Anyone familiar with New Mexico? *FOLLOWUP

shellie · Post by **shellie** » Sun Jul 17, 2005 10:09 pm

We are taking a family vacation to New Mexico late in September, and I would love some input as to what sites are a must when we visit. Of course, I've checked out the Frommer's guides, etc., but I'd love personal tales of fun places to go and great places to stay while we're there. The bit of a trick for our trips is that I need to please grandma and grandpa who are in their upper 70's AND my kids who are 10 and 7! Did I just make your assignment harder??

heehee! Actually, the kids and the grandparents are all easy-going and pretty easy to please, so I'm going to just try to plan a little bit of everything. Any suggestions are very welcome! Thanks!!

kittens · Post by **kittens** » Sun Jul 17, 2005 10:51 pm

I have never been there so I cannot help you at all but I just want to say HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

shellie · Post by **shellie** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 7:05 am

You had me going there for a minute, kittens... When I saw your name on my post, my first thought was, "Holy Cow, that girl gets around!! She's from Japan, lives in NC, and still knows a lot about New Mexico too!!"

I'm kinda glad you really didn't know NM like the back of your hand cuz you were making me feel like I really didn't get out enough!

heehee! Thanks for the nice wishes for our trip!

kittens · Post by **kittens** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 7:10 am

shellie wrote:You had me going there for a minute, kittens... When I saw your name on my post, my first thought was, "Holy Cow, that girl gets around!! She's from Japan, lives in NC, and still knows a lot about New Mexico too!!"

Heeheehee I wish

I used to live in CA around BayArea.... (Berkeley and Davis) for almost 10 years so I can say this I kinda know BayArea

Drakonia · Post by **Drakonia** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:36 am

Woo hoo! A fellow BayArea-ian. I used to live in that region for several years too although more towards Palo Alto and San Jose.

As for travel info, I can provide you some help at least, although travel guides are pretty meticulous. I can provide basic info for the middle of the state and especially, the northernwestern part of the state, but you may have to ask another Beta member, naria, for the southern part of the state.

Amazingly, September is probably the best time to visit the state as a lot of events are scheduled for the Albuquerque area including the city's Tricentennial, the New Mexico State Fair, and Feast days. Although there are a few rules for Feast days, but it's a very unique experience. And the State Fair has a good smattering of music, food, and dancing, including concerts and of course, the rodeo. Here are a couple of the sites that may be helpful:

http://www.abqcvb.org/
http://www.albuquerque300.org/index.asp ... emp=7&mm=9
http://www.collectorsguide.com/nm/nmfa03.html

Albuquerque also has a zoo, aquarium, and biological park. One of the more educational spots that all ages enjoy is the Natural History Museum that houses dinosaurs, minerals, and other fun stuff in that direction.

http://www.cabq.gov/biopark/zoo/index.html
http://museums.state.nm.us/nmmnh/nmmnh.html

If you are lucky enjoy to come around September 30th, the Balloon Fiesta is probably the best event to visit, although finding a hotel room during the fiesta is sometimes a problem. If you get a chance to attend, it really is a once in a lifetime experience.

For other parts of the state, your travel guide might mention Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands Missile Range, and the Toltec Scenic Railroad. There are also opportunites for activities like horseback riding, whitewater rafting, and hiking. And, the state is full of nature parks to explore. Just be prepared if you are traveling from city to city for the long stretches of scenary in between.

If you have more expensive and cultured tastes, then Santa Fe would be a good place to start. It has a lot of art shows and exhibits year round.

http://santafe.org/Calendar/index.html

And, finally, (well my grandparents like it anyway), there are casinos dotting the landscape here and there for the gambling individual. Basically, it all depends on the type of experience that you want, but I tried to list items that would appeal to most ages (minus the gambling).

If you have more questions, please let me know and I'll try to answer them (boy, do I sound like a travel guide).

Best, K

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:36 am

Do you get to travel often?

Drakonia · Post by **Drakonia** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:38 am

Not as often as I'd like to, Cloud.

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:38 am

Oh I get it.

Drakonia · Post by **Drakonia** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:46 am

And, just an FYI, anyone who annoyingly asks me, "So how do you like living in this country (the United States)?", gets a nice big bonk on the head.

yoshito · Post by **yoshito** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 10:59 am

Drakonia wrote:And, just an FYI, anyone who annoyingly asks me, "So how do you like living in this country (the United States)?", gets a nice big bonk on the head.

How about, "What? New Mexico is still part of the USA? I thought we traded that to Mexico for Baja California." =P

shellie · Post by **shellie** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 3:08 pm

Wow! Thanks a lot, Drakonia!! I'll look forward to following those links when I have time to enjoy my browsing!! (And I had better get on my hotel reservations soon too it sounds like.

) Thanks for the tips!

hanaeleh · Post by **hanaeleh** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 4:20 pm

Have fun, Shellie! The best I can offer you is that it's more recent than the old Mexico.

hehehe

shellie · Post by **shellie** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 4:26 pm

Elizabeth!!

heeheeheehee! Why would anyone want the old one when you can have a newer Mexico??

ReiTheJelly · Post by **ReiTheJelly** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:54 pm

I'm actually on vacation in NM right now, visiting my aunt outside of Taos. E-mail me (reithejelly[at]gmail.com) in about 2 weeks and I can give you a complete list of places to visit and good descriptions.

shellie · Post by **shellie** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 8:36 pm

Oooh, thanks, Rei! I will! Have fun while you're there!