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Post by Lisa Petrison on Jul 24, 2011 9:09:53 GMT -5
MIXED
New Mexico is a state that I would have thought would be terrific. I’ve spent a lot of time here and found most of the state to be moderately bad to okay, with a few stellar spots.
Except where noted, I’ve been tent or RV camping in this state.
SOUTHWEST NEW MEXICO: GOOD (4)
I lived in a house in Las Cruces during Winter 2008/2009 and returned briefly on day trips in April 2010. Generally, it felt pretty good to me for a city. Some days felt really good. However, on occasion in winter, the worst toxin for me blows into it from somewhere south, possibly El Paso/Ciudad Juarez. Fleeing from the city did not seem to help on those occasions, since the surrounding areas were also affected. There’s not much culture in this town, but I did like living there. GOOD (4), with exceptions.
Frequently when living in Las Cruces, I camped at City of Rocks State Park (about half an hour from Silver City). I visited there again in April 2010. It’s quite isolated and usually the air quality was excellent, though it sometimes got much worse very quickly. The showers there felt good to me. There are a few RV spots (like an RV park) with electricity and then scattered tent sites. EXCELLENT (5), with exceptions.
Silver City is smaller than Las Cruces but felt a little worse to me. Many of the buildings there are old and moldy. FAIR (3)
Truth or Consequences is another older town that I wasn’t crazy about, but it was mostly tolerable. There are lots of hot springs establishments there, and I did like the water. The one I went to was the Charles Hotel, which has a nice outdoor hot tub up on the roof. FAIR (3)
Alamagordo felt okay. GOOD (4)
The Lincoln National Forest near Alamagordo is at a higher altitude and felt terrific. I camped a few times at the Three Rivers Petroglyph National Monument, which is isolated but felt great. EXCELLENT (5)
SOCORRO AREA: GOOD (4)
I spent about a month at an RV park in Socorro in March/April 2010 and then spent a few nights there in December 2010. The RV park was pretty run down with no bathroom facility, but the air quality in Socorro was better than any I found elsewhere in NM except for the most isolated regions. (4-GOOD)
Socorro is about an hour from Albuquerque. There’s a nice coffee shop there and a few other restaurants.
The Bosque Del Apache bird sanctuary in nearby San Antonio felt even better than Socorro, and I frequently visited there and walked around. (5-EXCELLENT)
My favorite place in NM is Pie Town, about 80 miles west of Socorro. It’s on the Continental Divide at 7000 feet. There is a free public campground, a small RV park, a restaurant with light food and stellar pie, a restaurant with hearty meals and acceptable pie, and a tourist center with a few groceries and a laundromat. (And absolutely nothing else.) The air quality is fantastic. (5-EXCELLENT)
GILA: EXCELLENT (5)
The Gila Wilderness felt great to me, as did the small towns (e.g. Omega, Quemado, Aragon, Reserve, Buckhorn) in this part of the state.
An exception may be the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, where I spent several days in April 2010. I encountered traces of the worst toxin for me there, and I have a report from someone who had a bad experience there since. (4-GOOD, with exceptions).
The Gila is all really beautiful. There are lots of public campgrounds and hiking trails, a few decent restaurants, and occasional RV parks.
SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO: POOR (2)
I drove through Hobbs and Carlsbad in November 2008. There’s a lot of oil drilling here. In general, the air did not feel very good to me. However, I was already really sick from a visit to Texas at this time, so it may have felt worse to me than it would have at other times.
ALBUQUERQUE: FAIR (3)
I’ve been to Albuquerque for day trips a few times -- February 2009, August 2009, April 2010, December 2010. It seemed above average for a city its size, though hardly pristine.
Albuquerque is built in a basin. Getting out of the basin (I think about eight miles west of the center of the city) improves the air quality considerably, I think.
I was hoping that Los Lunas would feel better than Albuquerque itself, but it turned out to be about the same.
SANTA FE AREA: POOR (2)
I had a very hard time in Santa Fe. I visited the city in February 2009 for a few days (staying in a hotel), and then returned for camping at Ojo Caliente in August 2009.
My experience both these times was that the area started off feeling acceptable but then wore on me over a period of a few days until I got really sick. The problem seems to be a toxin that is a less devastating for me than the very worst one for me, and that does not cross-contaminate as much, but nonetheless was too much for me.
The only place in the whole area that really felt good to me was the Santa Fe Opera House, way up on a hill.
I put a lot of miles on my car driving around to different campgrounds, trying to find a good place. Jemez Springs, Chimayo, Espanola and Los Alamos were all problematic. The public campground at Abiqui felt good part of the time.
At the very northern part of the state, the El Vado State Park and Chama felt good. El Vado had electricity at some of the sites.
NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO: EXCELLENT (5)
In December 2010, I drove through northeastern New Mexico, from Clayton to Springer to Las Vegas. I spent the night in Clayton, in my RV. Las Vegas was okay (3-FAIR), and the rest of the area was great.
I started toward Taos at one point, but it felt like a bad idea so I turned around.
NORTHWESTERN NEW MEXICO: EXCELLENT (5)
I drove on I-40 from Vanderwagen (the Arizona border) to Albuquerque in August 2009. It felt great until about 15 miles from Albuquerque. However, this is Four Corners reservation territory, and there’s not much here.
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khaly
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Post by khaly on Jul 24, 2011 22:12:42 GMT -5
I agree about the Albuquerque basin. It's not very good, and it's really, really bad at times close to the river, in what they call the bosque. There's something near the river that can put me into instant neuro distress.
West of Albuquerque, up above it on the Mesa, is good. (2). West of that, along the I40 corridor, is excellent all the way through the rest of New Mexico and about halfway into Arizona. I particularly love the El Calderon area, El Malpais. That entire volcanic area feels really, really good. Most excellent.
I agree also about Santa Fe. I would have thought it to be better than Albuquerque, but it is way, way worse. There are areas outside of Santa Fe to the west of it that don't feel too bad. But Santa Fe, and some of the area just north of it, feel really bad.
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khaly
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Post by khaly on Jul 24, 2011 22:48:34 GMT -5
That should be good (4), not (2). Oops.
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Post by Lisa Petrison on Nov 7, 2011 23:48:57 GMT -5
I drove across New Mexico on I-40 on a rainy/snowy day in early November 2011.
The whole area east of Albuquerque felt great to me. I stayed overnight at the KOA in Tucumcari (a tiny town in the middle of nowhere) and liked the air a whole lot. (5-EXCELLENT)
I got a bit of a headache as I drove through Albuquerque, and that stayed with me as I finished driving through the western part of the state. Probably the air here was okay (it didn't feel pristine exactly during that storm, but likely okay) and it was just the residue of having gone through Albuquerque that was bothering me though.
*
On another note, I first visited New Mexico (Albuquerque and Santa Fe) in 1988, I felt absolutely fantastic. This was before I got sick, but I think that environmental toxins still had an effect on how I felt.
In 1998, I visited Albuquerque and Santa Fe again. I still felt mostly really good, certainly better than I did in Chicago.
Now Albuquerque feels about the same as Chicago, and Santa Fe feels much worse. So I would suggest that something about this area has changed to make it go downhill in the past decade or so.
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Post by Lisa Petrison on Nov 11, 2011 8:05:43 GMT -5
Here are some comments about New Mexico from Janis. cfsmethylation.blogspot.com/2011/10/eye-candy.htmlI have pictures of the beautiful park in which I am currently spending my days: a park in SW New Mexico known The City of Rocks. I didn’t realize southeastern New Mexico was so very industrial. I arrived at Bottomless Lakes State Park, NM a couple of hours before sunset after driving through much commercial and industrial land. It was a relief to find the park a considerable distance from houses and factories, even if it was SE of town, with the winds tending to come from the north and west. The park is set among striking cliffs which rise above gently rolling hills covered with brush, and the altitude is slightly higher than the Roswell industrial valley. Not surprisingly, the “bottomless lakes” had bottomed out and looked like oversized puddles. From a distance they reflected the deep blue sky. I took a site as far as possible from the lake at the highest point in the campground and pitched my tent on the concrete patio next to the picnic table. Then I rushed back into Roswell for dinner and wifi and supermarket. As I returned to my campsite, my heart sank. The factory was spewing sulfur-laden vapors into the air and it was floating towards the state park. Light sparkled across the fields like a string of Christmas lights laying low to the ground. I couldn’t figure out what the lights were for, but the risk was that it was something toxic. What was I getting into? Then I arrived at the campsite to find the raccoons had made a mess of my things. Two sweaters had been unpacked from a zippered compartment in my suitcase, my toiletries were scattered everywhere, and the absorbent pads that I use for coffee enemas were strewn across the table, some chewed through, some nibbled at a corner. How could I have been so careless! I’d seen the open trashcans everywhere and assumed raccoons were not a problem here. Perhaps the park deliberately leaves them open so that the critters can eat people’s garbage. Whatever! This coon must have sniffed out some fragrance in the pads, or my suitcase carried the residue of scent from a distant trip when I carried food in one of the pockets.. How disappointed the coons must have been to get a mouthful of absorbent cotton. At least they didn’t gnaw holes in my sweaters. I slept less well that night, every rustle sounding to me like raccoons hunting through my suitcase or my pots and pans – things I could have put back in the car but chose to leave out due to the late hour (past 10 pm) and the cold. But thanks to the Trivedi blessing, I woke feeling well. My nose was clear for once too! I headed further west, taking 380 from Roswell past a very cute town in the Capitan mountains, the first place I’ve seen in New Mexico that reminded me of little mountain hamlets in Europe. From there, I headed towards Socorro and passed through an interesting area of lava rocks, where I stopped an enjoyed a fabulous view at the Valley of Fire Recreation Area. The picnic tables are perched high on the side of a mountain which looks out over fields of lava rocks at distant peaks. I met a couple from Snowflake, AZ, a locale which has an MCS community that I was planning to check out, but he told me that anyone with allergies to dust should keep away from Snowflake as they often have dust storms. One less place to visit…. But also my options are narrowing down. Others have written on “the Location effect” that they felt good in Socorro. Consequently, I arrived there with great expectations, ready to turn west into the Gila National Forest and settle in. But as I got off I-25, I was greeted by a smokestack belching black fumes into the air. The Socorro valley has water, and therefore quite a bit of industry and farming. The mountains of the Gila National Forest looked forebodingly high, and the wind whipped across my face blowing my hair into my eyes. I made a U-turn and headed south, a Klondike ice cream bar in my hands. Even before I’d finished the ice cream, I could feel my nose getting congested, and although this congestion lessened as I headed south into the higher temperatures of Southern New Mexico, it still hasn’t fully cleared up. I saw some amazing scenery when I took Rt. 152 West to head into another part of the Gila National Forest, and steered through some pretty tight turns. It was a slow ascent up to Emory Pass at 8228 feet. If I’d read the map carefully and noticed that the high figures were the pass height, not the height of the surrounding peaks, I would never have thought about camping along that road. I learned my lesson in Colorado: don’t go into high elevations until you’ve had lots of time to adjust. I tried to enjoy the mountain scenery. There were evergreens and shrubs, a totally different look from the mountains East of I-25. Both the foliage and shape of the hills reminded me much of the mountains in Tuscany where I lived for two years before I got sick. However, the Italian Apennines and Chianti hills are punctuated with villas and villages, while the Gila mountains are completely uninhabited by humans. As the sun began to drop in the sky, creating a glare on my windshield that made it hard to see, I began to get nervous. I would have to do the entire descent and then drive another half hour south to read City of Rocks State Park. The State Park was my back-up location as I’d researched it in advance and knew they had electric and showers. The challenge would be to get there before dark! This was the hardest part of my trip so far! It’s the first time I’ve felt anxious, but as I drove into that wilderness area, wondering when I’d get out, I found myself creating an inventory of what food I had. Was it enough for 1 day, 2 days, 2 ½? I reassured myself that I wouldn’t starve. I didn’t have enough water to wash my hands and my dishes, but I did have enough to drink. Every once in a while I’d remind myself of the beautiful scenery, then focus on the road again as it curved through 10 mph and 15 mph switchbacks. When I came down the hillside and saw my first house I felt such a sense of joy and relief! Civilization. How wonderful. Lights and telephones and modern conveniences. I made it to City of Rocks in time to enjoy a magnificent sunset and a cold dinner. I set my sleeping pad on a concrete pad, spread my sleeping bag over it, and tried to go to sleep. To add to the tension of the day, an abusive man in a pop-up camper at the end of the RV park was yelling at his woman and cursing for over 2 hours. I despaired of ever sleeping, but he did eventually shut his foul mouth and I dozed off under a dark, starry sky. When I woke, I was congested and blowing and nearly incapacitated with PEM. I rested during the day as much as I could, and felt a lot better in the evening. But as the temperature drops, I find myself getting congested again. Allergic to the night? Huh? I’ve been reading in Dr. Wm Rea’s book about indoor and outdoor toxicity. At night, the cooler air is denser. Pollutants settle. In afternoon, the toxic level is lowest. Hence, my daily cycle of feeling clearest in the afternoon and getting more and more congested as the night progresses fits perfectly with the total toxic load of the outside air. At night the wind also dies down around here. What still seems strange to me is waking free of symptoms in the toxic air of Bottomless Lakes State Park. Are natural pollutants such as terpenes from evergreens worse for me than industrial pollutants? Is this payback for 4 days of indulging in candy (eye candy) with all its stress? Am I witnessing the pattern of masking and unmasking? Masking is what happens as the body gets more toxic. It ceases to react to toxins and pollutants. Unmasking is what happens as the body releases toxins. It becomes instantly reactive to pollutants. As much as I miss wifi around here (I’ll drive 35-40 minutes to find a place in Silver City), I think it makes sense to stay for awhile here in the desert to see if I start to improve. I had a lot of toxicity in the past week, with the mold, the driving, the industry, the lack of sleep, the stress, and the inadequate nutrition as I moved from one locale to another. While I’m impatient to get into the Tucson area and check out two possible ‘safe for MCS’ rentals, I know I’ll get a more accurate sniff test if I’m in a less reactive state. * cfsmethylation.blogspot.com/2011/10/what-crazy-illness.htmlMy stuffed nose disappeared the last day at City of Rocks. Four days in the desert to clear up and acclimate! I felt so good in the morning that I took a hike up the camp road at sunrise. Surprise! Just because I feel energetic and strong doesn’t mean I can do anything aerobic—at least not yet. I was pretty wiped out by the time I reached the top of the road, and instead of walking the entire loop, I returned down the hill (after resting for a while on a picnic table) and felt pretty tired most of the morning. Next time I try taking a walk, I’ll do it on level ground. At least walking to and from the bathrooms doesn’t tired me like it used to. That is progress!
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Post by Lisa Petrison on Nov 14, 2011 10:25:37 GMT -5
A report: I got better first in Tijeras, NM on the edge of the National Forest but there was a little too much dust in the air as dirt roads but improved more in this area of Ute Pass. There is more rain here so less dust. In winter there is too much smoke from fire places so you have to be careful not to be too near other people but I have gotten better and better in this area. health.groups.yahoo.com/group/CFS_CFIDS_ME/message/7434?l=1
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Post by Lisa Petrison on Nov 14, 2011 11:12:00 GMT -5
A report: i just left calif. after 30 years, not by choice, really. the govt sprayed us with pesticides. i moved to taos and the winter effects me horribly. i need to go somewhere warm for the winter. santa fe, taos and prescott have considerable mcs communities. most people with cfids have some degree of chemical sensitivity. i'm just as sick here as i was in santa cruz except there is less smog and traffic which i don't miss. i do miss more things to do. i found most of arizona more smoggy than here. smog is a big one for me. i don't love the wind and dust but they dont make me sick like smoke. health.groups.yahoo.com/group/CFS_CFIDS_ME/message/7359?l=1
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Post by Lisa Petrison on Nov 14, 2011 15:28:09 GMT -5
A report from this database. Scale is 1-10. (0=worst possible, 10=completely healthy) health.groups.yahoo.com/group/CFS....eportRows&tbl=1* From TomL. Albuquerque March-September - rating of 4 Spring and summer are very windy with thunderstorms. Haven't lived there in the fall and winter, when the weather calms down. Fall is the best season in New Mexico. When I move back, I'll issue a new report. March-September Knee and foot did not swell up as much as in Seattle. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) symptoms were less. However the constant winds and thunderstorms were very frustrating.
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Post by karend on Nov 15, 2011 9:39:26 GMT -5
Truth or Consequences I moved to NM in 2006 from moldy VA. I checked out Truth or Consequences, Las Cruces, and Silver City. I picked Truth or Consequences, which then was a hip-up and coming art town with great cheap spas and right next to the largest lake in NM. Then the worst rains in 500 years hit, and the whole town molded. Then the recession hit, and the town went south fast. I moved 22 mi away, in the GFD. I now find that TorC makes me sick even out of doors at the Farmers Market. There are few places indoors I tolerate, Wall Mart is ok for a quick shop. Never go into Bullocks Grocery, not even for a second. I can usually take a hot bath at the Charles. Go eat at the lake, the Ivory Tusk at Elephant Butte Lake is OK. The Black Cat bookstore in T or C is the only hang-out. The patio is ok, and I can stay inside for about a half hr as long as the swamp cooler is not on. In the summer, the public pool in TorC is a great break from the heat, and they also have hot showers. It is safe to check your wallet in the office, and it is only $2 to swim if you are over 55, younger is $3. It is one of if not the best thing about TorC.
Las Cruces LC is becoming my shopping meca. I am generally good out of doors here. I spent a whole day shopping for clothes in the mall, in JCPenny and Dillards and I was fine. I go to the movies in the mall, Cineport, and I have never had a problem. I am currently represented by The Cutter Gallery , and spent a whole day there last month, and was perfectly fine, despite terrible negative anticipation and anxiety about the day. Mr Cutter says they change all the air filters every 2 months. But some places have recently gone bad. My Drs office, The Integrative Medical Center, Dr Berksons, has recently gone very bad. The nurse said I could have an IV sitting outside if I need one. They are checking out the air system, but it is very bad in there, and it may be a leak between the walls. Several of the employees, and Dr Berkson, are acting very molded. Loews went bad this year. And the health food store, Mountain View Market, recently is making me slightly ill. But not enough to keep me from shopping. I recommend the Vietnamese restaurant in the mall down the street from them. The library in LC is great and has not made me sick, MIRACLE! And they have a great foreign film collection.
Elephant Butte Lake Beautiful place, but to be avoided on the weekends, unless you can 4 wheel it way far to the north. The moldy trailers that hang out and ring the lake make the place bad most all the summer, and the algae blooms the end of the summer and early fall are very toxic ick. It kills dogs so watch out for green water and don't let the dog near it. The lake is best in the winter and spring, when fresh snow melt make the lake cleaner. Below the dam is a better camping place, right on the river, good as long as there is not a lot of ick in the lake. A nice walk on the trail there, and only 5 min into wall mart for supplies.
Gila Wilderness My go-to spot when I need to get clear is Wolf Hollow camp ground. Not on most maps, so it does not fill up. You have to get water at Beaverhead Station, about 7 mi south. There are cougars, bears and wolves, so keep a clean camp, and watch out.
Gila Hot Springs, the town and the private campground on the river with wonderful soaking ponds, used to be my favorite spot, but a camping trip there in 2010 left me molded and made me move 2x in one day, ending up on the public campground forks, right on the river, which was great , alone during the week. Not a weekend place unless you like a lot of noise. Other people's moldy trailers have become a real problem for me and make me very skittish of camping.
Rock Hound State Park Great air, camp as far to the top as you can get. Lights of Demming at night are great. You can camp here and still make an appointment with Dr Gray in Arizona. The bath house is not perfect, but ok for a quick shower, but I have not been there since 2010.
We have a lot of wind storms in NM, and I know people who are negatively effected by them, but I am not. The desert shrubs don't bother me, and in general am pleased with living in the GFD, except for the isolation. Still, my place has been polluted by neighbors, and other moldies, and it is a constant battle to get by, not what I anticipated. But, as my sister says, you never know what you have been spared. I probably would not have made it this far if I had stayed in VA.
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Post by Lisa Petrison on Nov 15, 2011 11:19:39 GMT -5
Alice wrote: I believe in the location effect as I feel better in the Rocky Mtns. I am better at high altitude (8,000 feet). We recently went to Denver and I got real sick. I do have to be on oxygen at night. I feel better up here overall as the air is cleaner but that is just me. I went from TX to NM and felt way better. In TX it was mostly pesticides, molds, petroleum and of course pollens. I lived south of the San Antonio area and in San Antonio (deadly there). There was a reference here to electromagnetic pollution around Atlanta. Molds are deadly and they don't survive too well in the desert. I only recommend northern NM as the southern part of the state is saturated with petrochemicals. You can get a headache from just driving thru there like west TX. I feel better at higher altitude as I feel the air is cleaner. I was only in ABQ for a month as we searched for a house in the East Mountain area. My husband cannot bear cities at all. I got severe asthma the first few nights due to the wind sweeping in under the motel room door as it had funneled thru Tijeras Canyon. I get asthma from winds and migraine from large pressure cells. My migraine has really cleared up this year. I use germanium for it when they come on. I lived in the East Mountain area on the edge of the National Forest for about 4 years where I experienced lots of healing. I also found an EI doctor which amazed me as at that time I didn't even know there was a treatment or name for this illness! My asthma improved radically in that area. I only went into ABQ to buy at Wild Oats. I have been mega dosing on vitamin C and some other stuff for years now. The big problem with ABQ is in winter they burn too much firewood. Otherwise I would love to live there! I am no longer in East Mountain but moved to CO (hubby's job). I am in the middle of about a hundred Ponderosa pines now in Ute Pass. In the East Mountains there were a few but more pinons, scrub oak and rabbit bush unless you got on Raven Road but we weren't that far south. The ABQ area you describe is the area we plan to move to if we ever move back there again. I need to be at lower elevation. Edgewood had too much pesticides. Did you know 14 south? I am trying to remember the name of the road that we turned on. It was a winding goat track that went for miles. The house there was fantastic, best one I ever lived in and reasonable as so hard to get to it. It was windy but I don't recall it being too bad. My pain was worse when the snow would drip off the roof for 2 or 3 days. I also worried about fire danger there. Since I got online I know quite a few people who live in that area. (EI people) They chat on Green Canary chat quite often. ps- my fibro pain is mostly gone and it used to be bad. I still have some arthritis. In San Antonio, TX they thought I had lupus. I was also told I had ms! health.groups.yahoo.com/group/CFS_CFIDS_ME/message/7433?l=1health.groups.yahoo.com/group/CFS_CFIDS_ME/message/5479health.groups.yahoo.com/group/CFS_CFIDS_ME/message/5510health.groups.yahoo.com/group/CFS_CFIDS_ME/message/5468?l=1
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Post by wandered on Nov 30, 2011 7:54:32 GMT -5
Santa Fe 3 - but mixed! Once or twice a 2. I have visited family in Sante Fe several times over the years since becoming ill. I've always visited in the spring, around April or May. I've found that my POTS and OI both significantly decrease (compared to Michigan, Cambridge or Portland). But I have found that I'll often have feelings (not attributable to being around my family of panic, panic attacks and anxiety that I don't usually have and am unusually irritable. I don't know if this is the altitude. I actually once went home early because of my panic and irritability; it was too much for me to bear and it was clearly an environmental change, like something I was breathing in the second I got in the car at ABQ, a horrible "wired" feeling.
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Post by jenbooks on Jan 1, 2012 19:10:24 GMT -5
Santa Fe: Good Jemez Mountains: Excellent Pecos Mountains: Supposedly Excellent Albuquerque: Mediocre except as you climb toward Sandia Mountain Las Cruces: Crappy
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Post by Lisa Petrison on Apr 13, 2012 14:24:53 GMT -5
A report via Paul Beith from January 2005:
"I have found 2 places where my energy seemed to soar and I seemed to glow. One place was on a steep hill that had no place to live and the other was at a Native American Indian Ruin South of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Oh yes there is one more. Maybe some day I will visit there again. It was outside the little town of Eureka Montana, almost on the Canadian boarder, on Kootenai Lake. It was such a refreshing feeling. "
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Post by janisb on May 21, 2012 22:28:33 GMT -5
I traveled from Arizona to Santa Fe along I-40, then up I-25. I didn't like the windstorms in Western NM. When I got close to Albuquerque, the wind calmed down. By this point, anything calm would've made me happy.
For the past 4 days I've been staying in the Tesuque/ Rio en Medio valley NW of Santa Fe at a high elevation. My nose, which had been stuffed from reactions to Flagstaff the night before, totally cleared up the first night. The next two days I experienced some mild reactions to the high altitude. By day 4 I felt great and was able to hike and do yoga and work a full day. This part of NM is definitely a 5.
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Post by Lisa Petrison on May 10, 2013 11:06:20 GMT -5
"Plant," a member of this board, asked me to add this report.
Diagnosis: Chronic Lyme disease and Large Biotoxin Exposure to Water-damaged building, and since then unable to tolerate around 50% of buildings.
*
Albuquerque, NM: 4 April-May 2013
Pretty good. I think I could live here.
I was disappointed when I first got there on a sunny, dusty day around commuter/traffic time, since it's apparent there is some pollution here and maybe a minor biotoxin issue. The basin seems to collect pollution.
The air quality is much worse in the lowest parts, downtown, but there are parts of the city that are higher and have better air quality.
I feel pretty good here and can run and exercise without fatigue. The first time here I found I was able to sprint with almost no fatigue, something very unusual for me.
I found the Best Western at the airport tolerable while initially moving out west to start detoxing (might not be ok for folks who are cleaner or more sensitive).
I have an interesting effect here both times I've come here from somewhere else: a fizzy, bubbly feeling in my body that reminds me of how it feels to take food-grade H202. It seems like a beneficial feeling related to becoming more oxygenated.
*
Las Cruces, NM: 5 April-May 2013
Pretty satisfied with the outdoor air quality here.
There are lots of adobe buildings, some of which are pretty toxic and I had trouble walking through parts of downtown, north of the university.
Very few lawns so not many pesticides as far as I could tell. There was one watered lawn in Dona Ana plaza that gave me problems.
Nice warm weather in April.
I had to drink at least a gallon of water a day. For a few days I felt very toxic and unhappy and then realized I wasn't drinking enough water. I have to have water by my bed to drink early in the morning, too. Dehydration is a risk.
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Post by JP on Oct 6, 2013 23:02:37 GMT -5
We drove through New Mexico several times over the past couple of years.
In June 2012 we drove the southern route. Can't remember the name of the highway now? We drove through the Gila Forest which was great (4) and camped at City of Rocks (5). I didn't like SE NM at all. Felt awful driving through there (2). I don't know if it was industry or cattle farms (those always do me in!).
In Dec 2012 we drove on the I40 across NM. I felt much better on the eastern portion (4) than the western portion (3) of I40. We went back in April 2013 and camped at City of Rocks again. This time I'd give it a (4).
We spent about a week in Albuquerque in July 2013. We were looking to move there after realizing AZ may kill me. We could not find a non-moldy hotel to stay while we looked. They were all bad. We looked at apartment complexes...all bad. There was a lovely complex in the northern section of ABQ that had amazing views, in the foothills, trails right there. But we looked at two units, both had evidence of roof leaks and I felt dizzy almost immediately. So.Bad. The complex was almost 20 years old, had roof leaks, and never replaced the roofs. Ever.. This type of stuff was rampant in ABQ. there was one newer apt complex in the center of town...right next to the power plant. NO THX! All older buildings with water damage. No decent houses to rent either.
I really wanted to try to find a place there but it was hopeless. Housing is worse there than any other place I've been. And the poverty and crime was depressing. Both Whole Foods markets were bad - muscle cramps every time I'd go in there. I swear, I was smelling petroleum in the air everywhere - not sure why. I did not feel well there at all. I'd give it a (2).
We spent two separate days in Santa Fe as well. The first day clouds came in and it ended up raining. Surprisingly, I didn't feel too bad there, and the Whole Foods was ok (there are 2 WF there, one is ok, one isn't. The old adobe-looking one is bad!). Judging on this experience, I'd give Santa Fe a (3). But we went back a few days later, drove through on our way to CO and had lunch there. All the buildings in this part of Santa Fe were moldy, with that "desert gag" dusty-smelling mold that KILLS me. I was smelling desert gag everywhere. I'd give Santa Fe a (1) based on this. To be fair, I will average the two scores and give it a (2).
We spent a few hours in Edgewood - seemed ok (3).
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Post by Lisa Petrison on Aug 8, 2014 3:29:38 GMT -5
I've spent much of 2013 and 2014 in northern NM. It's pretty variable and only very scattered tiny sections of the area between Albuquerque and Taos is anything close to excellent.
Albuquerque: Pretty good for a city, especially if you can get above the rim of the "bowl" there. Fair/Good - 3.5.
Santa Fe: Air quality is quite problematic, plus there are many moldy buildings. Poor - 2.
Tesuque (near Santa Fe Opera). Excellent - 5.
Espanola. Poor/Fair - 2.5
Ojo Caliente. Unfortunately, poor. 2.
Taos. Good - 4. Better in winter than summer.
The other towns in the Enchanted Circle (e.g. Angel Fire) all have felt good or excellent to me - 4-5.
Arroyo Seco and Arroyo Honda. Excellent - 5.
Area to west and northwest of Taos (to the Colorado border), such as Chama. Excellent - 5.
Highway 40 east of Albuquerque (such as Tucumcari) is great. Excellent - 5.
As of 2013, Highway 40 west of Albuquerque also was great. Excellent - 5.
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Post by Lisa Petrison on Feb 1, 2015 0:52:32 GMT -5
Scores for some buildings in northern New Mexico.
TAOS, NM:
9/1/14. Cid's (organic grocery store) - Taos (NM) - 4 (Good).
9/1/14. Five Star Burgers (restaurant) - Taos (NM) - 3 (Fair).
9/1/14. Farmhouse Cafe & Bakery (restaurant) - Taos (NM) - 5 (Excellent).
9/1/14. Walmart (store) - Taos (NM) - 2 (Poor).
8/1/13. Ace Hardware (store) - Taos (NM) - 3 (Fair).
5/1/14. Smith's (grocery) - Taos (NM) - 2 (Poor).
5/1/14. Essential Massage and Spa Therapies (massage) - Taos (NM) - 1 (Awful).
5/1/14. Overland Sheepskin Company (clothing shop) - Taos (NM) - 4 (Good).
5/1/14. Blue Fish Clothing (clothing shop) - Taos (NM) - 1 (Awful).
1/1/14. Harwood Museum of Art (museum) - Taos (NM) - 4 (Good).
SANTA FE, NM:
3/1/14. Lenscrafters (store) - Santa Fe (NM) - 3 (Fair).
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