so they could take advantage of some 'homesteader' law - state refund of the power company install if done within 18 months of construction. Just had to get provisioned in to allow my NY/PA credentials do inspected work and voila.

nice up there, lots of game and things with claws, but no damn oxygen. My stepdad part time hosts the campground outside of gallup off 40 for free parkin so he does not have to drive the muck back in there during the rain (Im building a full size bronco for him to navigate those times...

[Liberty1]

Cool, you get used to the altitude.

I had a 74 Bronco until I rolled in in '05. Installed a 5.0L in place of the 302, that thing would go anywhere.

[loCAtek]

I remember when Roswell (pre-X-files........................has taken the place of anything of any real historical value.

Yea they did, may still, have a pretty good space museum there. It used to be know as the US birthplace of rocketry, it's where Goddard did his first experiments. Kind of ironic.

You may be thinking of Alamogordo; New Mexican Museum of Space History, they have a great exhibit on Goddard.
The other Roswell Space 'Museum' is just another tourist trap.

When I stayed in New Mexico, I learned to adore New Mexican food - which is very different from typical Mexican and much, much tastier.

In the US, 'typical Mexican' is really 'TexMex' and made for the Anglo palette.
New Mexico has the country's highest population of Mexicans (foreign and domestic), with the only bi-lingual state song in the Union. So, we cook to please our kin

"O Fair New Mexico":

Under a sky of azure, where balmy breezes blow,
Kissed by the golden sunshine, is Nuevo México.
Home of the Montezuma, with fiery hearts aglow,
State of the deeds historic, is Nuevo México.

Chorus
O, fair New Mexico, we love, we love you so
Our hearts with pride o'erflow, no matter where we go,
O, fair New Mexico, we love, we love you so,
The grandest state to know, New Mexico.

Second Verse
Rugged and high sierras, with deep canyons below;
Dotted with fertile valleys, is Nuevo México.
Fields full of sweet alfalfa, richest perfumes bestow,
State of apple blossoms, is Nuevo México.

Chorus

Third Verse
Days that are full of heart-dreams, nights when the moon hangs low;
Beaming its benediction, o'er Nuevo México.
Land with its bright manana, coming through weal and woe;
State of our esperanza, is Nuevo México.

[Liberty1]

You may be thinking of Alamogordo; New Mexican Museum of Space History, they have a great exhibit on Goddard.
The other Roswell Space 'Museum' is just another tourist trap.

The Alamagordo museum is better than the one I went to in Roswell, but the one in Roswell had a Mecury capsule and some old Goddard rockets. I went back in the early 80s so it may not even exist anymore.

[Liberty1]

New Mexico has the country's highest population of Mexicans

Most people don't realize that New Mexico hasn't even been a state for 100 years yet. But at the same time was settled before the pilgrims ever thought about coming to Plymouth.

We have houses and Churches older than anything in New England and many families have roots here going back 300 or 400 years. They lived under Spanish rule for hundreds of years.

[loCAtek]

Signs you're in a REAL Mexican Restaurant;





Everything's tiled: the floors, walls, counters and the outdoors concrete tables & chairs.

The bathroom will be hyper-tiled and completed with a poodle toilet paper-holder,
or something otherwise croshay in nylon.

They'll have fans, but no air-conditioning so, they'll be open late after dark when it's cooler. Hence, every table having a big candle in a red glass holder. Progressive restaurants will have Christmas lights up year 'round.

Folks still smoke in REAL Mexican restaurants, so by the candle holder will be a clay ashtray, empty or not. {The nice heavy glass ones got broken long ago, in one of the muy brawls.] It's customary to light your cigarettes on the candle.

The thick cloud of smoke and cooking grease, when you enter, will make your mouth water!

Nachos and salsa, will already be at your table before you're seated. ...right next to the candle and ashtray. They will be replenished more frequently than your water glass.

Don't drink the water, just order beer ...even for your kids. Mexican food and Mexican water don't bode well for the future of your intestinal trait.

They'll serve you your beer without a glass; just pop the top and give you the bottle, even to go.

Beer to go is easily hidden between your knees; you can still smoke and drive openly. Mexicans are the ones keeping the automotive ashtray industry alive.

The bar is part of the dining room, and also serves nachos.

Napkins will always be cloth, but you use tortillas for the same purpose, Órale, pues!

Crowding is part of the ambiance; if you didn't have your chair jostled a few times, you didn't enjoy a fine dining experience. Somebody else's kids banging their head on your table corner is a sign of good fortune. FYI Mexican kids never stay seated, just enjoy the free entertainment; the red candle never spills. Same goes for Bar/Dining Room brawls.

Brawls result in free meals, they never charge for violent altercations. Bueno! Blood cleans up real well from tile, and folks will come back to a jumping establishment that people will fight over/in.

Sunday morning, they'll always serve Menudo- the undisputed hang-over cure ...with more beer! Brawling before church is frowned upon, (not that it never happens} and difficult with a hang-over, so just order more meundo con carne, and try not to whack your kids too much.

[BoSoxGal]

I've had real Mexican food. In Mexico, even.

[quaddriver]

Cool, you get used to the altitude.

I had a 74 Bronco until I rolled in in '05. Installed a 5.0L in place of the 302, that thing would go anywhere.

you do know that a 5.0 is a 302....or did you mean you popped in an EFI 5.0 in place of the original carbed 302?

[quaddriver]

I've had real Mexican food. In Mexico, even.

My kid came up with this at age 6:

Q: what do they call chinese food in china?
A: food