New Mexico parks, monuments gear up for solar eclipse

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico might not be the perfect spot for viewing the solar eclipse but several state parks and national monuments are still planning viewing parties. Monday's event will be the first total solar eclipse in 99 years to cross a coast-to-coast swath of the United States, from Oregon to South Carolina. Other parts will see only a partial eclipse. The celestial event begins in New Mexico at 10:21 a.m. By 11:45 a.m., viewers here will be able to see nearly three-quarters of the sun blotted out by the moon. Solar telescopes will be set up at El Malpais and El Morro national monuments in western New Mexico and at the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park in Albuquerque, the Cerrillos Hills State Park near Santa Fe and the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park in Carlsbad.