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THE VOID KNOWN AS NEW MEXICO
You know that state you have to fly over when going to Phoenix or Los Angeles? The one about an hour BEFORE the Grand Canyon? Hey, that’s us, and we’re Americans!
I’m not sure if I should be promoting my state, or keeping the uninformed at bay, thereby keeping us as one of America’s best kept secrets. But think about it: no one has a problem with NEW YORK (British), NEW JERSEY (British), or NEW HAMPSHIRE (British). NEW MEXICO just happens to be (Spanish). America must have wanted us, or we’d still be part of…MEXICO! Most of New Mexico became a part of the United States after the Mexican-American War in 1848, with the rest in the Gadsden Purchase in 1854. But we didn’t become a state until 1912, the 47th admitted into the Union.
What newcomers find most interesting about the state is the diversity of the landscape. Most have a vision of a vast desert — and we have those. (But they’re HIGH deserts, which equates to much cooler temperatures for the most part than those in Arizona, to which we are frequently compared.)
The purpose of this article is not to be a geography lesson (although the majority of Americans under the age of 50 need one!) Rather, it’s a desperate attempt to get more of my friends and family to visit by shocking them into what we have here, and it is a cornucopia of diversity, culturally and otherwise.
