Land of Enchantment

When I decided to get a master's in history, I didn't anticipate that it would mean I would get free out-of-state trips. Two years ago, the Utah Historical Society paid for me to attend the Western History Association conference in Los Angeles, and this year, they paid for me to attend the same conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I first visited New Mexico in April last year with my parents, on our way to see the eclipse, but this was my first time in Albuquerque.

On Wednesday, I parked at the Salt Lake Airport's economy lot and got on my plane for ABQ. They call their airport the Sunport. Then I got on the city bus, which is conveniently free, to take me to the Clyde Hotel in downtown Albuquerque. 

This is the view from my hotel room

These t-shirts were in the hotel gift shop, and it was a missed opportunity for the shirt to say "Mew Mexico"

After checking in, I grabbed dinner nearby, then just stayed in my room. One annoying thing about this hotel is that the stairs are only for emergencies. You can take the stairs down, but they only exit to the parking garage. You can't take them up at all. That meant I always had to wait for the elevators, which was annoying, especially since I don't really like elevators anyway. 

On Thursday morning, I went to check in at the registration table, and I opted not to take one of the tote bags, since I already have enough totes. I even reused my lanyard from two years ago. I attended a session about Indigenous and mixed-race people living in other communities, and I attended one about Japanese American incarceration during WWII. I won't bore you, and myself, with the details. 

When I registered for this conference, our admin team said I could attend tours, and since I'm a foodie, I opted to attend a tour called "Tasting New Mexico." A group of us got on a bus to go to the Larry P. Abraham Agri-Nature Center in a village outside Albuquerque.

We had a catered lunch by a restaurant called Three Sisters, which specializes in locally grown foods. Of course, it is named for the "three sisters" of maize, beans, and squash in Indigenous culture. Our meal consisted of posole, a soup with beans, squash, and chiles; a salad with a citrus vinaigrette; thick tortilla chips with salsa; a blue corn muffin, which was amazing; a New Mexico wedding cookie, which was better than any wedding cookie I've had before; and Bluefly Sparkling Water, made with locally grown herbs.

Then they had various agricultural activities for us to participate in. They had a table with beans and squash samples, and we could rank the taste, texture, and appearance. I loved the appearance of the delicata squash, and it was the best tasting of the three squashes. The Hopi pale gray squash was ugly and bland. 

In New Mexico, they really love chiles. They had samples of different red chile pastes, which I thought were gross—it wasn't so much the spice, it was the flavor. So many homes have chiles hanging in front of them, and there are chiles on the license plates. And while I was there, I tried to lean in to the chile foods: burrito, pizza, burger, pistachios, caramel corn. But I don't really get it. I just don't think the chiles taste that great.

They also had an area where we could take the kernels off of blue corn; I think they were just going to replant these kernels.

All over this nature center, there were lots of goathead plants growing. I can't get away from those horrible plants!

They had a field where they grow various kinds of chiles. Most of them had been harvested already, so they let us pick some to try. So I tried a habanada, which is a habanero with zero spice. It had a fruity flavor, like an orange bell pepper but sweeter. And I also tried a chile negro.

Then we went back inside the building to hear three or four historians talk about the history of New Mexico chiles. I thought it was interesting, and I was surprised to learn that New Mexico chiles are really a twentieth-century phenomenon. But I had a really hard time staying awake.

That evening, there was a presidential plenary, and then there was a meetup of Utah historians to go to dinner. There were several of my professors and classmates from the University of Utah. But I didn't really talk to them—I'm an introvert, I didn't know what to say to them, and I wasn't in direct proximity to them. And I don't always know if people recognize or remember me. My boss at UHS, Holly, came along, so I mostly found myself talking with her, which maybe wasn't helpful, since we talk all the time. There was a man from Nebraska at the food hall with his ten-year-old daughter—the daughter likes to go to parts of various academic conferences throughout the US. That is cool but also very odd. Holly left, and I didn't feel like inserting myself into one of the other table conversations, so I took a French leave / Irish goodbye and went back to my hotel room.

I got on the elevator, and there was another historian who got on the elevator at the same time. He saw my nametag and introduced himself—we have corresponded many times because he likes to review books for Utah Historical Quarterly, and I'm in charge of the book reviews. But I didn't get to talk to him because he was talking with another man on the elevator.

On Friday morning, I went to a panel by grad students about how gender intersects with their research interests. (For example, one student talked about how beef was often framed as a masculine food.) Then I went to a session where all the presenters talked about commemorating sites of tragedy in Utah history (Mountain Meadows Massacre, "Posey War," Japanese WWII incarceration, Indian boarding schools). My BYU boss, Reid, sat by me in that session, and it was funny to have both of my bosses there together. But they were happy to meet each other, since Reid recently published an article with us.

I went to a session about animals in Western history, which I found interesting, especially one about chimpanzees in Las Vegas shows. Then I had to go back to my room to take a nap.

Two years ago, the awards ceremony was super boring, so I opted to skip it this year. I saw on Google Maps that the Rio Grande was about a mile and a half from the hotel. Luckily, I had packed running clothes, so I ran through the sketchier parts of Albuquerque to get there. But I didn't see much of the river. Instead, there was a bosque, or forest, next to the river. According to a sign, this was a state park, but it wasn't a state park like I'm used to. 

There were various trails running through the bosque, and I only got to see the river at one point. I could see garbage floating in the river, so I didn't touch it. This whole area kind of reminded me of the Jordan River—a little cool, but not as cool as a mountain, and kind of sketchy. (There were lots of homeless people in Albuquerque.)

I left the bosque and ended up at Tingley Park, which has stocked fishing ponds. It was named for Clyde Tingley, a former governor of New Mexico. (My hotel, the Clyde, was also named for him.) And then I ran through the nicer neighborhoods of Albuquerque to get back to downtown, and I grabbed dinner and stopped at a corner grocery store. I made the right decision not to go to the awards ceremony. But I felt like I shouldn't just sit in my hotel room, if part of the purpose of the trip was to network. So I sat in the lobby and read D. Michael Quinn's Chosen Path: A Memoir in case anyone saw me and wanted to talk to me (or in case I saw anyone I wanted to talk to, but I didn't).

Saturday morning, I checked out of my hotel room and carried my bags with me as I attended the morning sessions: one about labor and one about "surveilling identities" in the West. Then Reid wanted to go to lunch with me, so we walked in the direction of all the restaurants. I was surprised, and pleased, to see a No Kings protest going on. But I didn't join, because that's not why I was in Albuquerque. 

Holly and two other people happened to see us at the food hall, so they sat with us. I made my way back to the hotel to attend Reid's session. The other presenters didn't come, so he was the only one, and I felt bad that I had to leave it early because I had to catch my flight.

I had seen that there was supposed to be a shuttle to the airport for WHA attendees, but there was a road closure for a marathon, and all the protesters also made traffic difficult. So I didn't think I could count on the shuttle, so I went down to go to the bus stop. By chance, the airport shuttle just happened to be there! So I went and told Holly, since she was on the same flight as me, and three others also came on the shuttle with us.

As we waited at the flight gate, there were more than a dozen Utah-based historians. I didn't feel like introducing myself to most of them. But there was one woman I recognized because back in 2014, we were both at the Church History Library, and she was always very friendly to me, since she made the connection that we had a common ancestor. So I went and reintroduced myself to her. I was surprised to learn that she had interviewed for my job. I think she's a more established professional than I am, so it was surprising to hear I got the job over her—but I probably have more editorial/linguistic experience than she does.

I had a professor at the University of Utah who really intimidates me. I didn't get good grades on my papers in his class, and he's never seemed that enthusiastic to talk to me since then. And of course, of all people, I was assigned to sit next to him on the plane. Well, this is awkward! I asked him what he was researching. He gave me a short answer and then didn't say anything else to me. I don't know if he remembers or recognizes me, or if he has something against me, or if something else is going on.

There was an empty row of seats on the other side of the aisle, and I wondered if I should move over there, but I figured someone else might want it more. And indeed, soon an obese man moved over to the empty seats.

I made my way back to my car and drove home. It might seem silly, but it feels like an accomplishment that I can succesfully get myself to Albuquerque and back by myself.

I spent most of my time in conference sessions, but it was fun to get a paid trip! I liked Albuquerque more than I liked LA two years ago. (That might sound surprising, but WHA was in a very boring part of LA.)

Reggie likes my suitcase. My uncle has been visiting and referred to him as our "mountain lion" because he's so big.

***
I was able to make a Trader Joe's trip this week, which has provided me some new things for pumpkinundation roundup.

I was off Monday for Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples Day, so I went on a nine-mile run in Mueller Park. I ate my last Pumpkin Spice RXBar from last year. The flavor is fine, and I like that they're made with actual pumpkin, but they are a serious jaw workout. 7/10.

The Quick Quack Pumpkin Spice Car Wash was more fragrant than I remembered—mostly cinnamon. 7/10.

I was eager to try the McDonald's Pumpkin & Creme Pie—especially since two weeks ago, I ordered one at the City Creek McDonald's and they gave me an apple pie instead. My first bite was kind of bland. But then I got the "creme" in a bite, and I didn't care for it. It was tangy like cream cheese or a cheap cheesecake. 5/10.

I enjoyed the Rowley's Red Barn Apple Cider Donuts at work. 8/10.

I think A&W doesn't usually have seasonal items, so I was happy to try the A&W Pumpkin Pie Shake, especially since I went to a different location the day before and they were all out. This is a runny shake like you get in a chain restaurant, not like a Utah shake. But it really tasted like pumpkin pie! 8/10.

Trader Joe's Harvest Chili is made with pumpkin puree, beans, and various other vegetables. It's not super exciting, but it's pleasant enough. 7/10.

I think I generally prefer chocolate-covered pretzels, but I enjoy the Flipz Apple Cider Donut Pretzels well enough. They have a nice appley, autumnal flavor. 7/10.

At the airport, I had a Fillings & Emulsions Pumpkin Pie Crumb Cake, which was a crumb cake with apple pie filling. I mostly thought it was dry and bland. 6/10.

The Clyde Hotel sold pumpkin seed brittle, which was more like English toffee than brittle. It was really good, but I couldn't really taste the pumpkin seeds. 7/10.

With all the sweet things, it's nice to have something savory, like Trader Joe's Spicy Pumpkin Samosas. They're not super spicy, but they're not not spicy. They're decent. 7/10.