Category: Albuquerque & New Mexico

Capulin Volcano National Monument (New Mexico)

… was authorized on this date in 1916. The monument is located in northeastern New Mexico.

Mammoths, giant bison, and short-faced bears were witness to the first tremblings of the earth and firework-like explosions of molten rock thousands of feet into the air. Approximately 60,000 years ago, the rain of cooling cinders and four lava flows formed Capulin Volcano, a nearly perfectly-shaped cinder cone, rising more than 1000 feet above the surrounding landscape. Although long extinct, Capulin Volcano is dramatic evidence of the volcanic processes that shaped northeastern New Mexico. Today the pine forested volcano provide habitat for mule deer, wild turkey, and black bear.

Souce: Capulin Volcano National Monument

Redux post of the day (Albuquerque readers only)

First posted here five years ago today.

The limitations of Albuquerque sometimes get the better of me — e.g., the Sweeties are too far away, no Crate & Barrel — but Friday night the city won me back. First, margaritas outdoors at Garduno’s Balloon Saloon; then, hitting a few more balls at the New Mexico Golf Academy driving range at dusk, thunderstorms and the smell of rain all around; last, strawberry-rhubarb pie at the Flying Star on Rio Grande.

At least he wasn’t texting

The last time police arrested Waldo Baca for drunken driving, an officer found him passed out cold in his truck by the side of Interstate 25 near Santa Fe.

It took the officer several minutes to rouse him, but even then Baca was too intoxicated to speak, according to a state police report. The officer found a mostly empty bottle of whiskey, an empty whiskey bottle and an empty beer can inside Baca’s truck, the report says. Later, after refusing to take sobriety and breath-alcohol tests, Baca told a nurse who was drawing his blood at the hospital that alcohol, marijuana and cocaine would be found in his blood, the report states.

His blood-alcohol level at the time was later determined to have been .24 — three times the legal driving limit, according to a spokeswoman for the Department of Health, which oversees the blood testing.

The arrest — which occurred about 6:30 p.m. June 26 — marked the ninth time in the last 17 years Baca, 40, has been taken into custody by police officers from Santa Fe to Los Lunas for drunken driving, according to court records and statistics kept by the DWI Resource Center in Albuquerque.

The New Mexican has more on how Mr. Baca has skirted the system.

Someone just like him may be alongside of you the next time you take the kids to soccer.

Click if only for the mug shot.

New Mexico skies

Click image for larger version
Click image for larger version

iPhone photo taken on the evening of Independence Day from the patio of the Tamaya Resort on the Santa Ana Pueblo. Sandia Mountains in distance, Rio Grande bosque in foreground.

Click image for larger version
Click image for larger version

iPhone photo taken during the at bat of the Iowa Cubs leadoff batter at last night’s game. The hitter, Sam Fuld, tripled and the Cubs went on to win 11-2. Even so, tenth row seat: $13. Beer (imported from Colorado): $7.75. Parking: Free. Another New Mexico evening outside: Priceless.

I couldn’t live like that

Eight times so far this month the LOW temperature in Phoenix has been 90º or higher.

On the 17th the official high was 114º and the low was 93º. The AVERAGE temperature in Phoenix that day was 104º. In the shade.

Albuquerque’s official high Sunday was 100º. It’s only the second day since 2003 that we’ve hit 100 officially.

Another damn dam

The Santa Fe New Mexican has a good story on Cochiti Pueblo and Cochiti Dam.

In the 1950s, this was their playground as boys. They would swim in the river, hunt birds and scoop up Rio Grande silvery minnows by the bucketful. “We used to fry them up. They were really good,” Pecos recalled, as the river water lapped almost to his shoes.

The men are old enough to remember picking fruit all summer and fall — apples, apricots, plums, cherries — from pueblo family orchards along the river. “Every family had a plot of land by the river,” said Suina. “Life was out there on the farm.”

“Everyone helped during harvest,” Pecos said. “Everyone shared food. That’s what kept the community together.”

It all changed in a generation.

We’re 34th

New Census estimates for cities are out today.

Albuquerque had an estimated 521,999 residents as of last July 1st. That makes this the 34th largest U.S. city (by population).

Albuquerque grew by 6,603 people compared to a year earlier (up 1.28%). 26.3% of all New Mexicans live inside the city limits of Albuquerque.

Only three other cities in New Mexico have more than 50,000 residents:

Las Cruces 91,865
Rio Rancho 79,655
Santa Fe 71,831

People don’t believe me

… when I tell them about the New Mexico whiptail, so I thought I’d publish this again. (It first appeared here in 2005; the citation has been updated.)

How come having a New Mexico whiptail lizard in the utility sink in the garage is so much more pleasant than say finding a tarantula or mouse there would be? I scooped her (and they are all females) into a coffee can and released her outside.

[T]he New Mexico Whiptail, as well as several other all-female species of whiptail lizard, does reproduce, and all of its offspring are female. Moreover, it reproduces by parthenogenesis — its eggs require no fertilization, and its offspring are exact and complete genetic duplicates of the mother.

Scientists understand only partially how this reproductive mode developed, and it raises many questions. One of the most intriguing is how this cloning affects the lizard’s ability to adapt to environmental changes. Since there is no genetic variation except that which occurs through mutation, the New Mexico Whiptail cannot evolve as other species do.

American Museum of Natural History

The New Mexico whiptail (Cnemidophorus neomexicanus) is the official reptile of New Mexico.

Delightful

A mid-afternoon thunderstorm just passed, dropping some rain but almost as exciting, lowering the temperature more than 20 degrees in a few minutes. It’s 67º F right now (just after 3PM). It’s monsoon season!

Monsoon is an Arabic term for a seasonal shift in the prevailing wind.

Both the Southwest USA, including Arizona and New Mexico, and Southeast Asia, including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, experience the monsoon each summer. The Asian monsoon often brings heavy, flooding rains to the area, while the Southwest monsoon brings scattered strong thunderstorms to dry desert regions. The Southwest monsoon is caused by two meteorological changes during the summer:Monsoon August 2006

–The northerly movement of the Bermuda High (a strong area of high pressure) into the central USA
–Intense heating of the Mohave Desert to the west, which creates low pressure over the area

Since air rotates counterclockwise around low pressure and clockwise around high pressure, the positioning of these systems allows for a strong southerly flow over the Southwest. (Prevailing winds in the winter are from the west and northwest …) These south winds bring in moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean, increasing the chance of rain and thunderstorms.

The Weather Guys – USATODAY.com

Diagram is from August 2006, but it shows clearly how the monsoon draws humid air up from the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico. Click the image for larger version.

New Mexico gave him a belly-ache

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.

Sunday stuff

Saw the Clint Eastwood movie Gran Torino last night. A very good film. Eastwood does cranky old man just as well as he did tough cop and enigmatic western hero.

The Apple App Store has Peggle on sale through today for 99¢. It’s a fun arcade game. I’ve never been much of a video game player, but do enjoy them on the iPhone/iPod. Paper Toss is another great time waster, and it’s free.

A brief squall here this morning. Thunderstorms in June? In the morning? What is this planet coming to? Looks like some 90-degree days headed our way, though. I guess I’d better fire up the cooler — haven’t needed it yet this year.

I see we’ve gotten through the switch to digital TV without people taking to the streets with torches. It’s getting more and more difficult for ANY change to come about in our society without it being turned into the apocalypse.

FiveThirtyEight projects that Obama would win 445 electoral votes if an election were held today. The projection is based on his popularity, awarding the president states where he has 50% approval or better.

Alas, as Frank Rich writes, “A sizable minority of Americans is irrationally fearful of the fast-moving generational, cultural and racial turnover Obama embodies — indeed, of the 21st century itself. That minority is now getting angrier in inverse relationship to his popularity with the vast majority of the country.”

Best Place

The 10 best places to live:

1. Albuquerque, N.M.

2. Auburn, Ala.

3. Austin, Texas

4. Boise, Idaho

5. Durham, N.C.

6. La Crosse, Wis.

7. Loveland, Colo.

8. San Luis Obispo, Calif.

9. St. Augustine, Fla.

10. Upper St. Clair, Pa.

Each link above is to the U.S. News facts summary page. Or read a short narrative summary for each of the 10.

Thanks to Dwight for the link. He warns “Get ready to be overrun by people moving to Albuquerque. Build a wall around the city? Fire the Chamber of Commerce for doing too good of a job?”

Or see house prices rise again.

Twelve Angry Actors

Albuquerque’s Adobe Theater is presenting “Twelve Angry Men” through June 28th at its intimate venue on Fourth just north of Alameda. NMK and Donna attended the performance last night.

This is a tough play to present I’d think. Many of those most likely to attend have undoubtedly seen (many times perhaps) the classic 1957 movie with Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, E.G. Marshall, Jack Warden and Jack Klugman. (There was a made-for-TV version produced in 1997 with Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, Ossie Davis, James Gandolfini, Tony Danza, Hume Cronyn and others. Watch both, but especially watch the 1957 version.) In any case, because those 52-year-old characterizations are such a part of pop culture, how does the amateur theater compete artistically?

At Adobe the actors portrayed the jurors a little more angry, a little more on the edge. The dialogue was Reginald Rose’s original, somewhat reorganized, but the tension, if possible, seemed more on the surface than I remember from either film. It being New Mexico, I half expected someone to pull a concealed weapon.

This, of course, may be the direction, or the most skillful these actors could be, but it came across a little less as jury room and a little more as barroom.

Still, an enjoyable time and recommended. When a movie costs $9 or more, seeing a play in a very small theater for $14 ($12 senior and student) is quite rewarding.

I wonder BTW when someone will rewrite the play as “Twelve Angry Women.” It seems to me the dynamic, even if the same biases were represented among the jurors, would be quite different with an all-female jury. Well-done it could be a striking antithesis with the classic movie.