My head's a balloon, Inflating with the Altitude

My 5-month stint in New Mexico (Part 1)

I have to say, 2023 has been a very unexpected year - in a good way. In the first half, I had an unique opportunity to live and work in New Mexico for 5 months. This stint, as it turned out, was exactly the tonic I needed after the tumultuous 2022. In the next two posts, I’ll give you an overview of what was waiting for me in the Land of Enchantment.

My first hike on Albuquerque’s Sandia Mountains took longer than expected (because, altitude) and concluded after dark. The sunset and the city lights of ABQ are just so friggin’ unforgettable.

The Sun & the Blue Sky

I arrived in Albuquerque at the end of January. And it was sunny and dry. Right off the bat, I reached the opposite end of the climatic spectrum compared to my home state of Washington. A breath of fresh air!

Sandia Mountains seen from a riverside park in Albuquerque the day after I arrived

A post-work hike at Petroglyph National Monument. Feb 2023

Hot Springs

I grew up near multiple natural hot springs in Nagano, Japan, so I LOVE me some good onsen soaks. Yes, there are *some* hot springs in the WA state too, but they aren’t very easy to get to nor very affordable. So it was a no brainer for me to try as many as possible while in NM, and I ended up getting a soak every month that I was there.

February: Spence H.S., Riverbend H.S.
March: Jemez Springs Bath House
April: Ojo Santa Fe Spa Resort (private soak)
May: Jemez Springs Bath House
June: Ojo Santa Fe Spa Resort (communal soak)

These are all within a day-trip distance from Albuquerque. Spence was the most rustic one located in Santa Fe National Forest that required hiking in, and the private soak at Ojo Santa Fe was probably the most upscale experience among these. Riverbend, located in a legit hot springs town of Truth or Consequences, was a really nicely set up and relaxing, but for some reason my skin got a little irritated after a soak, so I didn’t return. Out of all the ones I’ve been to, Jemez Springs Bath House is probably my favorite. It’s not fancy, but you get to fill up a private tub with hot springs water to the temperature of your choosing, and the water there felt amazing and oh-so-healing. I miss my monthly soaks….

My favorite hot springs bath house in the beautiful town of Jemez Springs, NM. The black Corolla parked in front was my rental!

Great People to Work with

I seriously didn’t know what to expect of my job in Rio Rancho, NM, before I went. It was for a Japanese robotics and materials handling company that supplied equipment for a major semiconductor manufacturer. I served as a Japanese and English interpreter for a team of engineers who came from all over the world. This was my first on-site job in a long while, too, so I was nervous. But I got very lucky with coworkers and supervisor who valued my work so much and showed their appreciation every so often, and I learned a lot! It wasn’t just a group of workers - this was a true team, and I miss them.

Going away party my NM coworkers threw for me, June 2023. Eternally thankful for giving me an amazing experience and becoming my family away from family!

Endless Outdoor Opportunities

Because the weather in NM was usually not an obstacle to enjoying the great outdoor, I found myself planning an outing almost every weekend, even when my body actually could have used some down time. I even car camped in the least appropriate car imaginable (a Toyota Corolla) with a minimal set of gear.

You do need to watch out for a potential effect of high altitude during your activities, especially if you are coming from low-lying areas like Seattle. I did feel it in my first high desert hike only a week after moving to ABQ from Seattle, and again during a hike at Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos in May. A fun fact: Albuquerque (elevation 5,312 ft) is at a higher elevation than Denver (5,280 ft). It’s an unadvertised special. NM just does not brag I suppose…

A solo backpacking to Mesa Portales (elevation 7400ft) along CDT. This is the sunrise I saw from my campsite on a mesa. June 2023

REALLY Dark Sky

New Mexico is a stargazer’s paradise - there are vast public lands (more than 45% of NM is in public ownership), and there’s very little light pollution once you are outside of a major city like Albuquerque. My husband is an avid astrophotographer, so when he came to visit me a few times, we tried some remote locations to stargaze and/or camp at. The night sky over Cosmic Campground, in Gila National Forest near the Arizona border, was particularly unforgettable. It’s the first International Dark Sky Sanctuary established in North America.

Southwestern New Mexico sunset, seen from our dispersed campsite near Cosmic Campground. May 2023

The weather during the day was a bit iffy. Though it improved by the sunset, the sky had a fair amount of clouds, so we didn’t stay up much. But then when I had to go pee and woke up a little after 2am, I noticed the clouds have dissipated. I immediately woke up my husband. We went outside and started taking photos (I’m just happy to be using the Astro mode of my Pixel phone with a mini tripod, unlike a very complicated method my husband uses to take the same Milky Way lol).

Oh the glorious Milky Way. This was the darkest sky I’d ever seen.

To be continued to Part 2….

All photos by ©Mapchan

P.S. I am a crazy Death Cab for Cutie (and by extension, The Postal Service) lady. I sometimes find inspirations for my writing in their songs and intend to pull my blog post titles from their lyrics whenever I can! If you haven’t guessed it by now, this post’s title is a line from a TPS song, Recycled Air.

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