Shangrai-La

With all the natural disasters taking place in the country I often think that my little town of Grants, NM is a little like Shangrai-La, the fictional town in James Hilton's novel, Lost Horizon. We do not have flooding, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes or record snowfall. Even when snow or rain is predicted it often takes a detour between Gallup and Albuquerque. It's almost like the mountain range protects us.

I have often sensed that this is an area of spiritual significance. It is mostly inhabited by residents of Native American and Spanish heritage.

When I first moved to Cibola County in 1976 my first question was, "Where is the grass?' Although it was once the carrot capital of the U.S. it is mostly covered by dirt and lava, from the eruption of Mt.Taylor, many years ago. At one time, uranium mining was the business to be in. It brought many outsiders into the area and changed the focus of the towns people.

Now the town is pretty much into the tourist trade. One of our biggest attractions is the annual quadathalon, up Mt.Taylor and back to town. It is now attracting racers from all over the world and takes place the first part of February. We also have several Indian tribes in the area and many historic sites to investigate.

Even if Grants, NM isn't really Shangrai-La it is the place I call home and I have no desire to move anywhere else, at least not at the moment.