10 Things I Like Best About Living in Albuquerque

First posted here three years ago today.

Driving along Tramway across Sandia Pueblo last evening, I was reminded of one of the best things about living in Albuquerque. I began to think, NewMexiKen you can live anywhere, why do you stay here?

There are a lot of ways to answer a question like that. One way is to make a list.

These aren’t the only reasons, and they aren’t in any particular order, but these are the ten that came to mind.

1. The weather, except sometimes in March and April. Four seasons, all of them distinct, none of them oppressive, or too long. And September and October — amazing!
2. The food, red and green — and sopapillas with honey.
3. The Rio Grande, though we fail to do anything with it. A historic river — third longest in America — and Albuquerque’s [former] Mayor Marty [was] so unimaginative he thinks pandas and streetcars are what we need. How about a river walk with cafes and shops (tastefully and environmentally correct, of course)?
4. The plaza. Not as historic as Santa Fe’s, or even Taos’s. Still it’s always inviting and often filled with people celebrating a wedding at San Felipe de Neri. In other words, while a tourist attraction, it’s still “our” plaza.
5. Santa Fe, Taos, Chaco and all, world-class tourist venues that are day trips for us.
6. The sky, whether bluer than blue, or lit dramatically by sun or twilight, or with clouds, white or dark. Our sky is always something to behold, most gloriously at sunrise over the mountains and sunset over the volcanoes.
7. The pueblos nearby with their cultures, feasts and dances.
8. The Sandia mountains right here, rising a mile right above us.
9. The diversity of people. It’s a community without a majority population.
10. The Indian land north and south of the city, the forest land (and wilderness) east of it. If it weren’t for the permanently undeveloped land that surrounds so much of Albuquerque, I fear it all would look like Rio Rancho.

Breakfast at the Road Runner Cafe

A good New Mexico poem today at The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor.

Today’s Image

This excerpt is from a 1925 Rand McNally Arizona-New Mexico road map found online. The solid lines are paved roads, the dashes are improved roads, and the parallel lines “dirt” roads. Click image for larger version (1+ MB file).

Route 66 wasn’t established until 1926 (signs went up in 1927).

Today’s Photo

Ernst Haas’s “Route 66, Albuquerque, New Mexico 1969″. That’s Central, looking east from Nob Hill.

The Pueblo Revolt

On this date in 1680, the surviving Spanish settlers under siege decided to abandon Santa Fe and began the trek to Chihuahua. The Spanish did not return to Nuevo México for 12 years.

Colonists from Mexico first settled in New Mexico, north of present-day Santa Fe, in 1598. By the 1620s there were 2,000 colonists taking land and forcing labor from the Puebloans, occasionally executing dozens of Indians for the murder of one settler. In the 1660s a drought further stressed conditions for all, especially as Apaches and others raided the Pueblos. Many Puebloans began to feel that deserting their own religion to accept Christianity had brought on these disasters. There were occasional uprisings, but nothing sustainable until Popé, a San Juan medicine man, began unifying resistance among the various independent Pueblos in 1675.

On August 10, 1680, the Indians launched a unified all-out attack on Spanish settlers. Colonists were killed, churches burned, horses and cattle seized. Priests were singled out and killed in all the Pueblos, including Acoma, Zuni and Hopi (in modern Arizona). About 1,000 survivors escaped to Santa Fe and the town was put under siege on August 12. By the 16th the Indians occupied all of the town except the plaza and its surrounding buildings. According to reports, as they burnt the town the Indians sang Latin liturgy to taunt the Spanish.

Three-hundred-and-thirty years ago today the settlers were allowed to withdraw from Santa Fe. When they reached El Paseo del Norte (modern-day El Paso) in October, there were 1,946 from of a population that had been about 2,500. About 400 had been killed, another 150 escaped to Mexico independently.

The Puebloans removed all signs of the Spanish — the churches, the religion itself, the crops, even the animals (the horses let loose on the plains, eventually transforming the culture of the Plains Indians). One vestige remained: one man rule. Popé declared himself that man and moved to the Palace in Santa Fe.

Spanish attempts at reconquest failed until 1692.

Popé’s statue is one of the two for New Mexico in the United States Capitol’s Statuary Hall.

New Mexico

New Mexico officially became part of the United States 164 years ago today when 1,600 troops under General Stephen Watts Kearny raised the American flag over the plaza in the Royal City of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis (Santa Fe), reportedly as the sun broke through the overcast sky. There had been little or no resistance. (It came at Taos the following January.)

August 18. Gen. Kearney proceeded through the pass and at 5 pm reached hill that overlooks Santa Fe.

Major Clark’s artillery was put into line, and the mounted troops and infantry were marched through town to the Palace (as it is called) and his staff dismounted and were received by the acting governor and other dignitaries and conducted to a large room. The general gave the assurance of safety and protection to all unoffending citizens. The stars and stripes were hoisted on the staff which is attached to the Palace by Major Swords. As soon as it was seen to wave above the buildings, it was hailed by a national salute from the battery of Captains Fischer and Weightman, under the command of Major Clark. While the general was proclaiming the conquest of New Mexico as a part of the United States, the first gun was heard. “There,” said he, “my guns proclaim that the flag of the United States floats over this capitol.” The people appeared satisfied. The general slept in the palace. (we democrats must call it the governor’s house.) One company of dragoons ws kept in the city as a guard and the business of the day was ended.

As reported in Niles’ National Register

Not encouraging line of the day

“New Mexico ranks 47th among states [and D.C.] in the number of 25 to 34 year olds with an associate’s degree or higher …”.

New Mexico Independent

“[R]oughly 28.5 percent of New Mexicans aged 25 to 34 possess an associate’s degree or higher, which compares unfavorably to the national average — 41.6 percent.”

Only West Virginia, Nevada, Louisiana and Arkansas have a lower percentage. Massachusetts is the best state with 53.4%. The District of Columbia is 63.5%.

Autumn approaches

The high temperature in Albuquerque yesterday was just 82°. Bring on the cider and firewood.

Enchanted Places

How many of these enchanted places have you seen?

New Mexico Department of Tourism’s Top 10 Attractions:

• Billy the Kid Museum
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park
• Chaco Culture National Historical Park
• Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad
• Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
• International UFO Museum
• Sandia Peak Tramway
• Santa Fe
• Taos Ski Valley
• White Sands National Monument

Another ten enchanted places:

• Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
• American International Rattlesnake Museum
• Bandelier National Monument
• Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
• Chimayó
• Mesilla
• National Radio Astronomy Observatory Very Large Array
• Pecos National Historical Park
• Petroglyph National Monument
• Valles Caldera National Preserve

What’s worth seeing in New Mexico that isn’t listed? I’d include El Morro National Monument, Lincoln State Monument, Taos Pueblo, Acoma Sky City (the pueblo, not the casino), and a pueblo feast day.

NewMexiKen has been to 13 of the 20 listed and “sorta-kinda” to four more (been near, driven by, checked out the price of admission). And, obviously, I’ve been to those I would add to the lists.

Today’s Photo

Taken with an iPhone 4 this evening at 8:22 while standing in my driveway. Photo has not been edited other than cropped.

Billy the Kid

… was killed 129 years ago tonight.

Henry McCarty was born in New York City (or Brooklyn) in the fall of 1859. With his mother and brother he moved west — Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico. Mrs. McCarty married a man named William Antrim in Santa Fe. After she died in Silver City in 1874, the boy got into minor trouble, escaped jail to Arizona Territory, and used the name William Antrim. His size and age led to “Kid” or “Kid” Antrim.

Arrested for shooting and killing a blacksmith who was beating him in 1877, the Kid escaped back to New Mexico and assumed the name William H. Bonney. He enlisted in the range war in Lincoln County on the side of John Tunstall against Lawrence Murphy. After Tunstall was killed, the Kid rode with a group called the Regulators, a quasi-legal vigilante gang. The Regulators captured two of Tunstall’s killers and someone, most likely the Kid, killed both before they reached Lincoln and the jail. Later the Kid was among the group that killed Sheriff William Brady. The Kid was wounded in the fight at Blazer’s Mill with “Buckshot” Roberts. There were other gunfights between the warring parties. In July, the Kid was in the “five-day battle” in Lincoln where the leader of his group, Tunstall’s lawyer Alexander McSween, was killed. After that the war was considered over and the Kid lost any legitimacy. In August 1878, he was present when the clerk at the Mescalero Indian agency was killed.

Incoming New Mexico Territorial Governor Lew Wallace (the author of Ben Hur) issued a general pardon for the Lincoln County war, but it did not apply to Billy Bonney because he had been involved in the killing of Sheriff Brady. After another outburst of violence led to the killing of a lawyer named Chapman, Governor Wallace offered the Kid a full pardon if he’d testify against Chapman’s killers. Bonney agreed and was arrested in early 1879. Meanwhile Chapman’s killers escaped.

After waiting several months for the pardon, the Kid, who had some liberties, walked away from his guards, mounted a horse and escaped. He became a cattle thief, claiming it was owed him for back wages. He killed a saloon braggart whose gun misfired. Another man was killed in an attempt to capture Bonney.

The new Lincoln County sheriff, Pat Garrett, finally caught the Kid at Stinking Springs, 25 miles from Fort Sumner. After a gunfight the Kid was arrested. He was first charged in the murder of “Buckshot” Roberts, but eventually brought to trial and convicted for the murder of Sheriff Brady. Before Bonney could be hanged, he killed two deputies and escaped. Garrett located the Kid at Pete Maxwell’s ranch, waited in the dark bedroom, and shot him twice when he saw him outlined in the opened bedroom doorway. The Kid died without knowing who had killed him. He was 21 years old.

NewMexiKen photo, 2006. Souvenir hunters have chipped away.

Among the best of the many books on Billy the Kid is Michael Wallis’s Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride.

Death and taxes

Well, just taxes.

Hey, New Mexicans did you notice that increase in the sales tax July 1st? (Actually, the gross receipts tax, but the same thing at the cash register.)

The state rate is now 5.125 percent, but the counties and cities add on to that. In Albuquerque the total is now 7%. It’s 7.375% in the Bernalillo County part of Rio Rancho, 7.1875 in the Sandoval County part. It’s 7.625% in Las Cruces (New Mexico’s second largest city) and a whooping 8.1875% in Santa Fe, indeed the city different.

Redux post of the day

First posted here six years ago today. I wrote the Bonnie Raitt review in 2002. I have made two minor corrections to the post.

Sadly, the Paolo Soleri Amphitheater is scheduled to be torn down in another incredibly stupid and insensitive action by the Santa Fe Indian School, which controls the property, and the All Indian Pueblo Council, which controls the school.

NewMexiKen spent late afternoon and early evening Thursday on the Plaza in Santa Fe, the nation’s oldest capital city (1610). It had been a year or possibly two since I’d been there (though it is one of America’s premier tourist attractions and I live just an hour away). I am always ready to dislike Santa Fe — and it’s always like a new love when I get there. Yes, it has the so-so affected galleries and their so-so affected clientele; and yes it has too many places to buy T-shirts (I got two) and laser art. Still, the setting itself is authentic — like me, people have been drinking tequila or something like it on the plaza for nearly 400 years. And weather! Yesterday evening was stunning. Low 80s, clear, with a few white clouds, slight breeze. Blue sky that North Carolinians can’t even imagine.

Two years ago NewMexiKen saw Bonnie Raitt in Santa Fe at the Paolo Soleri Amphitheater (four days after seeing the Eagles in Albuquerque). Here’s the review I wrote then:

Saturday was entirely different. The Paolo Soleri is an outdoor amphitheater behind the Santa Fe Indian School. It seats maybe 2,500 and most of the seating is unreserved. We had reserved ninth row center seats for just $45 each, close enough to see the welt on the performer’s forehead after she whacked herself with a guitar.

Bonnie Raitt, 52, has also been recording and performing since 1971. She came into her own in 1989 when she won the Grammies for Album of the Year (Nick of Time); Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female; Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female, and Best Traditional Blues Recording (for a duet with John Hooker on I’m in the Mood). She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two years ago.

Unlike the Eagles (excepting Joe Walsh) Bonnie Raitt was an entertainer, not just a musician. She had a lot of banter with the crowd, giving every impression she was having a great time. “You can leave if you have too, I’ll understand, but I’m staying a little longer.” It actually appeared as if her third encore was genuine; that is, a salute to a particularly appreciative audience. She had a guitar player and bassist behind her that have been with her for more than 20 years, plus a great new keyboard player and a fine drummer. She included all the essential hits, except sadly not Runaway, but a fair number of new songs as well from her new album, Silver Lining.

Bonnie Raitt is a great guitarist. I think I wasn’t as aware of that as I should have been before last night. She’s got the blues down when she needs to, and she can rock. It was wonderful to be close enough to see the playing; close enough to count the picks on her fingers (and not on a big screen – there are no screens at Paolo Soleri). Her voice was great, though she complained a little about some smoke from a concession early in the performance – it was like being at someone’s backyard charcoal barbeque for a while. She commented she preferred the “smoke” at Red Rocks (near Denver), which she claimed had been thick enough to make her high by the third song. She may have been particularly chatty Saturday night, as she needed to catch her breath between numbers at Santa Fe’s 7000 feet. Whatever, it was welcome and fun.

The Santa Fe Birkenstock crowd was interesting on its own. Seldom have I seen so many Earth people this side of Fourth Avenue, Tucson. I was expecting the glitterati of Santa Fe I suppose, and they are probably waiting for the Santa Fe Opera to begin its season.

Nevertheless, we did have one celebrity in the audience, two rows down, and five seats over. Jane Fonda, an apparent friend of Ms. Raitt. She looked good, but not unlike any other 64-year-old, exceptionally rich woman might. No Birkenstocks on Jane.

Today’s Photo

One of the two Sandia Peak Tramway cars beginning its 2.7 mile, 3,819 feet rise to 10,378 feet above sea level. The car holds 50 people (55 without the water tank). Unedited iPhone 4 photo taken at 7:14 this evening. Click image for larger version.

Fort Union National Monument (New Mexico)

… was created on this date in 1954, when President Eisenhower signed a bill authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to acquire the site and remaining structures.

Fort Union was established in 1851 by Lieutenant Colonel Edwin V. Sumner as a guardian and protector of the Santa Fe Trail. During it’s forty-year history, three different forts were constructed close together. The third and final Fort Union was the largest in the American Southwest, and functioned as a military garrison, territorial arsenal, and military supply depot for the southwest. Today, visitors use a self-guided tour path to visit the second fort and the large, impressive ruins of the third Fort Union. The largest visible network of Santa Fe Trail ruts can be seen here.

Fort Union National Monument

Today’s Photos

It was a delightfully cool day in Santa Fe Sunday (around 80) with sprinkles from time-to-time. A good day for walking around, seeing a site or too, and having lunch outside.

Across E. DeVargas Street from San Miguel Church is a building that is said to be the oldest house in the United States (circa 1646). How do we know this? Because it’s right next door to the Oldest House Shop, so it must be true.

Better yet, directly across Old Santa Fe Trail from San Miguel Church is this building, the Pink Adobe. (The woman on the bench resting has the right idea.)

Inside the Pink Adobe since 1944 is the Pink Adobe restaurant where, in the courtyard, we had some outrageously good chicken enchiladas with black beans and rice. The view from my place at the table.

First three photos taken by Donna with a Canon SD600. Last photo taken with my iPhone 3G. Click images for larger versions.

Today’s Photo

This is a portion of the San Jose Bell found in the San Miguel Church in Santa Fe. The full inscription reads: San Jose, Rogad por nosotros Agosto 9 de 1356 (Saint Joseph pray for us August 9 1356). Was the bell cast in 1356 and brought to Santa Fe in 1812 as some claim — or was it cast locally in 1836 or 1856 as others say?

San Miguel Church claims to be the oldest church in the United States, built between 1610 and 1628 over a kiva that dates from at least 1200. Mass is still said in the church, which has been rebuilt several times, most notably after the Spanish returned to New Mexico following the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, and currently.

Photo taken with an iPhone 3G today.

Petroglyph National Monument (New Mexico)

… was authorized on this date in 1990. It is owned and managed jointly by the National Park Service, the city of Albuquerque and the state of New Mexico.

As you walk among the petroglyphs, you are not alone. This world is alive with the sights and sounds of the high desert – a hawk spirals down from the mesa top, a roadrunner scurries into fragrant sage, a desert millipede traces waves in the sand. There is another presence beyond what we can see or hear. People who have lived along the Rio Grande for many centuries come alive again through images they carved on the shiny black rocks. These images, and associated archeological sites in the Albuquerque area, provide glimpses into a 12,000 year long story of human life in this area.

Petroglyph National Monument stretches 17 miles along Albuquerque’s West Mesa, a volcanic basalt escarpment that dominates the city’s western horizon. . . .

Petroglyph National Monument protects a variety of cultural and natural resources including five volcanic cones, hundreds of archeological sites and an estimated 25,000 images carved by native peoples and early Spanish settlers. Many of the images are recognizable as animals, people, brands and crosses; others are more complex. Their meaning, possibly, understood only by the carver. These images are inseparable from the greater cultural landscape, from the spirits of the people who created them, and all who appreciate them.

Petroglyph National Monument is a place of respect, awe and wonderment.

Petroglyph National Monument

Pecos National Monument (New Mexico)

… was redesignated Pecos National Historical Park on this date in 1990. It had been made a national monument in 1965.

Pecos preserves 12,000 years of history including the ancient pueblo of Pecos, two Spanish Colonial Missions, Santa Fe Trail sites, 20th century ranch history of Forked Lightning Ranch, and the site of the Civil War Battle of Glorieta Pass.

Pecos National Historical Park

The pains of statehood

If Zachary Taylor hadn’t gotten gastroenteritis, New Mexico could have become a state 62 years sooner.

On June 20, 1850, New Mexicans ratified a free-state constitution by a vote of 8,371 to 39.

Taylor immediately called for New Mexico’s admission along with California’s; southern outrage flared to new heights; and the state of Texas vowed to secure its claims to all of New Mexico east of the Rio Grande, by force if necessary. Taylor ordered the federal garrison at Santa Fe to prepare for combat. By early July, it looked as if civil war might break out, pitting the United States against southern volunteers determined to secure greater Texas for slavery. (The Rise of American Democracy)

Taylor died July 9. Fillmore became president and defused the situation by laying aside New Mexico’s application for statehood.

The resolution came as part of the Compromise of 1850 in September. The boundaries of Texas were established as we know them (poor surveying and a meandering Rio Grande notwithstanding). In return, Texas received $10 million in compensation applied toward its debt (worth about $200 million today). The bill also established the territories of New Mexico (which included present-day Arizona) and Utah (which included present-day Nevada and western Colorado). The issue of slavery in those territories was ignored — for then.

Today’s Photo

This is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe. The cathedral was built from 1869-1887 under the direction of Bishop John Baptiste Lamy — it was constructed around the church built on the site in 1714. The spires were never completed.

The Cathedral of St. Francis was designated a basilica by the pope in 2005 (a basilica being a church of particular importance).

At its founding 400 years ago, Santa Fe was designated La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís (the Royal Town of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis of Assisi).

Photo taken with an iPhone 3G this evening just before 8. The tones were much richer to the eye than those captured by this image. All the same, you might want to click on the image for the larger version.

Why Isotopes?

NewMexiKen first posted this item on the Albquerque Isotopes baseball team after attending a game in August 2003 — and then again six years ago today.

The Isotopes get their name from the Simpsons. According to the Simpsons Episode Guide, in “Hungry, Hungry, Homer”:

Homer becomes a Good Samaritan after seeing the benefit of helping people. When he attempts to get Lenny a refund on his Springfield Isotopes season tickets, Homer discovers that the baseball team’s new owner, Duff Beer, plans to move the team to Albuquerque. Homer tries to rally the town in protest, however, no one believes his allegation. To expose Duff’s plan, he stages a hunger strike by chaining himself to a light pole near the stadium. Days later, the Duff Corporation deems Homer their ballpark attraction. They unchain him and tempt his cravings with an Isotope Dog Supreme. Before eating it, Homer realizes that the Southwestern ingredients on the hot dog prove that the team is moving to Albuquerque.

Actually the Isotopes moved here from Calgary, where they were the Cannons.

Today’s Photo

A portion of San Felipe de Neri church at Plaza Vieja (Old Town), Albuquerque. The church was built in 1793 and, for the most part, stands pretty much as constructed. It is still a consecrated church and serves the parish of the same name established in 1706. Photo taken today with an iPhone 3G. The photo has not been edited.

The City Different’s sinister side

An interesting and altogether too succinct survey of the bad guys in Santa Fe history.

Century mark

It’s 100 degrees this afternoon, just the third time Albuquerque has gotten to triple digits officially since 2003.

It’s the earliest day in the year ever for it to get to 100º here. For crying out loud, it’s even 99º in Santa Fe.

How bad is it? Well, really not so bad. We’re going to the Isotopes game at 7:00. After all, the humidity is just 6%.

And it’s even better if you think of the temperature in celsius. Just 37.8º.