Some things never change. It's still difficult to post pictures. But I could use the HTML practice, so here we go.

Anyhoo... my wife and kid love hiking. We ended up in New Mexico for the first time and, Man! I never expected to enjoy it so much. Shame on me for underestimating it. It's a beautiful and friendly state. Here are some highlights from our 4 days there:

We picked up an Air B&B at a little casita near Old Town Albuquerque on the cheap. A neat little 100+ year old adobe house a few blocks away from the tourist area.

The businesses sell pottery, trinkets and snow cones out of centuries old buildings. Mainly on the weekend. During the week it's pretty quiet and sort of ghost-townish at sunset.

The weather is perfect for ballooning in Albuquerque. This is where they have the giant 1000+ balloon fest in October every year. I hope to go back for that sometime. This photo is part of the inflation process where they arrange strong fans pointed into the nech of the balloon to partially inflate it before the fire is turned on.

Here's the family over the Rio Grande.

Little did we know that Albequerque is home to North America's longest cable tramcar, at about 2.5 miles in length and 5000 feet in elevation.

Another view from the Tramway. Fun Fact, Kids! Just below you is the remnants of a crashed TWA plane where 16 people died!

About an hour West of Albequerque you'll find the Acoma Pueblo. Inhabited since 1100, this is the oldest continually inhabited civilization in North America. And I thought St. Augustine was old. We went up to the top of the mesa and toured the town and bought some pottery, but they didn't allow cameras up there, so this is the only photo we have.

Next stop was White Rocks where we met up with a hiking tour guide who took us to these 500 year old ruins of an old Pueblo village. There were centuries old pottery and rock tool shards everywhere; it was sort of eerie. This was the remnants of the village wall for security.

Then off to Santa Fe. For cappuccino and gelato. This is an artsy town with lots of markets and souvenir stores and restaurants and venues with live music.

Speaking of music... My 'Close Personal Friend' Al Yankovic was in town for a concert, so what the heck; Let's stop by and check out the show.
"

As usual, he put on an awesome show. This one was particularly great, hearing him play 'Albequerque' in New Mexico. Good Stuff. Cheers!

Long Story Short... If you like traveling, New Mexico, while it doesn't have the Grand Canyon or Sedona, is about 80% as beautiful as those areas with 10% of the tourists and 50% of the cost of traveling to Arizona. Tell them Dave sent you.


Edited: 05/07/2018 at 07:36 PM by DaveFL76

Thanks for the awesome report!! Looks really great there!

That looks like an awesome trip. Now I have the urge to go there!

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[Feminism is] a socialist, anti-family, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians. ~Pat Robertson

That does look fun, right down to the Weird Al closer!

I'd love to see a high desert and find a tarantula, Santa Fe looks perfect for both.

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I was right.

Love the New Mexico area also.  I've spent a lot of time in Albuquerque and areas around there.  If you like the outdoors and open spaces, it is an awesome place.  Still go there on business and have to say the area has changed as it was hit hard by the 2008 recession, but it is still cool.  Some of the areas are a little tougher than others and it is good to know which areas are what, just like any good sized town. 

The Sandia mountains are beautiful and the tram is a real trip!  Great picture blog, and yeah....Wierd Al is awesome.  Thanks for sharing!

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If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph: THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD WAS MUSIC - KV

In '72 we moved from Fort McClellan in Alabama to Colo Spgs Colo. Since the gubmint was paying for our stuff to be shipped, it would take a month for our stuff to get there. We took the scenic route down to the end and to the right. We stopped at Carlsbad Caverns and watched the swarms of bats come out at sunset.

Love the shots.

The museum in Albuquerque will be hosting a temporary exhibit from the Hispanic Society of New York, an important museum that no one visits (well, 25,000 visitors/ year), that's closed for refurbishment.  The show was set up for the Prado in Madrid, where it was a huge hit.  I figure it would be cheaper & more fun to see the stuff in Albuquerque rather than wait for the museum in NY to reopen.  

My last visit to NM was years ago.  Spring.  Drove down from cold Laramie expecting warmth.  Las Cruces was colder.  Go figure.

 

Thanks Dave.

Try to decide whether to retire there or in Tucson.

Sandia Labs or Los Alamos?

sweet Dave.  It is nice, Utah also has many awesome spots.  If I ever couldn't surf anymore, I would definitely spend more time in both states.

That place is amazing.

I was there for 3 yrs in middle school as my father was an USAF pilot instructor stationed at Kirkland AFB.  

We got to see EVERYTHING.  

Sandi National Laboratories Beam Weapons Research........(ie) laser light shows at night in middle of desert in highly restricted areas.

Fleets of blacked out semi-tractor trailer trucks driving into 20 foot doors into the sides of mountains.

At 12 years old........it was super cool to see.

Funny thing was... I played soccer ...and it took me about half a year to acclimate to the altitude as we had moved from Tyndall AFB prior....Panama City, Fl.

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Waiting for waves is ok......most people spend their lives waiting for nothing.

Tee...Yes. 

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If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph: THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD WAS MUSIC - KV

I KNEW IT!

did you get to hear weird al sing Albuquerque in Albuquerque??

Haha -- yes. A 20-minute long extended version, even!