A Western Gathering?

AHA! Always wondered why the handles were bamboo. But there is a specific type of roadside business catering to what they call "the rubber tomahawk trade", and it's just something you have to take home with you.

See any bamboo plantations in New Mexico? That should be the 'first' clue. Mighty hard to make those tomahawks with cactus for them handles. c.i.

saguaro/samurai its all in the hilt

That cholla is tougher than you would ever believe. Thought Roswell was cholla country, c.i.

dys, That's only when you're swinging those swords/tomahawks within reach of each other. LOL c.i.

The second great cultural foundation stone of New Mexico is Hispanic. The Spanish came into this country very early. Coronado's search for the Seven Cities of Cibbola was in 1540, and Spanish settlement was well under way before the end of the 16th century. Santa Fe was founded in 1610, a decade before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts. New Mexico was dominated by the Franciscans, and the Spanish landlords exercised a harsh domination over the Pueblo peoples in Northern New Mexico. The Pueblos rose in revolt in 1680 and successfully expelled the Spanish from New Mexico. The victory was short lived, and New Mexico was re-conquered before the end of the 17th century. People of Spanish descent then dominated the State until displaced by acquisition of the Land of Enchantment by the United States as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. Anglos had begun entering the state as early as 1810, and after 1820, when the Santa Fe Trail was opened, an Anglo presence steadily increased. That's a brief background of the Hispanic origins of New Mexico, but it is really insufficient to reflect the importance of Hispanic Culture here today.

Here is are some links to some materials that might help appreciate our Hispanic heritage:

New Mexican Foods

New Mexico's Cultural History ... PDF Format published by NM Dept. of Cultural Affairs

A Cultural History Timeline, and links

Hi Ashman, That link on 500 years of NM chronological history is neat-oh. Thx, c.i.

Some may enjoy nature walks, or bird watching, as an activity while visiting Albuquerque. Today I'll describe three such walks that are so close as to be in Albuquerque itself, and one that is a short drive (14 miles, I think).

Bosque Walks. The City maintains trails and bikeways along the Rio Grand are very popular. Easy access to a botanical garden and the Bosque trails is just off Rio Grand Blvd, and Candalaria. There are bird blinds for those who enjoy bird watching, and toward the end of May there should be many butterflies in evidence. Photographers love the area, and the walking is along very flat trails or paved bikeways. The Bosque is that thin strip of green that borders the Rio Grand as it flows south toward Texas. Cottonwood trees were native, but now there are many Russian Olive trees in the area.

Elena Gallegos Picnic Area Walk. The Elena Gallegos Picnic Area is located off Tramway Boulevard, just north of Academy. There is a $2.00 parking fee. There are a number of well marked and maintained paths in this natural setting for almost any level of walking ability. Within a few hundred yards up any of the trails all evidence that you are in New Mexico's largest city disappears. There are easy paths that are short and level, and others that ascend quite a long way up into the Cibola National Forest that covers the lower slopes of the Sandias. There are a series of blinds for the birders to watch the varied species that are common to our area. City sponsored "Sunset Walks" take place Saturday evenings. These free programs begin at 7:00 p.m.

Ancient Art Walk. Across the Rio Grande, which has so little water as to give lie to it's name, there is the Petroglyph National Monument. Here, 3,000 years ago, Native Americans carved birds, animals, people and other figures into the volcanic rock. Several walks wind their way through the volcanic boulders covered with ancient art. The Petroglyph National Monument is within the lava beds of the several extinct volcanoes that form a distinctive part of our views westward. City streets run right to the edge of the site (which is a continuing political sorepoint for many of our local environmentalists). There are City sponsored walks every Sunday at 10:00 a.m. from the Cliff Base Trail, but I don't think they begin before August.

Though these walks are all within the City of Albuquerque, don't be deceived into forgetting that they are still the homes of wild creatures. Visitors are discouraged from wandering off marked paths to protect the environment, and the wildlife. That protection goes both ways. Rattlesnakes still inhabit these areas and visitors should be vigilent. Wildlife can often be seen along many of the City's arroyos and walkways. Yesterday, a large Roadrunner stopped alongside our pool deck for a minute to watch as I slowly swam my laps.

A little further a field. An alternative to taking the tram to the summit of the Sandias, is to drive up to Sandia Crest. The drive is up the east side of the Sandia Mountains, and winds through a forest to the crest. There is a path along the cliff's edge--providing spectacular vistas at every step. You can walk through an alpine meadow, bursting with wildflowers, to an abandoned stone cabin built during the Great Depression and watch a tram car on the world's longest tramway, dangling above the rocky chasm as it slowly heads for the mountain top. There is a restaurant at Sandia Crest for lunch, and the costs there are much more reasonable than 5 miles further along the crest trail at the Tram terminal. Sandia Crest is around 15,000 feet above sea level, so unless you are acclimated, this can tire visitors out pretty quickly.

This could easily be a side trip along the Turquoise Trail for a visit to the arts community of Madrid. The Turquoise Trail is noted for its many photographic opportunities, one of which is the old church at Golden.

Asherman, the links you provided are wonderful. I had no idea that the Indians in New Mexico didn't get the vote until 1948. As a 60 year old, it astonishes me when I think how little real history we learned when I was going to school.

The drive up the east side of the Sandia Mountains sounds lovely, especially the walk through an alpine meadow to the abandoned stone cabin. Also, the Turquoise Trail sounds fantastic. (I HAVE to remember my camera)!!

I'll go along with whatever the group decides--it all sounds great. I'm in agreement with Roger about noisy restaurants, they make visiting nearly impossible and I know we'll want to do lots and lots of talking!

I agree. Skip the tramway and drive. I didn't even know about this.

Diane wants to create her own 'noise.' Those walks through the canyons sounds terrif. And to add a little trivia about Australia, the aboriginies did not gain citizenship in their own country until 1965, after having lived there for over 5000 years. c.i.

The third cultural pillar of our community is Anglo. Anglos began to arrive in New Mexico during the 19th century, and over time the numbers and influence of Anglos increased significantly. Three historical periods involving the United States tend to be of lasting interest to students. The first period was the arrival of Mountain Men and the opening of the Santa Fe Trail, roughly 1800-1848. During this period, Mexican influence remained dominant. The U.S. was probing the area to determine exactly what we had purchased from Napoleon. Survey parties and trappers brought back tales that encouraged further U.S. involvement in the Southwest.

The Santa Fe Trail

The second period extended from 1848 until the end of the 19th century. There are two sub-divisions within the later 19th century, the Civil War and the Wild Western period when cattle and cowboys became legendary. The westernmost battles of the Civil War were fought on New Mexican soil between Texas Confederates and Union soldiers from California. After the Late Unpleasantness, displaced soldiers (especially from the South) became common in the Southwest. In those days the great resource of Texas was wild cattle, and the great need of Northern Cities was beef. Anglos learned the stockman's trade from the Mexican Vaqueros, and to this day those influences remain important to Southwestern culture.

Civil War Links

Free and independent drovers were challenged for domination of western lands by some Indian tribes who would rather die than give up their culture before the advancing Anglo tide. The Comanche, a branch of the Shoshone who seized upon horse culture very early, raided primarily along a north-south axis through west Texas and eastern New Mexico. Navajos, a sub-branch of the Apache, raided Anglos, Pueblos and Mexicans in northern New Mexico and Arizona until they were "pacified" by Kit Carson. In the far south, Apache bands virtually owned Arizona and New Mexico, and a small number of warriors ran circles around the U.S. Army.

Chisolm Trail (read this one)
Territorial Links

Those were violent times and the vast distances of the Southwest often meant that no law existed beyond that carried in a holster. Cattle and horses were stolen, recovered and the rustlers executed without compunction. Even where law-enforcement did exist, the office was often filled by men who were either former outlaws, or moonlighting bandits. Out of the chaos stepped legends. Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War is perhaps the best known of the old New Mexican gun slinging incidents. There were countless others who are now mostly lost to history.

Outlaws

The third period that seems to catch the popular imagination began during WWII, when the Manhattan Engineering Project set up shop in Los Alamos near Santa Fe. New Mexico became one of the world's scientific centers as a result of the design and testing of the first Atomic Bomb. Los Alamos remains one of the most important places within the U.S. Defense system. The state is home to several essential Air Force installations, and many of our citizens are connected to the armed forces. Sandia Lab in Albuquerque is an advance research facility that now makes important contributions in a number of fields. The open, clear skies of New Mexico make it an important center of astronomical research. Large radio-telescopes are tuned to the heavens searching for clues to the nature of the universe, and for possible signals from some remote civilization.

Science and Technology in New Mexico

Now that I've booked a room at the Howard Johnsons on Pan America, I'm really getting excited.

Asherman, have you seen any of the tall grass prairie that has been revived? I'm not sure if it extends into New Mexico; mostly, it goes from Canada down the center of the U.S. It represents what the Great Desert looked like before the buffalo were wiped out and cattle drives, then houses and parking lots became the norm.

The Chisolm Trail was a fine link. My father was born in a little town in Texas that no longer exists. It probably declined due to the end of the cattle drives.

C.I., I had heard that about the aboringines. Natives always seem to be treated abominably.
Still wish you could join us.

Can't say that I've seen the restored prairies of the Great American Desert.

My great grandfather once made a trail drive north out of Texas. Glasscock County is named for that branch of our family. Other relatives took part in the battle of San Jacinto, survived the Black Bean Affair, and died in the Alamo. We fought on both sides of the Civil War. A southern branch lost the old plantation (near the present site of Disneyland, Fla) after a murder outside a local tavern, and moved to Texas to raise sheep. Mr. Brown, a family factotum, had known several of the outlaws in his youth and fascinated us children with tales of the frontier. I couldn't live anywhere else but the Southwest. I've traveled widely and even lived for a short time in New England, but my heart has always been here.

Ashman, And we all can understand why. Your love of the southwest shows through in your posts. c.i.

Here is a link to an Albuquerque area guide that may answer some of your questions, and help make your visit more enjoyable.

Albuquerque

Asherman, do you know of a restaurant that would give us a small private room? Our group might not be large enough, but some restaurants are very accomodating.

I think enough of us are of an age where hearing has become a bit of a problem and, since we don't get to see each other very often, I'd rather have a chance to visit even more than having a memorable meal.

Ah hear that!

By my calculations there will likely be two dinners and three lunches. Roger won't arrive before the 24th, so that dinner will probably should be the most "elaborate". Dinner on the 23rd will probably be for fewer people, and less formal. I believe La Pinto will be able to give us both a memorable meal, and an environment where conversation can take place. I think someone indicated that they would like to dine at the County Line. It would be a bit louder, but with a smaller number at the table it would probably be alright.

Lunches will depend, I think, a lot on what activities the group decides on.

I imagine one day would chiefly be spent mostly here at Corazon visiting. People can swim, congregate in the Bar, sit on the patio, browse the Library, or lounge in the Great Room. In short, a relaxing day where conversation dominates the activity schedule. We will try to have fingerfoods available, and might send out for something like pizza. We have a propane BBQ where hot dogs and hamburgers might be cooked, but I haven't a clue as to how to run the darned thing. I've thought that this might be the 23rd, as it would give folks a chance to discuss and settle on what they would like to do for the remainder of the visit.

I believe I'm hearing some agreement for a day trip to the East Mountain area. That drive would take us to Sandia Crest to enjoy the distant views. Part two of that trip would probably either be to continue up to the arts colony at Madrid, or to make a hike along the summit. Of course, both might be crammed into a longer day. In either case, lunch would be taken in that part of the country. That's one day, but which day would it to be? We don't know when Roger will arrive, and I think he would want to go to the top of the Sandias, so that makes the 24 shaky. Some folks will be leaving on the 25th, and that might cause some scheduling problems. It's up to the group.

Some may leave late on the 25th, or on the 26th, and we will need to make some plans to accomodate their wishes for meals and activities.