As with many old cemeteries in Albuquerque, San Jose has fallen into a sad state of disrepair. It is no longer an active cemetery, meaning that new burials are being performed elsewhere and it doesn't seem that anyone is officially charged with it's upkeep. Meanwhile, city life goes on and the unkempt cemetery becomes a haven for tweakers and vandals.
Postscript: If you go there, don't be part of the problem. Remember the golden rule of visitation and photography: Leave only footprints, take only photographs.

In these old cemeteries, it is unusual to find a new(ish) grave and especially one with a news story.

Buried here at San Jose Cemetery is Albuquerque boxer, Vicente "El Picosito" Garcia. In 2006, he was found shot to death in a car. The young boxer was only 20 years old.

Johnpaul and I were at the cemetery on November 17, 2018 and there had obviously been recent visitors to Vicente's grave as evidenced by the relatively fresh jack-o-lantern and half bottle of Modelo beer.

​To learn more Vicente "El Picosito" Garcia and what happened to him, click here.

I'm not sure that Meadow Lake ever really had a "prime". It's a weird place that boasts neither a meadow nor a lake. To be fair, there was once a man-made lake that someone must have gone through a lot of trouble to build for the five people who lived there. It is closed now and barricaded behind a razor wire topped chain link fence. I grew up in this area and don't recall it ever being open. 

It's hard to tell what this building used to be, the inside doesn't look like a house. The land is for sale if anyone wants to use it for something else.

Whenever I tell someone that I live out near Meadow Lake, they always ask "is it past the Little White Church?" This building is the iconic landmark of the Meadow Lake area. 

​For the record, it's not abandoned, but I'm sure they get asked that all the time.

This gravel pit was operational when I was a kid. It is located about half way up the big hill (there's only one). There is a derelict mobile home park at the bottom of the hill. The park is inhabited but no one is paying their neighborhood association fees. Anyway, when I was a kid, the mobile home park was in a more respectable condition and then one day a truck loaded with gravel was coming down the hill and lost control at the curve. It tumbled a few times causing one of the axels to fly off and by god if it didn't cut one of those mobile homes clean in two! 

​Since then they put up a guard rail.

Just one of many curious structures that had electricity.

On October 14, 2018, Johnpaul and I went out to photograph the (mostly) burned down general store in Meadow Lake. The charred remains of the structure have been sitting there for at least a year and didn't look like they would be going anywhere anytime soon. Well, on this day they were, in fact, gone. The owner of the property finally decided to rebuild and my burnt down general store is now under construction which does not make for interesting photos.

Not to worry though, while we were out we found something much more unusual and eye catching: a carnival!

This carnival was set up across the street from a church that was having some kind of festival. Ergo, it was not abandoned but probably should have been. There were a few people walking around but no one was riding the rides, probably because they all looked to be held together with coat hangers and duct tape. To say that the rides looked unsafe would be putting it mildly. Additionally, the Carnies also looked to be held together with coat hangers and duct tape.. and various drug problems..
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It was the sketchiest carnival I've ever seen.

On August 12, 2018, Johnpaul and I went to check out the Albuquerque Rail Yards Market. The Market was alright but I didn't take any photos of it because the real reason I went was to check out the other buildings. Normally, this property is locked up tight to keep pranksters and vandals out. A nosey person like myself would need to get special permission and probably buy some kind of permit to get in and shoot photos.... unless I attend the Rail Yard Market, in which case it's free.

To clarify, visitors are not allowed to enter any of the buildings but people are welcome to wander around and shoot photos through the open doors and broken windows. Don't try to go inside, I think it would end poorly.

On a side note, The Albuquerque Rail Yards appear in several episodes of Breaking Bad. The Market is open every Sunday, May through October, from 10:00am - 2:00pm. For more information about the Albuquerque Rail Yards Market click here.