Stay New Mexico Rentals, Vacation Rentals in New Mexico

New Mexico is the place to visit to expand your intellectual horizons. The state's unique geology ranges from the Permian Age Carlsbad Caverns to white sand dunes to the high mountains in the northern part of the state. New Mexico also has world-class science at two national laboratories, several observatories, Spaceport America, and the Very Large Array, among others. History is everywhere. New Mexico has civil war battlefields, archaeological digs, and museums that encompass almost every intellectual interest. At the wildlife refuges, visitors can learn more about the environment all around us. The New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, is the place to learn about the world all around us.

With a Native American population of 134,000 in 1990, New Mexico still ranks as an important center of Native American culture. Both the Navajo and Apache share Athabaskan origin. The Apache and some Ute live on federal reservations within the state. With 16 million acres, mostly in neighboring Arizona, the reservation of the Navajo Nation ranks as the largest in the United States. The prehistorically agricultural Pueblo Indians live in pueblos scattered throughout the state. More than one-third of New Mexicans claim Hispanic origin; many are descendants of colonial settlers. They settled in the northern portion of the state. Most of the Mexican immigrants reside in the southern part of the state. Also 10-15% of the population, mainly in the north may, contain Hispanic Jewish ancestry.

There are many New Mexicans who also speak a unique dialect of Spanish. New Mexican Spanish has vocabulary often unknown to other Spanish speakers. Because of the historical isolation of New Mexico from other speakers of the Spanish language, the local dialect preserves some late medieval Castilian vocabulary considered archaic elsewhere, adopts numerous Native American words for local features, and contains much Anglicized vocabulary for American concepts and modern inventions. Albuquerque has the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, and the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, as well as hosts the famed annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta every fall.

New Mexico's climate ranges from arid to semiarid, with a wide range of temperatures. Average January temperatures vary from about 2°C in the north to about 13°C in the southern and central regions. July temperatures range from about 26°C at high elevations to around 33°C at lower elevations. The record high temperature for the state is 50°C, set most recently on 27 July 1994 at Lakewood; the record low, –46°C, was set on 1 February 1951 at Gavilan. Average annual precipitation (1971–2000) was 9.5 inches in Albuquerque in the desert; at high elevations, annual precipitation averaged over 20 inches. Nearly one-half the annual rainfall comes during July and August, and thunderstorms are common in the summer. Snow is much more frequent in the north than in the south; Albuquerque gets about 10 inches of snow per year, and the northern mountains receive up to 100 inches.

Albuquerque: Albuquerque: just another dot on a map, or something more? The answer to that question depends entirely upon the visitor. Where some see only a mid-sized city in the United States.

Santa Fe: The capital of the state of New Mexico, and one of the most well-known cities in the state, Santa Fe is a complex mixture of colonial architecture, small-town atmosphere and scenic beauty.

Roswell: Roswell is located in the state of New Mexico, and has a population of near 50,000. The area became famous for the UFO incident which happened near here in 1947.

Grants: Grants is a small community of less than 10,000 populations according to the 2000 census along Interstate 40, the old Highway 66, in western New Mexico.

Silver City: Located in south west part of New Mexico, Silver City is a small, hip town. A shell of its former Wild West history, most restaurants and shops are now painted colorful colors of reds.

White Sands: White Sands is a place of mystery. The majestic Organ Mountains semi-circle The White Sands Missile Base.

The Very Large Array Socorro, New Mexico: Money-shot from countless sci-fi films, the VLA listens for exotic space noise while tolerating terrestrial tourists.

Roswell Alien Attraction Autopsy! Roswell, New Mexico: Special examination of the glowing organs and viscera that comprise Roswell's alien tourist attractions.

National Museum of Nuclear Science and History Albuquerque, New Mexico: Former National Atomic Museum still packs a punch with weapons and memorabilia of the Atom Age.

New Mexico Museum of Space History Alamogordo, New Mexico: New Mexico reaches for the stars with an educational and amusing collection of exhibits and unique artifacts.

Teako's Giants of Hatch, New Mexico: Teako Nunn has gathered America's fiberglass statue elite at his BBQ restaurant and RV business.

Space Murals Museum Organ, New Mexico: NASA knickknacks and orphaned artifacts, and a big water tank with a space mural.

Tinker town Sandia Park, New Mexico: Tiny miniatures -- too many to count -- in mechanical motion, the life's work of the late Ross Ward.

El Santuario de Chimayo Shrine Chimayo, New Mexico: Miraculous Catholic shrine in New Mexico. Many attest to the spiritual and physical curative powers of the sacred dirt, so don't take our "attitude" to heart...

Monument to the Flying Paper Boy Queen, New Mexico: One of the most obscure, remote monuments in America, marking the spot where "the flying paper boy of the Guadalupes" crashed.

Urban Mass Transit: The New Mexico Rail Runner Express is a commuter rail system serving the metropolitan area of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It began operation on July 14, 2006. The system runs from Belen to downtown Santa Fe. Larger cities in New Mexico typically have some form of public transportation by road; ABQ RIDE is the largest such system in the state.

By Rail: There were 2,354 route miles of railroads in the year 2000, this number increased with the opening of the Rail Runner's extension to Santa Fe. In addition to local railroads and other tourist lines, the state jointly owns and operates a heritage narrow-gauge steam railroad, the Cumbers and Toltec Scenic Railway, with the state of Colorado. Narrow gauge railroads once connected many communities in the northern part of the state, from Farmington to Santa Fe. No fewer than 100 railroads of various names and lineage have operated in the jurisdiction at some point. New Mexico's rail transportation system reached its height in terms of length following admission as a state; in 1914 eleven railroads operated 3124 route miles.

Freight: New Mexico is served by two class I railroads, the BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad. Combined, they operate 2,200 route miles of railway in the state.

Aerospace: The Albuquerque International Sunport is the state's primary port of entry for air transportation. Upham, near Truth or Consequences is the location of the world's first operational and purpose-built commercial spaceport, Spaceport America. Rocket launches began in April 2007. It is undeveloped and has one tenant, UP Aerospace, launching small payloads. Virgin Galactic, a space tourism company, plans to make this their primary operating base.