近距离内射合集

GRANTS 鈥� As a born-and-raised New Mexican living in Albuquerque, I鈥檝e never really given the smaller towns around our state a second glance, choosing to spend my time dreaming of what I believed were bigger and better places.

Imagine my disappointment when I was assigned my stretch of the Journal鈥檚 Route 66 drive: Laguna to San Rafael. The few times I鈥檝e driven through that area, I saw nothing but dust, dirt and bright red rocks that bored me two minutes in.

I admittedly went into this trip a little pessimistic, but I returned home feeling a love for New Mexicans that inspired me to do more for this state and search for every hidden gem in the Land of Enchantment.

My journey took me straight through the Laguna and Acoma Pueblos, a great way to see the cultural history New Mexico has to offer. I had planned to visit the pueblos, but my plans shifted when a local police officer told me they were closed to visitors because of a religious ceremony happening that day.

Rejection is redirection 鈥� or so I鈥檝e heard 鈥� so I pivoted and decided to make my way to Grants and highlight a small town in New Mexico, one I had never visited or even thought of until forced.

Now, I am one of Grants鈥� biggest fans.

Historic mining town

The history of Grants is rooted in mining culture, and the city is sure to remind its visitors. The New Mexico Mining Museum is situated right next to a Route 66 drive-thru arch where visitors can snap a picture.

Built in 2016, the arch features neon lights that glow at night and show painted flames on the shield-shaped photo stop. The stop is free and directly along the road, a quick and easy stop for travelers.

On an especially warm Tuesday, several families drove through the arch, including one woman who posed atop the hood of her car in bright red retro clothing, smiling in what seemed to be an almost childlike joy.

Another family from Detroit, Michigan, told me they were traveling the entire route through the summer. They had stopped to collect a stamp for their Route 66 passports, which offer discounts and 46 suggested locations for those taking the full length of the Mother Road.  The daughter鈥檚 cornrows swayed as she tiptoed toward the front desk and cheered upon receiving her stamp before her parents packed their belongings to make their way to the next stop.

The mining museum offers historical videos that show the economic impact mining had on the city and highlight the nearby pueblos.

The museum sits directly off of Route 66, tucked into a building that looks less like a museum and more like a city hall. There鈥檚 a sort of vintage smell when you walk in. Crystals and minerals line small shelves that light up the gems and make them glitter and sparkle.

Shards of limestone, pieces of copper and petrified wood distracted me for quite some time, and I was amazed that such an eclectic collection could be found in Grants.

A receptionist inside said at least a third of visitors are from overseas 鈥� and for just a moment, my heart ached in a delightful way. Imagining people from Poland, the Czech Republic and Italy spending their summer in New Mexico, of all places, brought out a strong sense of pride in me. The desert and rock that have surrounded me my entire life are an anomaly to others, who spend their mornings looking out to the sea and listening to ocean waves.

There鈥檚 something so moving in knowing  Europeans, Canadians and other travelers find beauty in views I find mundane, in history I learned when I was 12 and in landscapes I was once so desperate to escape.

I was lucky enough to speak to 78-year-old Terry Fletcher, who spent 20 years in Grants digging for uranium during the big boom when the government learned it was the key to atomic bombs.

The years of hard work are evident in Fletcher鈥檚 movements. His biceps protrude even at his age 鈥� a clear sign of the thousands of hours he spent picking and digging away at excavation sites.

For nearly an hour, Fletcher described the heyday of mining in such detail that I could imagine exactly what his days looked like.

When Fletcher pointed at pickaxes, he mimicked the movements as if he were about to dig into a mother lode of uranium. As he pointed at dynamite-shaped holes, his fingers twitched as though he were prepared to light the explosive once more. 

Fletcher, whose name was celebrated on a decorative museum shelf, offered a tour of the museum. He gave a historical background based on his time exploring the mines. 

鈥淲e have about five generations of miners,鈥� Fletcher said, surrounded by artifacts dug out of mines throughout Grants. 鈥淚 started when I was 18, then I went to UNM. And once I graduated there, uranium was booming in the 鈥�70s, so I came back and have stayed ever since.鈥�

Fletcher described his days of mining as laborious but eventful as he took me down to an old mine and walked through what an average day looked like for him.

Each day, miners traveled deep underground, where a large ventilator pumped toxic gases out of the rocky caverns. Fletcher was young when miners learned that they were getting cancer from radon gas, which is produced by uranium as it decomposes.

Eventually, miners learned to safely navigate the depths and avoid, or at least delay, getting cancer. Instead, they worried about standard occupational hazards, like falling rocks or debris.

Uranium has a muddled history, but Fletcher said many credit Navajo sheep herder Patricio 鈥淧addy鈥� Martinez with discovering the element in the San Juan Basin. After that, Grants exploded as miners tried to get in on the next big mining material.

鈥淚t was a big boom from there,鈥� Fletcher said. 鈥淎ny oil company wanted to be an energy company, so they all came here and started uranium mines. We had over 120 mines here. When we closed in the 鈥�80s, we had 8,000 people working in the mine.鈥�

Fletcher said, at its peak, at least two packed buses traveled from Albuquerque to Grants each day, bringing miners who hoped to get their big break.

But mining wasn鈥檛 as simple as blowing up rocks and selling the sediment, he said.

Not all rocks held material miners sought, and the government would only purchase those containing uranium. Great paydays fed miners for weeks while rough days left miners struggling and hoping the next set of rock would contain the radioactive element.

鈥淔or every 2,000 pounds of rock, we ended up with 1,998 pounds of waste rock,鈥� Fletcher said.

The boom was big, which meant the subsequent dip was especially low, Fletcher said. Mining lost steam during the 1990s recession and thousands lost their jobs in the years that followed, forcing many people out of the city once reclamation work was done.

鈥淚t was rough on Grants,鈥� Fletcher said. 鈥淣ow we have three prisons, and that鈥檚 what replaced the uranium industry 鈥� 8,000 people鈥檚 jobs were gone overnight.鈥�

Grants now survives off those prisons 鈥� the Northwest New Mexico Correctional Facility, the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility and the Cibola County Correctional Center.

As for the future of uranium mining, Fletcher believes it will become lucrative again with the influx of data centers relying on nuclear energy. He said there are currently four companies in Grants assessing old ore maps and doing exploratory drilling.

鈥淓ventually we got to get more uranium if we want any data centers,鈥� Fletcher said.

The 近距离内射合集 States is working to secure domestic uranium supplies to fuel nuclear reactors, which could help solve ever-growing energy demands across the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. 

A celebration of home

Throughout my journey, I was in constant awe of how wonderful New Mexico can be when you look from an outsider鈥檚 perspective.

Yes, I鈥檓 aware of the many problems plaguing the state 鈥� but we are nothing if not resilient. Grants exemplifies that resilience.

The city uses the ghosts of its mining past to lure tourists, presenting the deep history New Mexico has to offer. 

I spent years angry that I wasn鈥檛 born near California鈥檚 ocean views or in New York, where the skylines reach past the stars. I now realize just how unappreciative I was.

Where else can you see endless skies, desert caverns and mines that trail deep beneath mountains to reveal secrets that could be the key to new forms of energy? 

Where else will you find green chile cheeseburgers, endless hospitality and toothy grins that seem to shine brighter than the sun beating down on the desert horizon?

When she鈥檚 not digging through uranium mines, Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.