RE: Introducing Myself!
Thank you for the tips & welcoming me! :)
Oh my! That is very high!! The elevation is 2,612 ft (796m). It's one of the highest in the U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains. I moved to a lower elevation. I really couldn't tell a difference at first. After a while of not living there however, when I travel back I can tell a huge difference in the elevation. My ears pop several times while traveling over the mountain (whereas they only popped once when I lived there). I don't feel right until I get back to Chilhowie. Inside my head (it feels like I am in a muffled box)!
I have never been to New Mexico, but I've seen pictures and videos. It's beautiful!
Pleasure meeting you as well, and I certainly don't mind you following me! Again, thanks for the tips. They will be very helpful to me. :)
More than welcome. Angelfire, a ski resort town in NM, is at 8,600 ft, so we knew we were not the highest.
When I moved to Cali, I always felt like I had a lot of energy, more so than in NM. I jokingly tell friends back home it was 'oxygen poisoning.' The other big difference is the humidity: NM is very, very dry. California is more humid, but not Atlanta. For me though, it feels like I am breathing air around a pool, if you know what I mean...even 17 years after moving here.
I miss the food and the people, more than anything, but the ability to be alone.
There are many things in NM to see. I recommend going to Santa Fe first. Go during the burning of Zozobra in September. October is good for the balloon festival. August, despite the heat, is great to go to White Sands National Monument, a vast gypsum dune sea that's almost pearly white. Stick around during the perseid meteor shower after dark and with no light pollution and the high altitude, you get an amazing show. There's Chaco Canyon, a Precolumbian city with cliff dwellings, to see and also in Carlsbad Caverns, one of the largest in the world. And a whole lot more.
Try the food though, but be ready for it being spicy. ;)
As I said, a pleasure.
The changes in my "symptoms" while traveling peaqued my interest, so I did some research a while back. There is an actual illness called "altitude sickness"! It's caused by shortness of oxygen at high altitudes. Your feelings (and mine as well) could very well be due to the changes in altitude. In some people the symptoms are more harsh than in others. Myself, I just feel a slight difference (enough to be annoying). Lol! It's so strange, but traveling to high or low altitudes actually have an effect on people! For instance, if I traveled to Ecuador I would more than likely have symptoms like: shortness of breath, dizziness, fatigue, or be sick to my tummy. Even though there is a possibility of sickness occuring, it would never stop me from traveling!
Unfortunaely, I haven't visited California yet. The most humid place I have traveled (so far) was Florida. When I first arrived, it was SO humid I felt like I could not breathe!! After a few days of being there however, I started to acclimate. I do know what you mean about feeling like breathing air around a pool. I have been to Atlanta, and the climate there is much like the climate where I live in Virginia. I went to a baseball game in Atlanta (towards the end of April). It was so cold I had to keep migrating to the guest shop where there was heat; just to stay warm! The month was almost MAY, but it felt like the middle of December! The weather is strange like that in some places. I haven't traveled out of the country, but anticipate to do so!
Thank you for the recommendations! New Mexico is a place that I have wanted to travel to for a very long time! It's on my bucket list. The places you described sound beautiful, and so much fun! I will definetly visit them when I do go. Oh, and the food!!!! That is one of the main reasons I can't wait to go! I watch YouTube videos of the food there. I love love love spicy food. It all looks so good! I can't wait to try it.
It's been great talking to you! Sorry it took me a bit to get back.
@lorlwrnc