What do you think of when you think of New Mexico?

[MyThreeSons]

When I think of New Mexico, I first think of the argument I once had with an employee at the Sacramento airport about whether New Mexico was part of the United States of America.

 

I have never been to NM. I don't believe I have ever even changed planes there. My son says I can't count it as having been in a state I was only in the airport.

[JennW in SoCal]

Desert.  We drove through there about 8 years ago.  That's all I really remember-we saw the crater and Petrified Forest.  All desert.  NM, I take that back.  Santa Fe was pretty cool, but we weren't there long.

 

ahem.  The crater (do you mean the meteor crater?) and Petrified Forest?  Arizona.  

[mommymilkies]

ahem.  The crater (do you mean the meteor crater?) and Petrified Forest?  Arizona.  

:lol:   It was a 2 week car trip with 3 kids.  I'm surprised I even remember anything but the wine I needed to drink.  Well, that means all I remember is desert, then! I looked it up and apparently it's 50 miles from NM, which is probably why I got that one mixed up. 

[gardenmom5]

saguaros'

desert with rocks and hills and things

old adobe catholic missions.

[Alicia64]

NM was where my darling, wonderful, awesome grandma was born in 1912.

 

Alley

[dirty ethel rackham]

Didn't watch the video yet, but I think if desert, turquoise, and beautiful Southwest art.  (Oh, and all the morons who don't know that NM is a state in the USA.) 

[Laurie4b]

Desert and Santa Fe. Beautiful Spanish-influenced architecture and churches. Native American art. Certain colors: dessert orange, tan, purple. Turquoise jewelry.

 

I've visited for a day or two.

[mamatohaleybug]

Mountains

Desert

Carlsbad Caverns

My grandparents (they were married there)

Roswell

Artsy people

Native Americans

Cliff dwellings

 

 

Never been there. :)

[Laura Corin]

Never been there.  First thought: it's that deserty part of the US that people sometimes think isn't part of the US.

 

L

[MyThreeSons]

Was this in Taos?

Well, now that you mention Taos, that reminds me of McCloud. (1970s TV show starring Dennis Weaver.)

[Tillmalo]

I immediately think about the wonderful smell of the piñon pines.

[Rosie_0801]

I'm another who thinks of those Bugs Bunny cartoons, but at least I knew New Mexico was a state of the US!

[Elfknitter.#]

I'm curious, (slight tangent), for any who have been to or live(d) in NM, did you see an actual roadrunner?

[Sara in AZ]

I'm curious, (slight tangent), for any who have been to or live(d) in NM, did you see an actual roadrunner?

I've seen them a lot here in Arizona. They're much smaller than you would expect based in the cartoon. ;- )

[Rosie_0801]

Road runners are real? You've just made my night!!!!!!!

[Miss Marple]

I'm curious, (slight tangent), for any who have been to or live(d) in NM, did you see an actual roadrunner?

Usually daily.

[Greta]

I'm curious, (slight tangent), for any who have been to or live(d) in NM, did you see an actual roadrunner?

 

Yes, all the time!  They are very cute, we love to watch them.  Our house is not far from an open space area, and so they sometimes come into our neighborhood.  We've had them wander into our courtyard a couple of times.  We've seen them catch little fence lizards, which makes my daughter very sad because she loves reptiles.  But she still loves the roadrunners too. 

 

When we go for walks in the open space area, if we go early enough in the morning, we'll see/hear coyotes sometimes. 

[Dmmetler]

I spent several years in Portales, so I'm not in the focus group, but what I think of is older women who seem to believe that every teen girl is in need of home cooking and relationship advice ;).

[Dmmetler]

I spent several years in Portales, so I'm not in the focus group, but what I think of is older women who seem to believe that every teen girl is in need of home cooking and relationship advice ;).

[Heather in Neverland]

Spanish missions?

[Swimtaxi234]

 

 

I'm curious, (slight tangent), for any who have been to or live(d) in NM, did you see an actual roadrunner? 

 

This is another thing we can see from our front porch.   I wrote a blog post about them where I included the "Beep, beep" from the cartoon.   That might have been the first time we saw Roadrunners in this town, but we see them all the time now.

[MissKNG]

Never been there. I think heat, deserts, cactus, tumbleweeds and illegal immigrants.

[SailorMom]

We saw many roadrunners in and around Albuquerque. Haven't seen any here yet....

[Jean in Newcastle]

This is another thing we can see from our front porch.   I wrote a blog post about them where I included the "Beep, beep" from the cartoon.   That might have been the first time we saw Roadrunners in this town, but we see them all the time now.

He isn't blue!  (Which I knew but I wonder how many people who just know the cartoon thought it was a blue bird.)

[kubiac]

I have visited a handful of times because my cousins used to live there, and the first thing that comes to mind when I think of New Mexico is:

 

sopapillas 

 

MMMMmmmm....

 

Also, Georgia O'Keefe, Navahos and red rocks. I like New Mexico very much and it might even be a retirement option for us in a long, long time.

[Stacia]

Road runners are real? You've just made my night!!!!!!!

 

:lol:  :thumbup1:

 

One time when I traveled out west, I really, really wanted to see a 'real' tumbleweed. The biggest one I ended up seeing was one blocking a hiking path at Hovenweep. I can't tell you how thrilled I was to see it! (Well, that and bunches of prairie dogs that we saw.)

[Jean in Newcastle]

:lol:  :thumbup1:

 

One time when I traveled out west, I really, really wanted to see a 'real' tumbleweed. The biggest one I ended up seeing was one blocking a hiking path at Hovenweep. I can't tell you how thrilled I was to see it! (Well, that and bunches of prairie dogs that we saw.)

 

I have a small tumbleweed on my china cabinet.  It keeps the dust bunnies company.  (It's actually part of a natural display of rocks, shells and a fountain - all things that are found in nature together!   :lol:  :lol: )

[stormy weather]

.

[idnib]

White Sands. It looks beautiful.

 

And that I'd like to live in a place that's hardly ever in the news for crazy happenings or natural disasters. 

 

I've driven through when I was young but for all practical purposes I've never been there.

[catz]

I've been to NM twice. The first time we stayed in Santa Fe for 3 days and that was just fantastic. I could move there - absolutely LOVED it.

 

2nd time we were driving through on a long road trip from the upper mid west to my parents in AZ. We spent the night in Gallup. We saw the Hobbit in a movie theater that was a dump (so many issues) and then that evening my husband's high end mountain bike was stolen off the back of our van. We were in front of a freeway, and a hotel, in a well lit area. The bike was locked to the car. Needless to say, that visit didn't leave such a happy picture in our mind. I will say the hotel security and Gallup police were very nice and helpful.

[Plateau Mama]

Hatch green Chili's, buying them from a roadside truck and my grandma roasting nonstop for weeks. Our Whole Foods (in WA)just got them in none of my friends can understand my excitement. They think I'm crazy to have chili for breakfast.

[TXMomof4]

:lol: :thumbup1:

 

One time when I traveled out west, I really, really wanted to see a 'real' tumbleweed. The biggest one I ended up seeing was one blocking a hiking path at Hovenweep. I can't tell you how thrilled I was to see it! (Well, that and bunches of prairie dogs that we saw.)

Several years ago I was in Albuquerque and saw a Tahoe with NY plates and a tumbleweed strapped to the luggage rack on top. I laughed for a good while about that. Imagine, wanting to KEEP a tumbleweed!

[TravelingChris]

To Wendy K who mentioned big cacti and the other poster who mentioned Saguaros- there are no big cacti in NM and that includes Saguaro.  Saguaros grow in the Sonoran Desert- think Phoenix and Tuscon.  New Mexico deserts are much higher in elevations and are part of the Chihuahuan Desert.  In Southern NM, that includes lots of cacti that flower.  At the higher elevation of Albuquerque, there are not many cacti.  The desert plants here are different- more bushes, more regular types of herbaceous plants.  One huge difference in the desert in Albuquerque versus Phoenix is that because of the high elevation of Albuquerque, the temperatures never get that hot- it doesn't get hotter than low 90's and the temps always drop a lot at night.  ALbuquerque does get snow and Santa Fe gets even more snow.  Phoenix is pretty warm even in winter.  Tucson is more lush than either Phoenix or Albuquerque since it gets more rain than either of them.

 

GretaLynne, most of the mountains, at least the top areas of them, are not desert.  Also like you said, north of Albuquerque, most of that is grassland or mountains and those are all semi-arid=above ten inches but less than 20 inches. Large areas of eastern NM are grasslands too.

 

 

[Greta]

This afternoon, for the first time this year, I experienced the local signal that summer is changing into fall: the aroma of roasting chiles. :) There are things about New Mexico that I dearly love, and this is one of them.

[Greta]

The Land of Enchantment  :tongue_smilie:

Some parts of living in NM are enchanting...others, not so much.

Also known locally as the Land of Entrapment. ;)

 

  

We saw the Hobbit in a movie theater that was a dump (so many issues) and then that evening my husband's high end mountain bike was stolen off the back of our van. We were in front of a freeway, and a hotel, in a well lit area. The bike was locked to the car. Needless to say, that visit didn't leave such a happy picture in our mind. I will say the hotel security and Gallup police were very nice and helpful.

My husband's first experience of NM, before we moved here and even before he and I met, was when he and some buddies drove out here to do some hiking and climbing. They got back to the car after a long day to discover that it had been broken in to. A very typical NM experience, unfortunately. I'm sorry that you had to endure it too!

 

 

They think I'm crazy to have chili for breakfast.

This message board conversation prompted a conversation with my daughter (who was born here in NM), who was surprised to learn that most people don't eat chile with breakfast. :D

[Saraswati]

Road runners are real? You've just made my night!!!!!!!

 

We had them in our yard all the time when we lived in AZ. I haven't seen one yet in El Paso, or anytime during my travels around NM. 

 

White Sands. It looks beautiful.

 

White Sands is beautiful. I forgot to mention it in my post. My kids just went today to go sledding on the sand dunes. 

[HRAAB]

Gallup.  I spent the night there about 25 years ago.  Navajos.  That's what I remember mostly.  And it was hot.

 

Otherwise, first things that come to my mind are Georgia O'Keefe, Roswell and Taos.

 

I would love to visit more of New Mexico.  I think deserts are beautiful.  My sil and dh were thinking about moving to Silver City; they thought the area was quite beautiful.

[reign]

Cactus. I think of cactus.