Albuquerque New Mexico is where the hit TV show ‘Breaking Bad’ was filmed. While visiting my great aunty and uncle who live there I had my very own breaking bad experience. I was out jogging in the hills near their house. On the way back the neighbors’ dogs started to bark so I went over to give them a wee pat and say hello. All of a sudden the front door burst open and the nextdoor neighbor jumped out armed with a flashlight and a large black handgun. “Who’s there” he bellowed. My hollywood style reaction was to raise my hands very slowly and say “hello I’m your neighbors great nephew, please don’t shoot me!”. The gun was lowered and the neighbour apologised profusely, then invited me in for a drink. Apparently there are still cowboys in the west!
My other New Mexico experiences where much more tranquil, I visited the Roswell alien museum and sampled some incredible Mexican food. I also checked out Acacia Skycity, an Native American village that is over a 1000 years old. I was amazed to find that for thousands of years the Native American’s had been using large sheets of mica, a naturally occurring mineral crystal, to make translucent windows for their houses. My favorite thing about Acacia was the tiny pathway that lead from the canyon floor up to the safety of the village. The path lead through a small cave and wound around massive rocks, as the route got steeper I could see steps that had been worn into the rock by thousands of feet over the ages. Without a guide I think the entrance could have easily remained hidden to any passers bye.
One thing about New Mexico really surprised me. I was shocked by the beauty of the landscape. The grasslands and rolling pastures stretch on forever, never quite touching the horizon. The deep blue sky feels like a gigantic natural force that is trying to swallow the world. Albuquerque is famed for is electrical storms. While I was there there was an incredible lightning show. For over an hour huge forks of lighting struck the earth, again and again venting god’s wrath. Ominously the storm drew closer, rain lashing across the valley of Albuquerque when it was less than a mile away there was a large zag of lightning hit the local electrical substation which exploded in a bright purple flash, accompanied by a huge bang louder than the thunder!
There were a few things in New Mexico that I didn’t get to do, such as visit Zero Point, the location where the first ever atomic bomb was tested. The crater is still there and the desert sand has been turned to glass due to the heat of the explosion! There are also some incredible caves and caverns in Carlsbad another small town in New Mexico and nearby a selection of abandoned mining ghost towns that I want to go back and visit…