The Sandia Mountain range was a deciding factor in me moving to Albuquerque for graduate school.
I also applied to Arizona State University in Phoenix, but wasn’t as impressed by the Phoenix Mountains as I was by Sandia Peak when I first reached the summit with my husbandy in 2019. Both of us took a trip throughout the southwest that summer time as well as Albuquerque was 1 of the highlights along with Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona. Both of us drove back to the southeast on interstate 40, splitting across Texas as well as OK before arriving at the Ozarks in northwest AR. Needless to say, I was right away sold on New Mexico before arriving for graduate school. It’s also nice finally living in a state with legal recreational cannabis. Both of us don’t even have medical marijuana in my lake lake house state, so I was pleasantly surprised when recreational cannabis was legalized in New Mexico in 2021. Before then you had to possess a medical marijuana card as well as they cost $30 every year, requiring medical marijuana patients in New Mexico to register again bi-weekly. Obviously it’s a huge benefit to remove this requirement for people who are simply looking to purchase cannabis products in New Mexico for recreational use only. I made the mistake of smoking a joint when I got to the summit of Sandia Peak last month, as well as I l earned suddenly how dumb that decision actually was as I could barely sit without passing out. The next time I ascend the Sandia Mountains, I’m waiting until I get to the base before I smoke my joint.