Tag Archives: Rio Rancho New Mexico

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Standing In Line In Rio Rancho

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Rio Rancho Police by Rescuenav, on Flickr

Rio Rancho Police by Rescuenav, on Flickr

On the City of Rio Rancho’s page about “Kamp Out for Kamp Rio” there is about 10 paragraphs on how to stand in line. This is so people can sign up for Rio Rancho’s apparently popular “Kamp Rio 2013” summer day camp for kids.

“Standing In Line” Rules and Etiquette

The Parks & Recreation Department staff makes every attempt to ensure that the registration for summer camp is a fair process for everyone. The summer camp line is nothing unique. Throughout life, we are all subject to “standing in lines”: Black Friday shopping, theme parks, concerts, at the grocery store, etc. As with every aspect of life, there is a protocol that should be followed.

Stay In Line At All Times. Anyone who has claimed a spot in the registration line is required to stay in line with the exception of short restroom breaks. If an individual, who has claimed a spot in the registration line, needs to leave for any reason that person needs to be replaced temporarily by a family member or friend until the person returns.

A Tent Or Chair Does Not Hold Your Place In Line. An individual will not be allowed to place a chair or tent to claim their spot in the registration line. Do not leave for work/school/home/shopping/restaurants or anything else until your registration has been accepted by Parks & Recreation staff or your tent and chairs will be removed by city staff.

Do Not Reserve Or Hold Spots For Others. Think how annoyed you would be after hours of waiting, suddenly and out of nowhere, five friends join the person in front of you making your wait even longer?

Be Patient – Everyone in line is in the same situation. Don’t be come irritated with others in line or with the Parks & Recreation staff.

Restroom Break – If you leave the line for any amount of time longer than short restroom breaks, you cannot expect to come back and take up your old place.

Respect Personal Space Of Others – While there is no need to stand body-to-body in the line, there is also no need to extend your tent/bbq grill/chairs/picnic-tables, etc. amongst a large space. Doing so will only irritate people and heighten tensions.

No Smoking In Line! If you are a smoker, now is not the time to light up – save that until you get home.

No Line Jumping – Quite simply – don’t!

“Standing in line” has universally understood rules and etiquette, but there are still those who break the rules mentioned above. With that said, the above rules apply and everyone’s cooperation and attention to this matter is sincerely appreciated.

Overnight In the Ojito Wilderness

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Limestone formations along a hiking trail in the Ojito

The Ojito Wilderness is about 11,000 acres of Sandoval county, New Mexico that was designated wilderness by congress in 2005 throught the 1964 Wildness Act. It is located west of Rio Rancho, New Mexico and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

The glow from Albuquerque can bee seen east of the Ojito. The Sandia’s can bee seen to the left of the short mesa and right of the tall light tower. The small red lights are from the radio towers on top of the Sandias.

People have been going to the Ojito for years before it was protected as a wilderness, it’s not one of the better known outdoor areas near the Albuquerque. The Ojito is a combination of desert; sand, cactus and scrub but also contains some pine trees and grasses. It’s sort of a transition area between the deserts in Albquerque and the forests of the Jemez. What makes the Ojito special is the number of impressive rock formations. There are a number of hoodoos formed by water millions of years ago, badlands and buffs.

Ojito Hoodoos

Ojito Hoodoos

Ojito Badlands

Ojito Badlands

I have had two trips to the Ojito, once in April of 2011 and this last time in June of 2012 and it will probably be a annual trip for me. Spring or Fall are good times to spend overnight in the Ojito, June is not. It’s hot, most plants have stopped flowering and there was a large number of nats and other flying insects. One of the reasons I like living in the desert is the lack of flying bugs so I was surprised at how many there was. There is no water, lakes or streams and people must bring it with them. As this is official Wilderness land no wheeled vehicles are allowed. Including bicycles. This probably keeps people away but backpacking a short distance in is well worth experience.

Firepit with hoodoos and a pine tree in the background

Firepit with hoodoos and a pine tree in the background

The area I camped included a group of hoodoos with a large area of sand and trees farther out. In the middle of the sand area there is a fire pit. Believe it or not while the rest of the state was under fire restrictions the Ojito was not. I verified with the BLM and was specifically told that the Ojito was not included with the rest of the state. Part of the reason might be because there is so little to burn. There are some pine trees spotted around the area the vegetation is pretty spares and well adapted to not getting water.

Trying to find out the fire restrictions in the Ojito was difficult. The official BLM webpage for the Ojito doesn’t tell a whole lot about restrictions in federal lands, as they are often different from the state lands. NM Fire Info lists state land fire restrictions and Public Lands Information Center lists federal fire restrictions.

FInally, New Mexico First District Representative Martin Heinrich created the Ojito.org website.

“Thank you for visiting the Ojito website. I hope you find the information here useful as you learn about and explore this unique and beautiful place. As someone who dedicated several years of my life to the creation the Ojito Wilderness, I also hope you will leave the area just as you found it. If we are all good stewards of this wild landscape, generations to come will continue to enjoy Ojito’s opportunities for hiking, hunting, photography and outdoor adventure. Enjoy. This is where the West is still wild.”

Article On Intel’s Fab 11X Construction In Rio Rancho New Mexico

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New Mexico Business Weekly has an article on Intel’s Fab 11X build out. This is the factory I work for.

When Intel Corp. finishes upgrading its chip-making factory in Rio Rancho next year, it will operate one of the world’s largest clean rooms.

The company started a $2.5 billion upgrade to its Fab 11X manufacturing complex early this year to produce Intel’s next generation, 32 nanometer chip technology. The new chips are smaller and faster and consume less energy than Intel’s current 45 nanometer chip technology.

When the upgrade is complete, Fab 11X will include 400,000-square-feet of clean room space, said Tim Hendry, vice president of the Intel Technology Manufacturing Group and the Fab 11X plant manager.

“It will be the largest clean room operated by Intel globally, and one of the largest in the world in general,” Hendry said. “The corridor that runs along the outside edge of the clean room is a quarter-mile long.”

Sometimes I have to walk the distance of that factory frequently. It’s a good way to get exercise. Read the whole article at New Mexico Business Weekly.

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Spring Snow In Rio Rancho New Mexico

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For the last month the weather has been mostly sunny and warm on the days I work and either windy, cold or rainy or all of the above on the days I’m off. I had a some sun and little wind yesterday but today it snowed.

Were not getting anything like Denver’s projected 20 inches of show. The lack of cooperation by the weather isn’t helping because I have a number of outdoor things to do around the house before I potentially go out of town for three months starting in May.

Rio Rancho High School Graduation

I’m trying to think back to my own graduation 15 years ago. It was held at the high school football field and I think there was a limit of how many people I could attend, something like 5 people (the class was 2000 people (update: 2000 is the total number of students in the school that year)). The Rio Rancho High School graduation is in some controversy due to the 8 person limit imposed when the school moved the ceremony to the Santa Anna Star Center. It was previously held at the “Pit” in Albuquerque.

The Santa Ana Star Center, which opened in November, will hold 5,500 of the graduates’ family and friends, while the The Pit held 11,000 for the ceremony last year, said Bill Duncan, Rio Rancho High activities director.

One thing that is annoying me is the woman I’ve seen on the news several times who complains that she cannot take all 50 of her relatives (she has a blog rioranchogradsunite.blogspot.com) to see her kid graduate. The Albuquerque Tribune says another person is upset because she ordered 40 invitations. Even if it was held at the Pit, there isn’t enough room for every kid to take that many people.

I know this is important to a lot of people and I don’t have a kid who is graduating nor 50 relatives that would come out for it even if I did. It appears that the school is willing to accommodate a reasonable amount of people (this problem isn’t unique to Rio Rancho High School). I feel it’s better to have the graduation in Rio Rancho, where the school is. I also feel that parents should be reasonable.

Intel Will Upgrade Rio Rancho Plant

Intel Corp. said on Monday it will spend $1 billion to $1.5 billion to retool a factory in New Mexico, which will start to make chips with cutting-edge 45-nanometer-wide transistors in the second half of 2008.

The factory to be renovated in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, is known as Fab 11X and will be the fourth Intel plant to use 45-nanometer technology, which includes new materials that boost chip efficiency by cutting leakage of electrical current.

My employment is secure.

Here’s a little bit more information about the IRB that was used to fund this upgrade. Looks like there’s some money left in the pot.

Rio Rancho & Lots Of WiFI

Rio Rancho, New Mexico is just butted up against Albuquerque to the north. Thanks to Intel (the largest employer in Rio Rancho and one of the largest in the state) they will have the worlds largest WiFi hot spot. It will cover 103 square miles including residential homes. Funny since you can barley get DSL and no internet via cable.

I lived in Rio Rancho (often called Rio Rathole) when I first moved here. At the time it was mostly a overgrown truck stop with no roads. The road have improved some and the whole city has grown up a lot, it’s good to see some high tech anything moving in.

[Update:] Check out the submission I made to slashdot. Unfortunately I couldn’t remember my password otherwise I would have tons of traffic coming to this site :)