Alaskan street names in Rio Rancho? (Albuquerque: spring break, houses, neighborhood)

[WinterJo]

I was checking out homes in Rio Rancho via the internet. I noticed several on streets named Soldotna, Wasilla, and Wrangell. They seem a little out of place for the Southwest. Not that I mind, I would love living on an Alaskan street. Is there a story behind naming streets after places in Alaska?

[Poncho_NM]

Originally Posted by WinterJo

I was checking out homes in Rio Rancho via the internet. I noticed several on streets named Soldotna, Wasilla, and Wrangell. They seem a little out of place for the Southwest. Not that I mind, I would love living on an Alaskan street. Is there a story behind naming streets after places in Alaska?

Not aware of those street names. I found Wrangell Loop NE on the map, we have been to the elementary school a few blocks away. The neighborhood is maybe 10 years old.

I did not look up the names, could possibly be Native American words?

[WinterJo]

Originally Posted by Poncho_NM

Not aware of those street names. I found Wrangell Loop NE on the map, we have been to the elementary school a few blocks away. The neighborhood is maybe 10 years old.

I did not look up the names, could possibly be Native American words?

Thanks! I guess it was Wrangell Loop that I saw and it made me wonder after seeing both Wasilla and Soldotna Drives. Since I haven't been to Rio Rancho yet, I am not sure where either actually is but the houses on Soldotna Drive seemed new and according to the descriptions are in Lomas Encantadas.

To the best of my knowledge, Soldotna is a Russian word and Wasilla is an Athabascan word and chief. We are coming down for spring break so we can check out the area so I will drive over then and check it out since we want to explore Rio Rancho anyway.

[Zoidberg]

When you have vast swathes of suburbia, where the names should be easy to spell, not too easy to confuse with other parts of suburbia, and you want people to buy houses on those streets, you get far further than, say, Wasilla Drive than 41st Circle N.E..

I much prefer place names versus Spanish mad libs, often misconjugated:

_____ _____ Street:

Calle..........del Sol
Via.............Bonita
Sierra..........Arriba
Camino.......Contento
Tierra..........Monte
Mesa..........Largo
Valle...........Vista
Paseo..........Pintada
Rio.............Rancho

Albuquerque has stretches of streets named after US states, California cities, WWII generals, mining products, numbers, signs of the zodiac, and now-frumpy ladies' names. That's much better than two-word combinations in Spanish that are never spoken in practice.

[jiminnm]

I don't know if this is still the case, but the subdivision developer was responsible for selecting street names in the development. I expect the names were subject to some review by the city or county. Some streets in our area carry the names of children of the developer.

[rwjoyak]

My wife and I grew up in Alaska, and also noticed the Alaska street names when we moved here. The Lomas Encantadas development in northern Rio Rancho has numerous streets named after Alaskan towns, including Fairbanks, Kodiak, North Pole, Nome, Wasilla, Wrangell, Soldotna, Kenai, Trapper Creek, and Skagway. These aren't just native American names, they are clearly Alaskan town-related. We don't know why, but have assumed somebody in the development company must have had Alaskan roots.

[WinterJo]

Originally Posted by rwjoyak

My wife and I grew up in Alaska, and also noticed the Alaska street names when we moved here. The Lomas Encantadas development in northern Rio Rancho has numerous streets named after Alaskan towns, including Fairbanks, Kodiak, North Pole, Nome, Wasilla, Wrangell, Soldotna, Kenai, Trapper Creek, and Skagway. These aren't just native American names, they are clearly Alaskan town-related. We don't know why, but have assumed somebody in the development company must have had Alaskan roots.

That makes sense about the developer. I lived in AK for six years but before that, I wouldn't even have known what Soldotna was. Now if they only had a Homer street. I would buy a house on that one in a heartbeat! I think one of the reasons I like Albuquerque is that it sorta reminds me of Anchorage.

[SunGrins]

My neighborhood is indian tribal names from Idaho or Montana, not local names. I guess it is an art rather than a science. I hate numbered streets. In Albuquerque you have to remember that various street names change for no apparent reason.

[Poncho_NM]

Who is/was Juan Tabo and why did they name a road after him?