Misconceptions

Way back in the 20th century, circa 1986, [I had just moved to Los Angeles], I was having a burger at the Sunset Grill on Sunset Blvd next to the Guitar Center. when this "tourist" fella sitting next to me asked where I was from. I told him, New Mexico and he says..."oh yeah? man I love Acapulco." ...DOH!!! New Mexico became a state in 1912, FYI.

Think of New Mexico and many people think of the John Ford westerns [which were actually shot in California and Arizona] dust and whirlwinds and saguro cactus etc

.

New Mexico is actually at the tail end of the Rocky Mtns. Half of the city of Albuquerque is over a mile high and last winter two days before Denver had to close its airport due to snow, we closed ours!!! We had almost three feet of snow in some parts of the city. The further south you go the hotter it gets until you find yourself in White Sands [if you've seen the movie TRANSFORMERS, the military base scenes were shot there and substituted for Iraq] , that being said it still does not look like what most folks think New Mexico should look like.

Bordered by the dry dusty Arizona desert to the west and Texas and the Gulf of Mexico further southeast we sit right smack dab in the middle of 'cold air meets warm moist air' and the resulting effect in summer are the monsoons. Drenching rain with thick moisture and humidity. Come September its nice and 70s again and by October we get chilly nights and mornings.

Why bring this up? The following pictures show you how cool the Sandia Mtns can be this time of year. You would swear you were in Seattle or Oregon. Alas...THIS is New Mexico in summer.