Sunsets are SPECTACULAR! On top of Sandia Mountain, over 10,000 ft in elevation! | If you only know New Mexico from skiing in Taos, as I have, you're missing a whole heck of a lot. This region is an amazing field of contrasts. The old world Indian influence is everywhere, but so is the influence of Nuclear Science, Missiles and the Space program and oh.... of course.... Aliens... the space kind.... :-O Not only is the culture intertwined between the old and the new, the topography, the flora and fauna changes as one goes up and down the state. As we journeyed from Albuquerque to Las Cruces on our way to Roswell (yes, we gotta see them aliens), we encountered snowy mountain tops (Sandia Mountain) to absolute desolation... yes, no plants, just sand (White Sands National Monument)! In southern New Mexico, the earth and the sky seem to go forever. The road trip from Las Cruces, home of the Chile Pepper Institute, through the White Sands by Alamogordo via the missile ranges, to Roswell to see our alien friends, is definitely a 'must see'. In search of FOOD at a city called 'Truth or Consequences' |
In Albuquerque, after a good dose of Indian Cultural Learning, we went to the Nuclear Science Museum. What an honor to meet the last living scientist from the Manhattan Project at the Nuclear Science Museum. His daughter Mimi, now following his footsteps volunteering at the museum gave me permission to tell you a little about him. |
One unfortunate news of that day came the day after our trip to the Sandia Mountain Peak via Tramway. It is a very steep and slippery place. A vertical climb from 6,500 ft to over 10,000 ft. Apparently a teenage hiker slipped to her death the day after our visit, at the very spot where we took many photos. Terribly tragic. |