Want to visit NM...need help picking a city (Albuquerque: to rent, motel)

[GregW]

Day 1 - Las Cruces/Messillia; Day 2 - Alamogordo/Cloudcroft/Ruidoso; - Day 3 - return to Las Cruces via White Sands Monument. Day 4 - return home and dream about New Mexico

Three days is not enough time. alternate suggestion is stay in Las Cruces/Mesaillia/Organ mountains area.

I wonder if I could get a part time job as a vacation planner in NM?

[Pintada Kid]

The East Mountain area is your Logical choice rent a car in Albuquerque not at the Airport it will cost more then the Taxi to an outside car Rental but cheaper. Visit the East Mountain area about a half hour drive east of Albuquerque through the Mountains and rent a motel in Moriarty by the week or month. You are now in the Very center of N.M. and can go in either direction to Santa Fe or Albuquerque and you are surrounded by small towns like Estancia, Willard, Mountainair, etc. Remember although Silver City is a beautiful place with mountains and wonderful people it is very Isolated from the Rest of N.M. over 300 miles away from Santa Fe. Read the East Mountain Telegraph and the Independent that should give you some idea about all the Activities in the Summer and fall there and rent and Land. Santa Fe is very expensive in their motels especially if theres something going on in town. Moriarty with its surrounding mountains and small towns and forest and Across from the City Park in Moriarty i was there a couple of days ago and the Lady selling Burritos in a Trailer there has the Best Green Chili Burritos that are huge for only 2.50 a Burrito and she sets her Trailer on the East side of Moriarty the Indoor, Outdoor Flea Market also. The Flea Market is my favorite area on Nice Days especially on Weekends when it fills up with all the Local people who are very Friendly. You should be able to buy all kinds of Chili at the Flea Market and directions on cooking chili and if you like Flea Markets and yard sales and meeting friendly people the East Mountain area is the Logical Choice for anyone visiting N.M. and the Weather rarely gets to 100 in the day. New Mexico is very dry this year so some of the forest areas all over the State might have some Restrictions. Check out the Little towns like Madrid and on south along the Mountains theres lots of Old Churches and little like Tajique, Torreon Manzano, Chilili, Escobosa and come back out at Interstate 40 and theres picnic grounds and hiking areas in the Mountains over Looking Belen and Albuquerque. Dont forget the Giant Flea Market in Albuquerque on weekends. el pintada kid

[The Village Idiot]

You do understand that it is a possibility -- that with bad luck -- you could have over days with the max over 100 in Las Cruces at the time you'll be there?

I thought about that so I checked the historical records for Las Cruces. Over the last 12 years, the high temp. for July 3-6 has been in the triple digits 25% of the time.

(Of course it will cool off at night considerably and you can always head for the mountains during the day.)

That's our plan. It sounds like there's a good variety of things to do, so we'll determine what to do each day depending on the weather.

I only raise the question out of concern for your marriage.

Thanks.

[soco_warrior]

i would suggest driving down to socorro. there is alot of history down here. you can visit a church that was built in the late 1500's, which most of socorro goes to every sunday, and also from socorro you can visit the bosque del appache(lots of wildlife), the VLA (Veay Large Array, it is a bunch of satalite dishes that study the universe around us), also there is hiking that can be done around the area, also New Mexico Tech (people from around the world attend this college to learn about different technologies , most that are being used in Iraq i.e. bombs, missles, ect.), there is also alot of scenic driving that can be done around here, and it is pretty much the middle of NM so you can go any which way you desire from here

[SilverCity]

Silver City is a great pick and hope to help you find a place here.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by The Village Idiot

I thought about that so I checked the historical records for Las Cruces. Over the last 12 years, the high temp. for July 3-6 has been in the triple digits 25% of the time.


That's our plan. It sounds like there's a good variety of things to do, so we'll determine what to do each day depending on the weather.


Thanks.

You can't go wrong no matter what area you choose. I don't think the heat of Las Cruces is bad at all. It's a whole different kind of heat, you won't sweat. You won't feel that muggy wet sticky feeling.

My rule of thumb when it comes to figuring out the comfort level is subtract at least 15 degrees if you're comparing El Paso/Las Cruces with a high humidity area.

100 degrees here is more like 85 in Chicago or Dallas. Just drink loads of fluids. 100 degrees in Las Cruces with a large cold iced tea ---- you can't beat that. I love hiking in 100 desert degrees.

[The Village Idiot]

I checked the average heat index in Las Cruces for July 3-6 compared to the average heat index here during those days, and it's only a couple of degrees higher than ours...thanks to our humidity. We were living in Norfolk, Virginia before we moved back to Kentucky last year, and its heat index is actually higher than Las Cruces during July 3-6! So anyway, it won't really feel too different from what we're used to, even if we stay in the lower elevations during the day.

I went ahead and made our reservations tonight...and I'm getting more excited about our trip by the day. I've already accepted the fact that we'll never be able to do everything we want in three days, so that will just mean more trips in the future. Actually, I'm trying to prepare myself for the fact that I will most likely want to relocate to New Mexico after seeing it in person.

[SilverCity]

It's nice to have a backyard 3.3 million acres big. That's why I'll be here for a long time discovering more and more each year.

[nmchick]

T or C (as the locals call it) is a quirky small town (under 8,000) with a burgeoning arts scene. We have 10 hot mineral water bath houses; 2 lakes; the Rio Grande River; 2 golf courses; a monthly Art Hop (2nd Sat of each month at 6 p.m.); 5 sites on the NM Fiber Arts Trail in the county; a museum; Vietnam Memorial; an art space/gourmet foods/home decor/gift store that specializes in New Mexico made, representing over 100 NM artists, artisans, craftspeople & companies. It's a great walking town and you can rent a car here in town, too. Lots of great day trips from here (White Sands National Monument, City of Rocks, Very Large Array, Chloride Museum etc.) Future home of Spaceport America! I came here and fell in love with it; moved here over 2 years ago. Friendly people, good prices on art and souvenirs.

[Towanda]

I admit I am completely biased, because I LOVE northern New Mexico year round .... but I just can't imagine visiting New Mexico for just a few days and not visiting Santa Fe, Taos, Red River, Eagle Nest and Angel Fire.

Gorgeous scenery, (generally) cool summer weather, a little bit of city life / tourists ... and a whole lot of wonderful towns to see....and of course ... GREAT FOOD!