Albuquerque, New Mexico

May 28 was going to be a hot Friday leading into the Memorial Day weekend. We got an early start from Durango and headed south on Hwy. 550 toward Albuquerque.

This was a terrific highway . . . four lanes divided, not much traffic and lots of rocky buttes and scenic mesas to look at. It was nice to see lower gas prices. After gassing up in Utah for as much as $3.20/gal., we were finding prices as low as $2.53/gal. in the Albuquerque area.


We passed through the heart of Albuquerque and continued east for about 15 miles to Hidden Valley RV Resort in Tijeras where we checked in for six nights. Tijeras is a very small town (pop. 474) and we never did find a downtown. At the recommendation of our campground hostess, we went to nearby Cedar Crest for dinner at Ribs BBQ. It was excellent. The dinners were large so we split a combo plate of pulled pork, brisket, ribs, hot links, baked beans and salad. It was very filling . . . no room for dessert.


We drove into Albuquerque on Saturday morning. It’s a fairly low-profile sprawling high desert city of about 450,000 people. The Rio Grande runs through the center and the 10,600 ft. Sandia Mountains provide a scenic backdrop. Looking east are the mountains and there’s nothing but flat desert and an occasional mesa to the west.

We spent half the day in Old Town. It’s obviously the historic center of town and geared for tourism. We soon found that a visit to Old Town involved lots of walking. We wanted to see and admire the old adobe buildings and the brick pathways to small courtyards and alleyways. It also involved browsing through shop after shop filled with Indian pottery, blankets, rugs, silver, turquoise and beautiful jewelry of all kinds. Most of it was very impressive.

Bonnie looked for something to remind her of our visit to Albuquerque and found it in a very nice turquoise and silver pendant.

Pottery came in all sizes, colors, shapes and prices. It came from many of the area’s tribes, pueblos and other local artisans. There was so much to see that it boggled our minds and everything began looking the same. Ron found a nice vase. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t fit in the car and we had to pass it by.

We stopped for lunch and a rest break at the Church Street Café, located behind the San Felipe de Neri Church. Services have been held continuously in this church since it was built in 1706. The original adobe walls are still intact.

The historic plaza is the center and focal point of Old Town. That’s where people gather to talk, relax, watch other people and listen to mariachi music. For us, the large shade trees were a welcome relief from the blazing New Mexico sun.

Albuquerque’s big event is the October International Balloon Fiesta. More than 600 hot air balloons lift off in a spectacular display of color. We couldn’t experience the festival so, after a great breakfast at the Cracker Barrel (our favorite restaurant), we stopped by the International Balloon Museum.  It's pretty spectacular in itself.

The museum has lots of balloon history, photographs, memorabilia and some of the actual vehicles that made lighter-than-air history. Ron was particularly fascinated by the history of blimps and big zeppelins, some of which were nearly three football fields in length. Very interesting museum!