Where In The World Is Sum1?

Santa Fe Again!

Date: Week of April 15^th


Locale: Santa Fe, New Mexico


         First and foremost, this is one of my longest entries!


         They say it's always good to go home, and for me, being anywhere in New Mexico is being home.  I can't begin to tell you how comfortable I feel being there. But first, the reason that caused me to be home once again.

         My customer this week was the State of New Mexico, Department of Information Technology.    The class covered the equipment on a Motorola Trunked Radio Site.  It was a little odd, because they didn't want us touching a live site (and rightly so in many ways), but provided the same equipment in a small trailer near the building.  The only thing about that was this equipment was not assembled in the same manner as their sites are.  So there was a lot of discussion on how the radio worked, a lot of hands-on activities for them, but it wasn't exact way they would see it.  This made for an interesting class.  Everything went well, the students learned a lot, and seemed happy with the everything overall.


         The week before Santa Fe, I was in El Paso delivering a class.  I spent the weekend in New Mexico playing tourist, and relaxing a little.  Since the El Paso class was so short, I was done on Wednesday afternoon.  So Thursday I went north into New Mexico, and explored a couple of small towns I am considering retiring in, Silver City, and Deming.  Both are great small towns, but Silver City is at 7,000 feet elevation.  While that's not an issue for me, it's also very hilly, and may present problems as I age.  Deming was relatively flat, and about 2000 feet lower in elevation, so to me, it's a more desirable destination.  The drawback there though, is that it's only 40 miles or so from the Mexican border.  Don't let the news of today fool you, or mislead you on what's going on at the border.  Trump's wall?  Yep, it's very necessary, long past due.  There's a lot going on at the border that we rarely hear about in the news.  Enough about that kind of stuff.

         I spent Thursday night in Las Cruces, and had a great dinner at La Posta De Mesilla.  If you're ever in that area, it's an almost must stop kind of place.  Very reasonably priced dinners, excellent food and service.  Friday I headed north to my true home in New Mexico, Albuquerque.  Along the way, I stopped in Hatch, NM, home of that world famous chile festival.  Except that happens in September, so right now, it's a sleepy, small town whose whole livelyhood and notoriety is centered around green chile peppers.  I tried to stop at Spaceport America, but found out that you can only visit it by booking a tour through one specific tour company.  Now there's someone who has a corner on a market!

         Saturday I decided to head a little south again, then west, and visited the Very Large Array outside Socorro.  This was definitely worth my time!  I was fascinated by the 90 foot tall Radio Satellite dishes, all 27 of them.  Reading about how they are used in the exploration of space could have kept me going for days if not weeks and months.  I ended up spending about 3 hours there (it's a 2 hour drive one way from Albuquerque), and got back to my hotel about 5pm.  I ended up meeting my niece for  dinner at a restaurant in Old Town Albuquerque, La Placita.  Another excellent meal there too.  Sunday was my day to rest and relax some, and get wash done.  Sunday night I visited my Sister-In-Law Ruth, and she fixed us a outstanding New Mexican meal of Indian Taco's with homemade sopaipillas, and all the fixin's needed for both the tacos and the sopaipillas.

         Monday was my travel day to Santa Fe, but I took the long route through the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque.  I got on State Highway 333 (really is Old Route 66.  Wish it was still called that) in Tejeras Canyon, and drove along one stretch at 45 miles an hour.  Why so slow?  At a certain spot on that  road, if you straddle the white line on the right hand side of the road, you'll hear 'America The Beautiful' played, caused by the tires on the road!  It is truly a unique experience.  Sadly though, the song only plays when east bound, not west bound.  (Look for a blue sign that states 'Entering Musical Highway zone', or something like that).  I also drove through the town of Madrid, famous from the movie 'Wild Hogs'.  Maggie's Diner is not a restaurant, it's a store!  How sad.

         Once class was done on Thursday, I visited the Taos Pueblo.  I have wanted to visit here since I was knee high to a grasshopper.  There was no way I was going to not visit on this trip!  Frdaiy morning I headed for the midwest, leaving this beautiful state behind.  Along the way, I stopped at Fort Union National Monument (I visit National Parks and Monuments every chance I get).  I also stopped in the little town of Clayton NM to see dinosaur tracks!  That was pretty interesting....


Noteworthy Restaurants:


         La Posta De Mesilla, Las Cruces          https://www.laposta-de-mesilla.com/          This is a restaurant that has seen the likes of Billy The Kid, Pancho Villa, and Kit Carson dine there at one time or another.  Outstanding traditional New Mexican food.  I chose their Chile Rellenos, and they were some of the best I've ever had.

         Cowgirl BBQ, Santa Fe          http://www.cowgirlsantafe.com/pages/menus.php          Cabeza De Ajo.  A head of roasted garlic in melted jack cheese, tomatillo salsa, and Crostini's.  Yummmm.  And that was just an appetizer!

         Prime-On-The-Nine, Dodge City, Kansas          http://primeonthenine.com/dinner-menu/          Despite this being a steakhouse, I had their Mahi-Mahi.  Grilled Mahi-Mahi with a sweet, citrus, cherry glaze, served with green beans and almond rice.  The glaze had a bit of a kick, with sriracha sauce in it.  Excellent!


Photo's From Visit:

Very Large Array Satellite Dish


Storm Approaching The Very Large Array


Taos Pueblo


San Geronimo Church, Taos Pueblo


The Original San Geronimo Church, Taos Pueblo

Historic/Interesting Places Visited:

         The Very Large Array          vla.nrao.edu  For the geek in all of us, or anyone who loves any subject involving space exploration


         Musical Highway          https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/45182  This is worth the small detour off I 40, just for fun!

         Taos Pueblo          http://taospueblo.com/  If you have any interest in Native Americans, particularly the Pueblo people and how they lived (still live in some cases), this is a must see location.

In Closing

         I will spend part of next week in Schaumburg attending a short class before going to Colorado the following week.  Til next time, be good to yourselves and those you love, and WRITE!



Jim Dorrell