desiccated - adjective - thoroughly dried out; depleted of moisture; lifeless; dull (Merriam-Webster).
In 1983, I agreed to help my sister, a music teacher in Odessa, Texas, relocate to Salt Lake City, Utah via her classic Caprice sedan. We wound up doing some sightseeing throughout New Mexico on the way. The only memory I retained from the expedition was of Santa Fe. I had bought a ring from an Apache woman near the steps of the capital building. I still have the memento. Because it has been nearly 45 years since I had visited the state, I accepted an invitation from my friends Brian and Chuck, a sweet, gay couple I had met on the world cruise, who own a former B&B in Corrales, a desiccated village nestled between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
If you have never been to New Mexico, you may be unaware of the first hand effects of climate change. According to Chuck, who has been residing in semi-rural Corrales for decades, this summer has been an inferno of unrelenting heat, usual for a typical desert, but unusual for their semi-rural hamlet of 8,500 that sits at about five thousand feet above the sand. The daily afternoon rains, the entrance of which once could be predicted down to the hour, have been as unreliable as an adolescent in his/her last semester of high school. What I found disconcerting was that the Rio Grande River running through Albuquerque had vanished. In its place was a parched, serpentine ditch decorated by yellow-leaved cottonwood trees drooping beside the banks. Sad, especially when the Mid-West is underwater from recent torrential precipitation.
What I observed as hopeful is the abundance of Native Americans who still hold onto to their fine art and crafts. As I was departing from the airport, thousands were entering from all over the globe to attend the annual Indian Marketplace held in the center of Santa Fe. Native tribal people representing over 200 nations (who knew there were that many left?) congregate there to sell their unique turquoise and silver jewelry, handmade leather goods, sand paintings, baskets, woven tapestry, and pottery off of blankets spread out on the concrete: the most beautiful collections of physical storytelling that I have ever seen. Those not in the business of retail are landowners (President Bill Clinton was responsible for giving most of the government land back to the tribes) as well as casino proprietors. Of course, many are not as successful as there is a high incidence of drug addiction and alcoholism in their communities. But I can say the same for those outside of their nations. Addiction is ubiquitous in this country.
Although I did not see any ranches with cowboys or ranch hands in the area, I did see plenty of corralled horses next to modest and not-so-modest, adobe-clay homes, contributing to the pervasive sense that New Mexico could just represent the final frontier, the last (dry?) taste of the former, Wild West that has been relegated to mythology. If you are not American but are interested in seeing an authentic, unique portion of this sumptuous country or if you are a citizen but would rather go to Europe instead, visit Albuquerque and Santa Fe before they dry up completely. You won't be sorry you did. There is no place in the world even remotely like New Mexico.
#New Mexico, #desert, #Wild West, #blog, #blogger, #personal essay, #travel
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