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APCO Conference Starts Monday
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Visit to National Atomic Museum is Sobering
by Gary Allen, Editor
It's one of the most beautiful cities in America--and weather forecasters say it will be one of the hottest! It's Albuquerque and the 1998 annual conference of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials--International (APCO), August 9th through 13th. DISPATCH Monthly will be there! In fact, I'm already on the road, doing advance work to prepare for the conference.
Each day, I'll bring you on-line reports, direct from the host hotel and convention center. My text and photo coverage was an industry first last year, and resulted in several news scoops! In fact, our Web site visitors heard about 311 pricing and a significant Project 25 decision weeks before our print subscribers---or anyone else---read about it.
Each day, the links to the left will become active as I add stories and photos to the APCO Conference site. Check in each day to view the new coverage and review previous stories.
Top of the State
If you can define New Mexico by anything, it is "the land." Every mile of roadway brings a new vista, each sunset provides inspiration, and the people are definitely not city dwellers--their hands show the toil of the earth.
Perhaps the most popular stop in New Mexico--for both residents and
tourists--is Santa Fe, at over 7,000 feet just an hour north of Albuquerque.
American's second oldest city (St. Augustine Fla. is older), and the oldest
state capital, its downtown is a quaint collection of buildings and narrow
streets, but also a horde of shops and stores (some tacky, some elegant)
that cater mostly to tourists. On many weekends, the town square is filled
with itinerant craft vendors hawking everything made of wood, clay or silver.
It's fun, it's stimulating, but it could be expensive if you feel the need
to participate in the spending.
Better to drive south a bit, to El Rancho de las Golondrinas, a 400-acre ranch that was the last stop on the Santa Fe Trail before reaching Santa Fe. The look and feel of old New Mexico is easy to absorb among the restored buildings and authentically-dressed staff. On the day I visited, they were having a festival, and at each of the Rancho's many buildings they were demonstrating wool spinning, tortilla making, blacksmithing and music playing. It was hot, but along a creek, huge trees offered some shade as I wandered the Rancho, trying to imagine what it might have been like in 1750.
South Bound
Down I-25 and past Albuquerque, it was obvious why the Rio Grande river is so important to the state. It creates a green belt along the highway that would otherwise be brown and burned out. Nearing Socorro, the sun starts to set and casts shadows on the valley to the east. Above the highway, clouds are billowing in shades of white, gray and almost-black.
After dinner at K-Bob's (all over south N.M.), it's further down the road to Truth or Consequences. It used to be Hot Springs, but in the 50's they agreed to make the change for the then-radio show (Ralph Edwards hosted then, not Bob Barker). Now it's a tourist stop for nearby Caballo Reservoir in an otherwise desolate area of the state.
The next day I cut across State Highway 26 to Deming, just a stone's throw from Rock Hound State Park. Along the way, onion trucks bounced along, leaving a trail of spilled vegetables along the way. There, along the Florida Mountains, you can collect and keep up to 15 pounds of rocks. But don't expect to get rich, or even find something fantastic. Usually it's a interesting Jasper or perlite stone instead of a geode or clear crystal. But the view north towards Deming is worth the 11 mile drive, especially at sunset when a lightening storm approaches. On the way back to town, the wind whips dirt roads into dust storms. The thermometer over the bank still showed it was 90 degrees at 7 p.m.
Drop in at the Deming Luna Mimbres Museum (301 S. Silver), where the former National Guard armory holds an impressive collection of dolls, bells, Hispanic and Native American art, and collectibles from area residents. Among the displays are two sections from a Bell company switchboard and a smaller PBX from a Deming motel, but which many comm centers have used. For lunch, try the Lota Burger (N. Gold St.), one of the few places that puts mustard on a hamburger.
A lightening storm swept through Deming Monday night, cooling the town and giving my rental car a needed bath. Tomorrow, on to Las Cruces.
Beautiful Valley
The drive across I-70 is uneventful--and flat. There's nary a thing between Deming and Las Cruces. But the arrival in Las Cruces is spectacular, as the highway gently slopes to the east, revealing this sprawling town. The eastern boundary of the city gives way to the San Andres Mountains, which push up dark clouds every day at about 4 p.m., which in turn drop rain and strike lightening. I sat in a mall parking lot overlooking the city after dark, watching the storm advance across downtown. In the opposite direction, the sun set a fiery red.
The trip eastward from Las Cruces begins with a monster climb over the San Andres Mountains, revealing the Tularosa Valley. The valley's name isn't familiar, but the you know what happened here--the first atomic bomb was detonated at the northern end, in the White Sands Missile Range. On the drive across, you understand why the government choose this site--it's desolate. Ground zero for the first blast is open only two days a year, but you can visit White Sands National Park, which consists of almost 300 square miles of nothing but white sand, created by the action of wind and water on gypsum fields. The gift shop cashier said she receives dozens of calls each day about which Beanie Babies they have in stock--even the desert doesn't prevent people from driving from Alamogordo, 13 miles away. It's $3 per person to enter the park, and since the white sand dunes aren't visible from the visitor's center, you'll have to pay and then drive the six miles if you want to ski the dunes or visit them under a full moon. As for me, I posed at the sign and continued on.
They fly F-117s from Holloman Air Force Base outside Alamogordo. Just northeast is the International Space Hall of Fame, a four-story, gold-windowed building that showcases loads of NASA hand-me-downs. Between models of satellites and rockets parts there are photos and write-ups about the Hall of Fame inductees. It's just $2.50 to get in, but buy a ticket for the next-door Omnimax Theater and it's a real bargain.
There's no better demonstration of the variety in New Mexico than to take Highway 82 east from Alamogordo. The highway climbs to over 7,000 feet and the terrain and plants change dramatically. It's ski country up here, as the two-lane road winds it's way over the Guadalupe Mountains. It's slow going for almost 40 miles until the road juts away from the Rio Penasco River and flattens out. Then it's nothing but plants until Artesia, the crossroads between Roswell and Carlsbad.
About 20 miles south are the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Some 750 feet below the surface are gigantic rooms carved from dissolved limestone. The walk from the natural opening takes about an hour to cover 1-3/4 miles, and is somewhat strenuous. You can take the elevator straight to the bottom, but that trip denies you the real flavor of the cave--damp, cool (always 56 degrees) and dark. Either way you enter, you exit by elevator. Plan your trip carefully--the natural entrance closes at 3:30 p.m., the last elevator goes down at 5:30 p.m., and the last elevator up is at 6:30 p.m. All this is in preparation for the sunset bat flight from the natural opening. The time varies according to the time of year, but it's generally between 7 and 8 p.m. Since the caverns are 20 miles from Carlsbad, and six miles from the park entrance, it makes sense to spend the afternoon at the park, eat something at the park restaurant (simple fare), and then stay for the bat flight.
The cave itself it fantastic--there are shapes of every configuration imaginable. Some resemble curtains, spears, soda straws, pillars and other familiar shapes. Others are so strange that there is no easy way to describe them.
For Carlsbad eats, try the Red Chimney Pit Bar-B-Que at 817 N. Canal St. The setting is rustic (although a bit contrived), the portions are large, and the barbeque sauce is tangy.
Just 40 miles north is Roswell, the site of a very famous incident in 1947, when an alien spacecraft allegedly landed outside town, an alien body was located and taken away by the military, and the government has been covering up their incident ever since. Of course, as a journalist I couldn't pass up the chance to visit the International UFO Museum and Research Center. It's a collection of exhibits, news article displays and--what else?--a gift shop devoted to the Roswell Incident and alien sightings in general.
Next I head back towards Albuquerque by way of the village of Fort Sumner, the burial place of William Bonney, or Billy the Kid. It's a state park now, with the headstone protected by an iron cage to prevent its being carted off. Yes, it's happened twice, and was recovered once in Huntington Beach, California! Next door is a private museum that displays newspaper articles on every Billy the Kid topic, including a claim by one old-timer that he was the Kid and still very-much alive.
This part of New Mexico is very desolate, and a full tank of gas is a requirement--never pass a gas station without filling up. It's also very flat until you approach Tucumcari and I-40 (which parallels the old Route 66). I turn west towards Santa Rosa and find a motel to stay. I drive down to Joseph's Restaurant, which has been owned by the Campos family since it started in 1956. It's survived the Route 66 boom, and then the bust when the interstate highway diverted vehicle traffic. It's now a restaurant, gift shop and lounge with night time entertainment. Check it out at 865 Will Rogers Drive near downtown.
Santa Rosa's main claim to fame is the Blue Hole,
a 230-foot naturally-fed spring that is a favorite of SCUBA divers from
all across the country. It's only about 60 feet across, but the 61-degree
water draws swimmers and divers until dark. Only about 81 feet are normally
accessible to divers, as the bottom caverns are blocked by a gate. But where
else can you dive in 81-foot, crystal clear waters that are free of obstructions
and sharks? Nowhere else in a land-locked city.
Next stop, Albuquerque and registration for the annual APCO conference!
Trip to the Top
One of the most spectacular views in the world is from the top of Sandia Peak, 10,360 feet above seal level, and about 5,000 feet above the Rio Grande Valley that comprises metro Albuquerque.
The tram carries 45-50 persons along a 2.7-mile wire that swings and sways against the wind. Once at the top, the view is spectacular.
Once down from the peak, a more sobering visit is to the National Atomic Museum, on the ground of Kirtland Air Force Base adjacent to Albuquerque. The museum is largely volunteer-operated and contains a fascinating collection of weapons, rockets, airplances and historical displays related to our nation's use of atomic energy in war.
You can spend at least two hours browsing the historical material that explains why Hitler failed to develop the bomb before the United States, viewing photographs of the bomb's first test program, and examining replicas of Fat Man and Little Boy.
copyright 1998, 911 Dispatch Services Inc.