Albuquerque Festivities

From Colorado into New Mexico highways blanketed in big blue skies bordering rolling tumbleweeds and desert bushes lead into rock formations made of colorful horizontally striped variations of sandstone, varied elevations, pockets of alpine forests or some combination of such. The beauty of the drive quickly becomes an existential experience overwhelming any destination goals. If Albuquerque isn’t currently one of your destinations, you may want to consider it. It’s a city much like any other city except for its distinct culture, food and magical places. Pueblos who settled the area during the 13^th century along with later invading Spaniards have inspired flat roof houses and buildings lined in colorful stucco resembling older adobe mud coverings (1). Thick ornate wooden doors welcome one in at the end of pathways through textured rock gardens sprinkled with desert cacti and maybe a palm or mesquite tree. Compared to the east coast there isn’t a lot of green in Albuquerque but its beauty lies in the Manzano and Sandia Mountains visible from the mid to east side of the city. If you would like to visit the Sandia Peak from Albuquerque the Sandia Peak Ariel Tramway is a good option. The ascend offers excellent views so I am told and takes 15 minutes to reach the top where you can dine at TEN 3 restaurant if you have the appetite. Speaking of appetites and green. Be prepared to have an answer to a common question when dining in the area. Green or Red? If you would like a mix of both chile sauces ask for “Christmas”. I was told the longer the pepper is stored, the hotter it gets. I tried vegetables cooked in green sauce naively assuming green was the safer choice, and was surprised how spicy it was. The flavor was wonderful and then a minute later my mouth felt like a blow torch! Every time I opened it to chat with our dinning friends I imagined spewing out a blue flame. I managed to power through. LOL From then on I asked for Christmas on the side. Albuquerqueians have a great pride for and love of their chile! There is even a yearly Great New Mexico Chile Taste-Off usually in or around October. Chile growers and others bring their recipes from all over New Mexico to Socorro (about an hour outside of Albuquerque) to compete for the “Best Chile” sauce title. If you can’t make it to the chile cook off event the Farmers Chile Market offers many different varieties of chile including the premium hatch chile produced in Hatch Valley. (Note: Hatch chile season is from the beginning of August to the end of September.) If you need a break from spicy fares the Range Cafe in Bernillio is an excellent choice! The country fried steak offered gives the best southern cook “a run for their money”. Move over Ms. Patty! Although you can find the breakfast burrito at many restaurants it is said to have originated at the Balloon Fiesta in the 1970s (2) and is a tasty and filling option if you are attending a morning ascension show.

The Balloon Fiesta draws balloon enthusiasts from all over the United States and other countries. Its a yearly event usually occurring in October weather permitting. General admission tickets are sold by sessions such as all morning activities or all evening activities. The event lasts for 9 days, each with a morning and evening session. There are plenty of concession stands offering pretty good food and drinks. Water and snacks can be brought in if you prefer. Bring a blanket or your lightweight chairs. It can be a long walk to the field from parking although you will more than likely encounter someone offering a free golf cart ride along the way. Park and Ride tickets are also offered if you would rather not go through the trouble. Balloon ride tickets can also be purchased on the balloon fiesta web page. If you would like to stay at the park, RV dry or 30 and 50 amp with water camping is available and should be purchased as soon as the posting comes up about a year in advance.

We stayed at the KOA in Bernillio about 20 minutes from the field. Cactus Brewing Company offering beers and surprisingly good food was a five minute walk through the back corner of he park. Best of all we were able to bring our dog Rita and listen to some live music! We would definitely stay here again! The weekend after attending the balloon fiesta we decided to take a short hike on the Piedras Marcadas Canyon Petroglyph Viewing Trail at northern most area of Petroglyph National Monument. It is a 1.5 mile trail with 7 petroglyph viewing areas. Some of the glyphs are quite high and are hard to view without binoculars. Even though we didn’t go prepared we still saw quite a few petroglyphs of all different sizes. There is no shade and in the afternoon it starts getting hot rather quickly. Due to the heat we turned around close to the 5^th viewing area and headed back to the truck. Next time we visit we will choose to go early in the morning and bring a light weight umbrella. Take plenty of water and be sure to visit the visitors center to get good historical information and trail recommendations. Pets allowed except on Boca Negra Canyon trail. After our hike we visited Old Town which has quaint shops and interesting architecture. It is a touristy area and can get quite busy on the weekends. While there we delightfully strolled upon a car show displaying old muscle cars. We ventured into a tourist shop, bought the T-shirt and grabbed some pizza for lunch. Would we go there again? We are already planning on it!