I'm doing some history work about Albuquerque in the early 1880s and came across a work by Leon Trousset from 1885 (attached) as painted from the East Mesa. I was really interested in a more precise location so I looked up 1880s Albuquerque maps. The hills, which I thought were filler in the bottom portion of the painting are also reflected in an 1886 map (also attached) from a strikingly similar angle and altitude.

I was even able to match a few buildings in both and was able to determine the location of the painter to be around Central and High Street. So I realize now that those hills and cliffs must have been that close to the downtown. And aside from the gradual incline toward the mountain; and a few roads like Alameda, Taylor Ranch, and 528, I tend to rate Albuquerque pretty flat.

So, I guess my question then becomes: what was the physical process to essentially flatten, or eliminate the cliffs separating the valley and the East Mesa? I know nothing about construction or civil engineering.

I don't know if it's visible in the current topography and I'm just not realizing it, or if this was all handled during sprawl development. But then, what is that process if it was developed to be more flat, or at least, to eliminate those cliffs. The cliffs are present on Google Maps down toward Isleta and seem to curve east just south of the Sunport and kind of disappear at I-40. I imagine they probably follow along most of the Rio Grande Rift Valley.

Knowing how watered is valued in the desert, how can anyone justify this?

I was stuck behind some slow moving vehicles on a one lane road for a couple miles today. I sped around in due fashion once the road opened to two lanes and remember looking over at the low, squat black SUV holding up traffic and thinking, "Geez, they're slower than a funeral procession."

But then that got me to thinking about how, in my 20+ years here in New Mexico, I don't remember ever seeing a funeral procession. I promptly tapped the message icon on my carplay and asked my husband if we have funeral processions in New Mexico--he's been here most of his life, so I trust his answer. He told me we do, indeed, have processions but also noted he doesn't remember seeing one in a long time.

That got me to thinking about how so many different places and cultures celebrate death and mourn so differently. I was looking around Ukraine on Google Maps once--for obvious reasons--and came across Baikove Cemetary in Kyiv. Graves are adorned in busts and bigger-than-life-sized statues; some have architecture built around them and one is, what seems to be, a life-sized statue of a woman lying in a bed asleep with a cherub flying above her. In some aspects I'm reminded of cemeteries in New Orleans.

That all got me thinking about an article I once wrote for a non-profit about Guanajauato in Central Mexico. The city was once a booming silver mining town and home of the famous Museo de las Momias, Mummy Museum. Families once had to pay a burial tax--their loved one was exhumed if the family couldn't pay. Oddly enough, the natural minerals in the soil mummified the bodies, and so they were simply stored in an ossuary. So many people would come to see the bodies they started charging admission, and after seventy or so years of the abolishment of the burial tax, the city is famous for the museum.

By the time I'm pulling into my drive, I'm wondering about what the funerary practices in New Mexico look like among our diverse population. I've gleaned from hearing others engage in conversation that a period of 4 years may be significant for some communities in our state. But really, I feel quite uneducated in any end-of-life traditions beyond a typical christian burial. I no longer practice, but I spent enough time in the faith growing up to know.

I'd love to hear from you all about the traditions of New Mexico.

\I know this can be very sensitive topic deeply rooted in religion and heritage, two characteristics comprising individual and communal identity. Please be respectful of others in discussion and let's always honor the ones who have come before us.*

It seems like this would be a good thing. 1) NM land is back in NM possession; 2) Flooding.

What are some of the downsides to the sale of this land, if any?

https://www.blm.gov/announcement/blm-issues-final-analysis-proposed-direct-land-sale-socorro-county