Maybe the biggest thing you notice about New Mexico that is not like Washington is the weather. It is definitely warmer here, but also much sunnier, lots of clear days. We have gotten some rain, but unlike that place I still want to think of as "home," it can rain here and then be clear soon after. We have seen a couple of gray days, but only a couple.
The landscapes here look completely different. In Washington, undeveloped areas are usually forests. I am convinced that all of Western Washington would be covered in pine trees if people had not intervened. Not so here. You get long views unobstructed by trees, and the land is covered with scrub. It's not the sand you get in really dry places, but it's very dry - not trees, not fields of grass. You see an occasional line of trees where there is a creek or river.
The trees in my balloon picture have been watered, by the way. Stuff will grow if you water it.
Mexican food is everywhere. I think more than half of the restaurants in Bernalillo are Mexican. What we have tried so far has been very good. They have Taco Bell here too, which seems funny to me, but they are pretty common. Maybe white people have to have something to eat.
We are at about 5,000 feet elevation, although it would be hard to tell if I did not know. I have not noticed any thinness in the air. However, there are hills and mountains all around us. The views here are great.
Speed limits are 75 on the freeways away from Albuquerque. Gas costs under $3 per gallon. People run red lights here - you have to pay attention. Church's Chicken is everywhere (this is a good thing.) Lots of places and streets have Spanish names, similar to California. Arlo has gotten stickers in his feet about five times already.
People from Albuquerque are called Burqueños or Burqueñas, just so you know.
No rattlesnakes, tarantulas, or scorpions so far. It's early days.
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