| 66
Reasons to Join NAI in Albuquerque |
The varied and exciting training and networking
opportunities NAI offers at the NIW are more than enough reason
to attend the workshop, but in case you need more incentive for
making the trek along historic Route 66, we will count down the
top 66 reasons to come to Albuquerque between now and November.
Look for eight new reasons each month. |
Posted March 2006 |
66. |
2006 is 80th anniversary of Route 66, which
was designated in 1926 when the federal government first implemented
a highway numbering system. Route 66, the historic "Mother
Road" featured in novels, TV shows, and song, winds through
Albuquerque as Central Avenue as a nearly unaltered stretch of
the historic route. The historic neon lights along the route
are breathtaking at night. |
| 65. |
Chances
of a natural disaster: not so much. |
| 64. |
New
Mexico is the "Land of Enchantment," so come
be enchanted. |
| 63. |
The
famous New Mexico green chile tastes great on anything and
everything! |
| 62. |
Founded
in 1706, Albuquerque turns 300 this year. Doesn’t
that make you feel young? |
| 61. |
Albuquerque
has unique culture, traditions, food, music, art, and clothing. |
| 60. |
You
can finally learn to spell A-L-B-U-Q-U-E-R-Q-U-E. |
| 59. |
Albuquerque
boasts blue skies 310 days out of the year. |
| |
|
| Posted
April 2006 |
58. |
Albuquerque is bordered on the east by Sandia
and Manzana Mountains; on the west by Petroglyph National Monument;
on the north by Sandia Pueblo and on the south by Isleta Pueblo. |
| 57. |
Visit
the infamous McDonald’s on Central where a woman ordered
coffee and subsequently sued for $3 million because it was
too hot. |
| 56. |
Aldo
Leopold was instrumental in establishing the first public lands
as wilderness in New Mexico. |
| 55. |
Albuquerque’s
Isotopes is Homer Simpson’s favorite baseball team, and
an episode of The Simpsons featured his campaign to prevent
the Isotopes from moving from Springfield to Albuquerque. |
| 54. |
New
Mexico is home to 19 Indian pueblos, most of which are within
an hour of Albuquerque. |
| 53. |
Albuquerque
has over 16 museums featuring everything from dinosaurs to
art and local cultures to rattlesnakes. |
| 52. |
Albuquerque
is “Ballooning Capital of the World” because of
excellent flying conditions, the number of resident hot air
balloonists and the Albuquerque Balloon Festival that is held
each fall. |
| 51. |
Albuquerque’s
KiMo Theater is a Pueblo – Deco Style Theater built in
1927. Pueblo deco was a short – lived flamboyant architectural
style fusing the spirit of the southwest with the roaring twenties. |
| |
| Posted
May 2006 |
50. |
Five
dormant volcanoes on Albuquerque's west side formed 190,000
years ago, but smoke was seen rising as recently as 1881. |
| 49. |
New
Mexico is home to 19 wineries; New Mexico is the oldest wine-producing
area in the U.S., with grape vines being brought here in 1629. |
| 48. |
The
American International Rattlesnake Museum in ABQ is home to
the largest collection of live rattlesnakes in the world. |
| 47. |
New
Mexico is home to the highest percentage of people with Ph.D.s
per capita than any other state. |
| 46. |
Where
else would you go to have the opportunity to visit a place
that has two 'q's and three 'u's in its name? |
| 45. |
The
tram ride is high enough to be gorgeous for sunsets, but not
high enough for nose bleeds. |
| 44. |
The
Rio Grande Bosque State Park protects a significant part of
the largest cottonwood forest in North America, one of the
most threatened habitats in North America |
| 43. |
Old
Town Albuquerque has incredible, unique and affordable shopping! |
| |
| Posted
June 2006 |
42. |
New
Mexico is one of the states making up the four corners |
| 41. |
The
roadrunner is the New Mexico state bird (meep-meep!) |
| 40. |
New
Mexico cuisine: Good and good for you! |
| 39. |
New
Mexico is one of the nation's most sparsely populated states |
| 38. |
Visit
the state that Neil Young sings about on the album, Tonight's
the Night. |
| 37. |
You'll
have a frame of reference when Bugs Bunny says, "I should
have turned left at Albuquerque." |
| 36. |
Albuquerque
is home to the nation's largest pow-wow, the Gathering of Nations
Pow-Wow. |
| 35. |
Come
see the state the weather man is usually blocking when he/she
discusses the national weather. |
| |
| Posted
July 2006 |
34. |
Watch
the "fly-in" at Bosque del Apache when you attend
an off-site session and tens of thousands of cranes, geese
and ducks fly back to the refuge at sunset to roost for the
night. |
| 33. |
Aliens.
Spaceports. What more do you need? |
| 32. |
You
can go Christmas shopping in Old Town Albuquerque and find
some really unusual gifts for Aunt Martha. |
| 31. |
Visit
the city where Microsoft was founded. (Their first address
was San Mateo and Central.) |
| 30. |
You
won't have to stand in line at the polling place on November
7th because you will have voted absentee ballot before you
left home. |
| 29. |
See
thousands of petroglyphs on off-site day when you go to Petroglyph
National Monument. |
| 28. |
Because
Weird Al Yankovic and Frank Zappa both wrote songs about Albuquerque. |
| 27. |
Have
a great hands-on experience and get to play with and touch
everything you see at the Explora Children's Museum on off-site
day. |
| |
| Posted
August 2006 |
26. |
Go back in New Mexico history on off-site day when you go to
the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and see
skeletons of dinosaurs that used to live right near Albuquerque. |
| 25. |
Walk
along a lava flow and see petroglyphs and ancient ruins on
off-site day when you visit El Malpais National Monument. |
| 24. |
Walk
the paths and absorb the austere beauty of the hills that enchanted
American artist, Georgia O'Keefe on off-site day as you visit
some of the sites in northern New Mexico that inspired her. |
| 23. |
Climb
ladders, explore cavates and see petroglyphs in the beautiful
oasis of Frijoles Canyon when you visit Bandelier National
Monument on off-site day. |
| 22. |
Hike
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks on off-site day and experience the
rock formations of this unique area. |
| 21. |
Go
birding in the bosque along the Rio Grande on off-site day
and maybe catch a glimpse of a migrating sandhill cranes. |
| 20. |
Learn
how the July 16, 1946 Trinity Site test changed the world when
you visit the National Atomic Museum on off-site day. |
| 19. |
Bicycle
along some of Albuquerque's trails through Old Town and learn
about Albuquerque's Spanish origins or along the Rio
Grande to learn about the bosque on off-site day. |
| |
| Posted
September 2006 |
18. |
On off-site day, learn about the breeding and rearing of
the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow at the Biopark aquarium. |
| 17. |
On
off-site day, you can donate your time and talents to a local
interpretive facility for the NIW's annual service project
day. |
| 16. |
Preview
new NAI logo clothing. |
| 15. |
Bolo
ties are accepted, even preferred, as an alternative to a tie
in men's wear. |
| 14. |
Experience
fresh - hot bread from an horno, fry bread drizzled with honey,
or sopapillas stuffed with whatever at one of the fine Mexican
restaurants in town. |
| 13. |
You
can learn the significance of the Zia Sun symbol (besides being
the symbol on the state flag). |
| 12. |
Visit
the state that is home to "Smokey Bear" the once
living symbol of fire prevention. |
| 11. |
You
can ship things home without paying "international" shipping. |
| |
| Posted
October 2006 |
10. |
Learn how to correctly pronounce Tesuque, Cerrillos, and Pojoaque. |
| 9. |
Pick from over 100 concurrent sessions. |
| 8. |
Network with old friends and make new ones. |
| 7. |
Free wireless internet in the convention center lobby areas. |
| 6. |
Visit the sets of such recent films as 21 Grams, Elvis Has
Left the Building, Astronaut Farmer, Welcome to America, and
North Country. Several television shows filmed here include Coyote
Waits and Thief of Time, based on the Tony Hillerman novels,
and the Lions Gate series Wildfire. |
| 5. |
When the sun sets, you can see how pink the Sandia and Manzano
Mountains get. Sandia means watermelon and manzano means apple.
Get it? |
| 4. |
The views go on forever. |
| 3. |
The word
Albuquerque comes from the Latin words "albus" and "quercus," meaning "white
oak." The first "r" in the city's name was discarded
over time. The original town of Alburquerque (notice the different
spelling) is in western Spain near Portugal and has a population
of about 8,000. |
| 2. |
Learn the difference between real and fake turquoise before
you shop by going to the Turquoise Museum in Old Town. |
| 1. |
The experience lasts a lifetime. |
