Welcome to my new blog

Cibola County, New Mexico has been my adopted home for 37 years.It is as close to a hometown as I am ever going to have. Being Anglo, moving here was an eye opening experience.It was the first time in my life that I felt like a minority because the area is predominately Spanish and Native American. It took years for me to actually feel at home. It only happened when I began to look around and appreciate what I had been offered.

The 2010 census put us at over 27,000 residents.I began writing about some of those people as a columnist for our local newspaper in 2000, recently adding new stories to my "people gallery". Attempting to reflect the growth of the area. These personal life stories, together with local photographs I have taken of our beautiful county, will make up the contents of this blog.

Cibola county is located halfway between Albuquerque and Gallup. It is the home of four Indian pueblos: Acoma, Laguna, Zuni and Navajo. Chaco Canyon is the site of the ancient ruins of the Anasazi Tribe. Other historic sites include: the Sandstone bluffs, El Malpais National Monument, Acoma-Sky City and several mesas and lava beds.

Our major employers are three prisons, Cibola General Hospital, New Mexico State University Grants Campus, Grants Good Samaritan Center and Wal-Mart. In recent years several casinos have been added between Albuquerque and Gallup. The rest of the county and the town of Grants, where I live, are pretty much like any other small town in Southwestern USA. Our most renowned event is the Winter Quadrathlon held in early February. It attracts participants from all over the world. The start to finish race is 44 miles and includes biking, running, cross county skiing and snow shoeing. It begins in Grants, goes up Mt. Taylor (elevation 11,305 ft.) and back into town. Participants are exhausted when they finish. Many residents hold their breath at the beginning of the new year as they look up at the mountain and pray there will be enough snow for the quad. Grants also holds a four day Bike Rally in July hosting people of all ages who ride motorcycles.

This is my first post on my new blog and I hope I have interested you in getting to know more about Cibola County, New Mexico. The journey begins here follow me...