New Mexico-- Life in the Land of Enchantment

Touring Southern NM- Carlsbad Caverns

2008-12-01T20:53:00.000-08:00

Views of the desert above.

The Big room- 'Chandelier'

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is located in the Guadalupe Mountains, a mountain range that runs from west Texas into southeastern New Mexico.

As you are driving through this desert you might never guess there are more than 300 known caves beneath the surface. The park contains 113 of these caves, formed when sulfuric acid dissolved the surrounding limestone, creating some of the largest caves in North America. This is unlike many caves in the world that were carved by running water and streams.

The Big Room- Everyone visiting the park should tour the main section of the cave, the Big Room self-guided tour. You begin by descending 900 feet in an elevator that starts from inside the visitor center. 'The Big Room', is 1,800 feet long and 250 feet wide, where you will witness the most impressive formations. The one mile path follows a circular route up one side of the chambers and back along the other, and the cave is so large that the two parts of the route are generally out of sight of each other. The formations are labeled names such as Hall of the Giants, Bottomless Pit, Temple of the Sun and Rock of Ages, and are lit with electric lights of various subtle colors. There are many small underground pools, also illuminated, whose reflections add another dimension to the delicate formations above. The weather in the cave is a mild 56°F (13°C) year-round.

The Bat Flight- From mid-May through mid-October, visitors to Carlsbad Caverns National Park can enjoy the evening Bat Flight program.
Each evening in summer, nearly 400,000 Brazilian (aka Mexican) free-tail bats exit Carlsbad Cavern in search of insects for dinner. We'll have to come back for this program. Everyone whose seen the Bat Flight highly recommends it. Can't wait.....

Touring Southen NM, Bosque del Apache

2008-11-30T16:21:00.000-08:00

Dawn at Bosque del Apache. Check out the surrounding mountain view. Truly magical.

Only 75 miles south of Albuquerque, Bosque del Apache (Spanish for "woods of the Apache") National Wildlife Refuge is 7000 acres along the Rio Grande Valley in Socorro County, New Mexico. It ranges in elevation from 4,500 to 6,272 feet above sea level. What makes Bosque del Apache NWR one of the most spectacular places in North America to visit is not only the incredible number of different species of birds but also the sheer number of them that migrate here during the winter months. The refuge supports, tens of thousands of birds (377 species)--including sandhill cranes, Arctic geese, many kinds of ducks, various land birds such as roadrunners and pheasants. The peak season is from November to March. In early December the refuge may harbor as many as 18,000 sandhill cranes, 57,000 ducks of many species, and over 40,000 snow geese. It's mesmerizing to see and hear so many birds in one place.

Views at Dawn. My camera totally sucks.

Fly-out at Dawn, 11/30/08. See the entire video. At times the screen is black because the sky is covered with birds.

Dawn is the best time to come here. It is when the birds take flight in mass. We arrived the evening before. We stayed in Socorro NM, a town of 8,000 population, 1/2 hour away from the site. We got up at 4:30 AM and were out of the hotel room by 5:30 AM-- equipped with binoculars, not so good camera and totally bundled up to enjoy the cold morning. Sunrise was at 7:04 AM. We left the kids at the hotel. They had warned us the night before that they had no interest in getting up that early in the morning. It was best for everyone. We arrived the park at 6:00 AM. The morning view was spectacular. I have tried to share the experience by taking a video with my very primitive digital camera. Know that it does not justify the breath taking experience of seeing and hearing thousands of birds taking off all at once. Hopefully it will give you an idea of the greatness the refuge offers the soul and mind. Many professional photographers and filmmakers travel here to create films and material for nature shows and outdoors type magazines. See an example of a camera in my pictures.

Views at Dusk. See Cuong's camera, a professional publisher.

Another time to be here is at dusk. It's when the birds fly back in the water in thousands. We were able to experience both Dusk and Dawn, "Fly in" and "Fly out". Satruday evening, we arrived right at Dusk which gave us enough time to drive the 12 mile loop around the refuge before it was too dark and we were able to plan our morning visit at dawn. Several accessible viewing platforms are available along the route and we wanted to make sure we know the prime viewing spot for the fly out.

The cranes taking a stroll in shalow water at sun rise. Very cool birds.

The refuge was not always so rich with species. In the 1930s, the Rocky Mountain population of greater sandhill cranes was severely declining. Habitat loss in wintering and breeding areas, land use changes and other factors had taken their toll on the population. In 1941, fewer than 20 sandhills wintered on Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (NWR).
Since 1939, refuge staff, volunteers, cooperators, and other agencies have worked to restore wintering habitat along the Rio Grande for the cranes. Intensive management on the refuge, including moist soil management (growing natural wetland foods), cooperative agriculture, and crop manipulation have helped the population recover dramatically. Bosque del Apache NWR hosts about three-quarters of the Rocky Mountain sandhill crane population each winter, totaling up to 18,000 birds.

See link to the official site: http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/newmex/bosque/index.html

Touring Southern NM, The White Sands

2008-11-30T13:07:00.000-08:00

Don't miss the mountains in the background.

See the mountains meeting the clouds.

Go prepared with a sled, it's a must. We had borrow from other tourists.

Arman wants go back and camp in the white sands. Camping and star gazing at night is highly recommended. We didn't have time on this trip but we'll definitely be back to stay longer.

Driving 3 1/2 from Albuquerque to South West of NM, you will come across the extraordinary White Sands. It is located in Tularosa Basin, between the cities Las Cruces and Alamogordo. The site has to be one of the world's greatest natural wonders. You know that's a fact when the kids stop winning after hours of asking are we there yet! In fact they asked how long can we stay here and can we hike around and sled in the sand! The great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand was an incredible view and impossible to describe its beauty. We kept repeating words like.... this is like being in a dream, this cannot be Earth, Are we on another planet, This is unreal, It's miraculous..... . We hiked a trail and the kids sled on the sand dunes for couple of hours. What a blast!!!!
Here's a brief geological information about the area from various sources. The Tularosa Basin is located in southern New Mexico. It is surrounded by the Sacramento Mountains to the east and by the San Andres Mountains to the west.The white grains are blown out of an old lake bed, Lake Lucero. The bottom of that old lake is full of gypsum. More gypsum comes out of the surrounding mountains when rain or snow washes it down into the Tularosa Basin.

HOW DID THE GYPSUM GET HIGH UP THERE IN THE MOUNTAINS?

Those mountains used to be the bottom of a sea. Now that was way back when New Mexico was located close to the equator and the world map looked like this:

SUPERCONTINENT PANGAEA started breaking apart 220 MILLION YEARS AGO source: usgs

70 million years ago the Rocky Mountains were formed and the bottom of that old sea was pushed up. 10 million years ago one of these elevated spots caved in and created the Tularosa Basin.

WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT WHITE SANDS?
White Sands is the largest surface deposit of gypsum in the world.

Why?
Gypsum exists even in large amounts almost everywhere around the globe. But it is soluble and usually gets washed away into a river or sea of some sort. Not so in the Tularosa Basin. The word basin tells you there's no river outlet. Otherwise it would be called a valley.

Mom Betty comes to Albuquerque for the Balloon Fiesta

2008-11-26T16:37:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun.

It was all worth the effort of getting up at 4:30 AM and being stuck in traffic for 2 hours to get to the Balloon Fiesta park. Most license plates on cars were from other states.

Darth vader balloon was the biggest attraction. See the storm troopers and other Star Wars characters guarding it.

First day of event at Mass Ascention. My mother-in-law came for a visit

Nimo Balloon. It was all worth the pain of getting up at 4:30 AM and driving in traffic for 2 hours to get to the Balloon Fiesta park. The event attracts so many out of staters.
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a world-renowned attraction and destination for kids of all ages. For more than three decades, the first week in October brings the smell of roasting chiles and the beautiful, magical moving picture show of hot air balloons sailing silently through the crisp fall air. Guests from all over the world come to Albuquerque to celebrate ballooning.

From the invention of the hot air balloon in 1783 with a launch of a rooster, pick and a duck, it has ballooned today to a mass spectacle nine-day event drawing over 700 balloonists from 41 states and 19 countries and a crowd of 900,000. Starting on the first Sat in October, the event begins at 7:00 AM every day with a mass ascension with all balloons lifting off in under two hours. Imagine the colorful, magical spectacle in the clear skies!

The story started in 1972, as part of the celebration for the 50th anniversary of KOB Radio. The first ever festival gathered 13 balloons and 20,000 spectators. The next year in February, the first World Hot-Air Balloon Championship was hosted in the same location. The festival grew each year to the extent that it became the largest balloon festival in the world. The record was reached in 2000, when 1,019 balloons took part in the parade. There is now a 365-acre Balloon Fiesta Park.

Don't miss this special event next year! See the link on more history of hot air balloons
http://www.eballoon.org/history/history-of-ballooning.html

Michele Obama Speaking to women in Albuquerque

2008-11-26T15:38:00.000-08:00

I volunteered for Michelle Obama rally at UNM in Sep. She arrived at least an hour later than expected. Tardiness was a typical practice in these rallies so I was expecting Michele to be late too and she didn't disappoint me. People waited in the line for hours but volunteers were there much longer. We would arrive 4-5 hours ahead of schedule for briefing by staff, security check and getting our assignments. Michele was coming from Santa Fe, where she held a roundtable with New Mexico military families. Here, she spoke of the importance of women and of registering people to vote before nearly 2,000 women at the Student Union Building at the University of New Mexico. Of course, a lot of young male students stood in line hoping to get in and at the end they were all allowed to attend. Once again it was all worth it. Michele was incredible. I only have a few pictures.

Volunteering for the Obama fundraiser at the home of Kandace and Paul Blanchard

2008-11-25T13:10:00.000-08:00

Kandace & Paul

On September 19, a few hours after Barak Obama gave his speech at a rally in Española, he appeared at the ranch of Kandace and Paul Blanchard, 2 hours drive to Albuquerque. Paul Blanchard is a racetrack and casino owner and major contributor to Gov. Bill Richardson. The fundraiser began with a “general reception” at the Blanchards’ costing $2,500 per person. After an hour, the real fun began with a “host reception,” for which the price tag was $28,500 a person. At the reception, I had a chance to speak with Governor Richardson, Senator-elect Tom Udall and his wife, and a few other NM gov officials. Of course, I had my own agenda to participate in the event......SkyFuel. I had carried a few invitations to an upcoming SkyFuel event in Oct which I was able to pass to Tom Udall, Gov Richardson, and Barak Obama, a little PR for SkyFuel.

Before the reception began my role was to match the names in the guest list with the guests and to make sure they have paid their dues or else direct them to the table where they could pull out their check books and make their payment. That was a little uncomfortable. Once all the guests were in, the volunteers were free to mingle with the crowd of 250 guests. That was SWEET. Enjoy the pictures.

Happy, got my book signed Sad..... Barak is leaving.

Checkout the new SkyFuel Website: www.skyfuel.com

A Summer day bike ride to the Sandia Casino

2008-11-19T07:47:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Aug 12, Kelly (my neighbor), me , and Bill went on a 25 mile bike ride to the Sandia Casino and back....no gambling, just a ride.
See Casino view in the back. Back down to the city. Scuptures are placed in many locations in the city. Very cool.

Sandia Resort and Casino sits at the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. Casino action and slot machines, 18-hole golf course , great dining rooftop restaurant on the 9th floor with an spectacular view of the Land of Enchantment, Spectacular view of the Sandia Mountains, Rio Grande River Valley and the greater Albuquerque area.

Majestic views of the Sandia Mountains, concerts and music entertainment under the stars at the outdoor amphitheater.

Found some interesting history on Sandia Pueblo. The Pueblo of Sandia is a Native American Community located on the northern boundary of the city of Albuquerque in central New Mexico, covering 22,877 acres on the east side of the Rio Grande River Valley. It is one of 19 pueblos located throughout the state and known as one of the eastern pueblos which are located along the Rio Grande. Sandia is one of four pueblos who speak the Tiwa language.

Sandia Pueblo was first "discovered" by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, who camped with his Conquistadors along the banks of the Rio Grande in 1539. Sandia became a settlement for Spanish explorers in 1617 when it was established as the seat of the Mission of San Francisco. Because Pueblo people usually located in fertile areas near rivers and tributaries, they were the hardest hit by European colonization. Less than five decades later, Sandia participated in the Pueblo Revolt, a bloody rebellion that exploded simultaneously among the northern pueblos on August 10, 1680. Antonio de Otermin, Spain's governor of what is now New Mexico, ordered the burning of the Pueblo of Sandia several times during the Pueblo Revolt. The Spanish repeatedly attempted to re-conquer the Tiguex Province in 1681, 1688, and 1692. During each attempt, Sandians abandoned their pueblo and eventually fled to Hopi lands in Arizona where they resettled in the village of Payupki. In November of 1742, 441 Sandia people returned to the valley. However, their requests for resettlement were ignored until Father Menchero petitioned Spain's governor to allow settlement at Sandia; permission for resettlement was granted in 1748.

Lawrence Gutierrez, Governor, Sandia Pueblo and Scott Paisano, lieutenant governor, Sandia Pueblo (I met them at the Obama town hall meeting. Great people.)
Sandia Pueblo now owns and operates Sandia Resort & Casino, Bien Mur Indian Market Center, and Sandia Lakes Recreation Area. It also leases areas for sand and gravel mining operations and other businesses to more fully utilize land within the pueblo's historical boundaries. The Pueblo has a traditional form of government, with a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Warchief and Lieutenant Warchief who are appointed through a traditional process to serve one-year terms. Modern "Indian Nations" are tribal governments that are federally recognized. There are over 500 federally recognized tribes in the United States. Each has a government, tribal members and trust lands. Each Indian Nation has the governmental authority to create laws and be governed by them subject to the limitations of Congress and federal case law.

Check the link if you like to read the entire article.http://www.sandiapueblo.nsn.us/history.html

Back from the campaign trail

2008-11-18T20:07:00.000-08:00

Feels good to be back to blogging. I spent 3 months of insane volunteer work for Obama campaign in NM. Registered over 200 new voters, knocked on more than 3000 doors, made 6000 phone calls, went to 3 Barak Obama rallies, 1 Michelle Obama rally, and many more fun things..... Let me share some of the photos.

MONDAY, AUGUST 18
TOWN HALL MEETING WITH BARACK OBAMA
Rio Grande High School
Left my house at 7 am to help with Barack Obama Town Hall event at Rio Grande High School, a 35 minute drive from my house down in the heavily Hispanic South Valley. Picked up Gina (in blue) and Donovan (dread locks). Obama was scheduled to speak at 1:00 PM. By 10:30 AM long lines of supporters were formed waiting for the doors to open. My team was there to take tickets. It was tough standing for 6-7 hours. I got back to my house at about 6:00 PM. Was it worth it? Yeah. Obama showed up with hundreds of supporters cheering him on. Included were some Democratic big-hitters, Gov. Bill Richardson and Senate candidate Tom Udall. Volunteer work at rallies is mainly standing LONG hours and keeping people in line.

Around the Obama Campaign Office.

New Mexico Cuisine (Things that make you go Yum!!!)

2008-07-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

Various red and green Ristras

New Mexico has a unique cuisine of its own, with red and green chile at its heart. Chile is a term which usually refers to any of hundreds of chile peppers used in cuisines across the world to flavor and spice food. In New Mexico, however, chile means much more than that. Chile is the state's largest agricultural crop, but more than that, across the state of New Mexico chile is consumed at every meal, is celebrated in songs and at festivals, and is the subject of the Official New Mexico State Question, "Red or Green?". The question refers to the color of chile you want on your food. You are never asked "hot or mild?"

New Mexico menus may seem at first glance to be similar to well-known Mexican and southwestern dishes—enchiladas, tamales, fajitas, guacamole, chiles rellenos, huevos rancheros, burritos or tacos—but the use of chiles, in nearly everything but the desserts, sets New Mexican cuisine apart. Chiles are an ingredient in New Mexico; elsewhere they act more as a condiment.

New Mexicans hang strings of dried red chiles called ristras in front of their houses for decoration, good fortune, and a steady supply of cooking ingredients; the annual Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta (the largest hot air balloon event in the world) often features an enormous ristra-shaped balloon; local gift shops sell chile pepper curios in every conceivable configuration. In the fall fall the air is filled with the seductive aroma of roasting chile, and the roadside stands are a ablaze with bright strands of ristras.

What's the difference between Green and Red Chile?

The green chile is chopped and sometimes thickened with a bit of flour to make a sauce, and the red chile pods are ground and simmered with water to make red chile sauce. Most dishes can be ordered with either red or green chile sauce, but if you want to try both, ask for "Christmas."

Typical New Mexican specialties include:

Posole: a stew that begins with the dried corn product itself called “posole." The cook soaks the posole overnight, then simmers with pork, onions,garlic,oregano and chiles to make an economical and highly nutritious stew.

Green Chile Stew: small chunks of pork stewed with onions, potatoes, garlic and green chiles.

Red Chile Stew: many recipes, all using dried red chiles (the kind used for the ristra) that have been soaked in hot water to soften before being pureed with spices and aromatics like onions and garlic.

Calabacitas: corn and squash (both native American staples), simmered with chiles.

Carne Adovada: pork marinated in a red chili sauce with onion, garlic,coriander, Mexican oregano and vinegar. Available as a main dish, side dish, filling for a burrito, in restaurants, in supermarkets, all over the state.

Sopaipillas: dough fritters that when deep fried puff up into squares, hollow inside. Sopaipillas are frequently enjoyed stuffed with meats, chiles, refried beans, or other combinations, or consumed alone as an accompaniment to main courses in which case they are often eaten with a few drops of honey (very yummy).

The Arroyo

2008-07-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

The Arroyo dry Flash flood
Historically, the Albuquerque area has suffered from major flooding both along the Rio Grande and in the nearby Sandia canyons. In the 1874 flood, it was estimated that 24 square miles of water filled the area between Bernalillo and Albuquerque for over 3 months.

Flood-control concrete embankments along the east side of the city were built to capture runoff and divert it to the Rio Grande. The end result of these measures has been the construction of the Arroyo a system that can withstand "100 year floods".

Our house happens to be alongside of the Arroyo in NE part of the city where we can witness the flash floods. It is advised not to ever walk in the Arroyo since the flash flood could happen at any time sourced from the Sandia Mountains when the sun is shining in the city but could be raining heavily in the mountains. Of course I see kids skating in it all the time. We've already experienced one flood. See pix before and after. Also checkout the link I found on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_cUg1nWsyA

Hike in El Malpis (Spanish for badlands)

2008-07-10T12:23:00.000-07:00

Pahoehoe lava flow in El Malpais View of El Malpais Lava Fields

El Malpais National Monument is in western NM and It's named El Malpais because of the extremely rough, rugged terrain due to lava flow that covers much of the park. The terrain is so rocky in some parts that trails cannot be constructed. Attractions in El Malpais include its many lava tube caves, Cerro Encierro, a popular hill to hike or climb with spectacular views, La Ventana Arch. A paved road leading to the arch makes it easy to explore this huge natural sandstone arch.

Babe watching the lava field from the Sandstone Bluffs Overlook

View from inside the cave- Lavacicles on the ceiling of Mushpot cave in Lava Beds.

La Ventana Natural Arch

Omid the karate kid on top of a lava rock

My garden

2008-07-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

It's a small garden but very cute and with a lot of potential. It has herbs, plants and roses. I have a long way to go in gardening but I find it quite therapeutic. Feel free to send me gardening tips. :>)

Hiking on Sandia Mountain

2008-07-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

Took the aerial tramway to the top of Sandia Mountain, an altitude of 10,000 ft and many trails to hike. It's breath taking....See pix and link to the official site. Come visit us and we'll take you up there!...you'll love it. http://www.sandiapeak.com/index.php?page=tramway
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandia_Peak_Tramway

Trip to Crested Butte, Col

2008-07-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

Couldn't do without a car.......(tried for a week). Took a family road trip on the 4th of Jul to Crested Butte, Col to pickup a car that we found on Craig's list (see Pic).
Posting a few few pix from that day. Notice it's colder....we're wearing jackets, very high altitude, and checkout the mountain view behind Omid. It's a beautiful little Ski/Mountain biking town.