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New Mexico is probably the least racist state in all of the USA. It is a shame that you will not be able to spend some time getting to know a few folks. It is a genuinely hospitable state with down-to-earth people that will stop and help you if you're stranded. Enjoy the ride and do try a local restaurant or two.
When Juarez is in New Mexico, that'll be the day southern Florida is annexed by Cuba
All jokes aside, let me answer your questions.
1.) There isn't any real prejudice against Americans of African descent, unless you decide to make it a problem.. you know, self-fulfilling prophecies and all that. The post about "no prejudice, but curiosity", while I am sure is well-meaning, sorta makes it sound like we've never seen black people in New Mexico.. which is false. More than anything else, people will notice and wonder where you came from and where you're going when they see you filling up at the gas station.
2. Even though it's already been said, Juarez is NOT A PART OF NM or ANY OTHER state.. if you go there, you've not only taken a wrong turn but put your life and those of your family into the hands of fate.
3. Las Cruces is not a "small desert town", it is a pretty large city in the region and its size surpasses Santa Fe. It is a very nice place, I go to college there Life in Las Cruces is very university-centered and as such you will find most of the nicer hotels around the university.
4. New Mexico is very safe. Arizona is pretty safe. Don't pick up hitchhikers. Keep one person awake in the car if you're gonna all stop to doze at a rest stop.
5. The California drive is insane. Speed limits and driving habits differ radically from Texas to New Mexico to Arizona to California.
A lot of this is dependent on where you are going though
5. The scenery in NM and AZ is very nice.
Okay well originally I was answering everyone's response with reps but I feel I MUST clear some things up with everyone. We will be taking a trip from San Antonio, TX to San Rafael, CA which is in the Bay Area. Why not plane? Because it's cheaper and we have never seen that side of the U.S. My mom has but not my sister and me. Anyway, the directions according to Google Maps says that we are passing in 2 New Mexico towns or border towns or something. The first one is called Juarez, the second is Las Cruces. I don't know a thing about either of them. Then we pass through Tucson. Then Phoenix, then San Bernardino, then LA, then San Jose, and finally on to San Francisco Bay.
Okay. I can breathe now. No but seriously thank you all for the advice. I really appreciate all the answers I got and I will definitely use them to my advantage on the trip!
Okay well I googled mapped again, and I look at everything again. Gawd am I slow! I had no idea that was Mexico! I wasn't looking right and obviously not paying attention!! I thought Mexico was below Texas or something.I forgot it was huge and was connected to like four different U.S. states!! Retard moment. Forgive me.
I ran the directions from San Antonio to San Rafael and until you actually zoom in on the TX/NM border portion, it does appear that you would go through Juarez, El Paso is not even mentioned. Zoom in and you see that you stay on the US side of El Paso/Juarez and El Paso actually now shows up.
Someone needs to ring Google's bell on this! You really need to zoom in A LOT before El Paso appears on their maps. Granted that Juarez has about twice the population as El Paso, but it is definitely misleading to not have it show on the larger image of the USA.
Shoot, I'd worry more about going through San Bernardino than I would NM.
(ex SoCal native here)
Sounds like a nice trip - San Francisco is going to be lovely this time of year. Enjoy!
Just a thought - Do you have to go up through the middle of California? If you'd like a scenic drive, I would head straight up to Colorado then take the Bryce and Zion route across through CO and UT. You would go through upper Nevada (Carson City, Tahoe) and then straight across to SanFran. Grand Canyon - Bryce Canyon - Zion National Park Map
Just a thought - Do you have to go up through the middle of California? If you'd like a scenic drive, I would head straight up to Colorado then take the Bryce and Zion route across through CO and UT. You would go through upper Nevada (Carson City, Tahoe) and then straight across to SanFran. Grand Canyon - Bryce Canyon - Zion National Park Map
And that is where the problem starts. There is so much to see! Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park are wonderful. Yes, Grand Canyon is worth seeing also. Everything you mentioned is worth seeing...
Someone needs to ring Google's bell on this! You really need to zoom in A LOT before El Paso appears on their maps. Granted that Juarez has about twice the population as El Paso, but it is definitely misleading to not have it show on the larger image of the USA.
I think I know exactly what happens with regard to Google's mapping services. The tiles are cached at different scale dependencies. When they are zoomed in, the points, which represent cities, render labels, when it zooms out to a certain scale, the labels no longer render. The label rendering is based on population. Juarez's population is double that of El Paso. Google has done this very much by design, so as to avoid 'label collision' when zooming out to smaller scales. So, when zoomed out to 'country' level, El Paso's labels are going to be suppressed in deference to Juarez. The same might actually hold true if you were to go to San Diego/Tijuana, because Tijuana has more people, the same holds with Matramoros and Brownsville.
Sounds like a nice trip - San Francisco is going to be lovely this time of year. Enjoy!
“The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco” Mark Twain
We were in San Franciso last year in May for our 25th anniversary and it was really, really cold. I do love San Francisco though. It is alway a good time. The food is wonderful.
“The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco” Mark Twain
We were in San Franciso last year in May for our 25th anniversary and it was really, really cold. I do love San Francisco though. It is alway a good time. The food is wonderful.
Yeah, May is still on the cold side, but it's almost over. I was thinking they might be going during June or July.
LOL @ the Mark Twain quote
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Life in Las Cruces is very university-centered and as such you will find most of the nicer hotels around the university.
I can breathe now. No but seriously thank you all for the advice. I really appreciate all the answers I got and I will definitely use them to my advantage on the trip!
