OT: Places to Visit in New Mexico and/or Arizona

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blainejennifer
blainejennifer Member Posts: 1,848
edited November 2017 in Stage IV/Metastatic Breast Cancer ONLY

My DS is studying Anthropology in college, and for Xmas break wanted to visit New Mexico to investigate Mojave/Anglo American culture.

Do any of you have ideas as to what would be good places to visit?

We'll probably take the train from NY, as after 9/11 (we lived near the towers), I find flying pretty darn stressful - still. We used to take the train to visit family in Texas, so the Chicago lay-over is old hat.

I'm thinking that we'd probably do best to stay away from very popular tourist areas, as that would skew DS's research, which mainly involves getting people to chat about their environment and answer certain dataset questions he's got. But, I want to have fun too!

I remember driving through New Mexico years ago, and thinking it was the most beautiful place in the world. The natural scenery is awesome.

It will be my first big travel with cancer, so if you have any wisdom about that, I would very much appreciate it. Hopefully, Doxil will stay the course till after the trip, so I won't have to deal with progression and treatment change, having laid down $$ for travel. The little I've looked into trip insurance excludes me, as I am very much in active treatment. I just realized that I should get it for DS though, right?

Many thanks for any information and tips you might have. I am coming from a place of complete ignorance, and DS is being a typical academic about the planning - if you know what I mean :)

Jennifer

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  • Outfield
    Outfield Member Posts: 1,109
    edited October 2017

    I am in New Mexico. I don't think the Mojave extended down into here, although that's definitely not my area of expertise. I just have heard nothing about them being in New Mexico, and you do hear all the time references to the Pueblos in New Mexico (each Pueblo is its own culture, language, etc - Zia, Zuni, Laguna, Acoma, Nambe, Sandia, Isleta, Cochiti, Jemez, Taos, Tesuque, San Ildefonse, Santa Ana, San Felipe, Santa Clara, Pojoaque, Picuris and Ohkay Owinge), and the Navajo Nation includes a big chunk of western New Mexico. There are also large Apache reservations - Jicarilla, Mescalero and Ft. Sill. But I've never heard of Mojave in New Mexico. I'm not sure where you'd find much historical Anglo stuff either, unless it's up toward Colorado or along the eastern edge of the state. New Mexico's history as an area of Spanish expansion and then Mexico comprises many more years than its history as part of the US. Old things of European influence here are very, very Spanish, but there were Civil War forts scattered throughout the state.

    Every pueblo I've been to has been interesting. Acoma is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the US, and is up on a mesa - it's also got a horrible history of punishment by the Spaniards. I would check and see if any pueblo near where you're going has a festival at the time you are going through. The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque is cool and often has dancers in their center courtyard.

    I have never lived in a place so thoroughly immersed and living in its history as New Mexico. I don't mean that in a bad "living in the past" way: I mean it as the past is alive through the present here. People do live in a context of historical awareness. And you're right - it is the most beautiful place. The train that goes out to LA is gorgeous, passing through really beautiful areas.

    New Mexico is a healthcare desert. The only major medical centers are in Albuquerque. UNM has a lot of very bright people, but is the safety net hospital, underfunded, and the only Level III trauma center in the entire state. If you were seriously ill it's probably an OK place to go, but for anything other than imminently life-threatening it's a misery. I'd stay away from Lovelace or either of the Westside hospitals, which leaves Presbyterian if you have something not life-threatening.

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  • NO1-2NV
    NO1-2NV Member Posts: 95
    edited October 2017

    Good morning Jennifer,

    New Mexico is an incredibly diverse state. Might I suggest your DS contact the anthropology department at the University of New Mexico. There is much research that is being done and the department could be a treasure trove of information and ideas with regards to historical sites to visit.

    I am not sure how long you will be in New Mexico but one site you will want to absolutely visit will be Chaco canyon. This site is also a national park. It is believed that Chaco had major significance within the native population. There is an old saying...all roads lead to Chaco. Just make sure you dress for New Mexico weather. We are high desert which means warm/hot dry summers and cold winters. We do get snow. Not like upstate New York snow but we do get snow.

    Eastern New Mexico is famous for Clovis Point man. This is one of the oldest evidence of man ever found. There is a small museum between Clovis and Portales that is all about Clovis Point. For more information on this, you can contact the anthropology department at Eastern New Mexico University.

    We actually have a few sites around the Albuquerque area. We have Petroglyphs national monument located in Albuquerque and a state historical site that Cortez and his men camped at along the Rio Grande in Bernalillo, NM.

    University of New Mexico hospital is a level 1 trauma center. We have hospitals in all of our larger cities/towns. We are accustomed to transporting patients into larger facilities if needed. The hospitals on the eastern side of the state will transport to UMC in Lubbock TX. The facility is associated with the University of Texas, Lubbock. This facility is also a level 1 trauma center.

    Might I ask why you would need travel insurance? I would contact your regular health insurance companies customer service department regarding your coverage while traveling within the U.S. Usually you are covered for emergencies within the U.S. if you have an HMO and if you have a PPO you should be covered not only for emergencies but would also be covered for other services at the out of network percentages. I would call and confirm though.

    Welcome to New Mexico. Have fun.

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  • blainejennifer
    blainejennifer Member Posts: 1,848
    edited October 2017

    You guys are amazing! So much wonderful information. I can't tell you how grateful I am. It's given me ammunition to get DS out of the clouds and in to planning phase.

    Thrilled beyond measure for all your help. We've decided to take the train into Albuquerque, and proceed from there via car.

    Daydreaming of mesas and red soil,

    Jennifer

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  • Outfield
    Outfield Member Posts: 1,109
    edited November 2017

    My bad! That's a terrible error in my above post and I'm not sure how I made it - UNM is indeed a level I trauma center!

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  • SandiBeach57
    SandiBeach57 Member Posts: 1,617
    edited November 2017

    I copied this info for future reference. I have never traveled to this state. Please let us know about your trip!


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  • Cure-ious
    Cure-ious Member Posts: 2,626
    edited November 2017

    SandiBeach,

    Thanks for 'bumping' this thread, I had missed it! I love Santa Fe, in fact am heading there tomorrow for a friend's 60-th birthday- its incredible!

    In the off-chance that you have not already booked reservations, I highly recommend Rancho Jacona, it is a large former artist colony with smaller houses just perfect for an extended family/friends group. Each casita has its own kitchen and fireplace with pinon logs, the largest one has a crib in adjoining the master. Its a working farm too, so there are goats and horses and pigs and bunnies for the kids, and my favorite are peacocks, free-range! We last stayed there over Xmas 2015 and it snowed- its a few miles out of town, so you need a car, but it is magical. We had a roaming dinner one night, went to everyone's casita for each different course. It is old adobe construction with the very thick walls, wonderful place.

    Here is a link to Rancho Jacona: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g47156-d5...


    Also, if you go to Santa Fe, there is a hand-made ceramic ware place Rainbow Gate, which is my dinnerware- they put up a few one-of-a-kind pieces online, but the store has much more- its pricey, for sure, and I had to save up for years to get a set, but so worth it...

    Here is a link for Rainbow Gate, the online pieces are in the cupboard section: http://www.rainbowgate.com/


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