Rambling RV Rat: Touring Albuquerque, NM

We toured Albuquerque and surrounding areas on weekends before the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta commenced and again after our volunteer commitment concluded.

Our first order of business was to schedule a ride on the Sandia Peak Tramway. Tickets are sold only 1 day in advance and are contingent on anticipated weather conditions. So, it took us 2 tries before we scored ourselves a ride up the Sandia Mountains. We selected a late afternoon departure. Mom insisted we stand right to the side of the tram door so she could hold on tightly to the railings. But thanks to her acrophobia, she scored us an optimal viewing point. Up we went, landing at a 10,000+ foot elevation outside the Ten-3 Restaurant. The menu at Ten-3 is very limited and service isn’t quite as attentive as one would hope. But the views make it worthwhile. And since Dad was able to get an entrée that met his plant-based diet, we partook of a late lunch/early dinner. Then we burned off some of our caloric intake by hiking to Kiwanis Cabin. What a magnificent panorama of Albuquerque and the valley. We re-boarded the Tram in time for sunset. Unfortunately, heavy rain clouds obscured some of its brilliance.

View from the Ten-3 Restaurant window.

You can see Kiwanis Cabin, our hiking destination, at the tip of the mountain.

The views from Kiwanis Cabin...

Sunset views...

We were invited by some members of our Balloon Fiesta North Lot RV Parking Team to join them for "Dollar Day" at the NM State Fair. Hey, with admission reduced from $15/person to $1/person, we were all in! Although, we all were still hit up for parking at $10/vehicle. At least taking Dad’s trike Maximus (and presenting the parking attendance with a “thank you” tip) earned us “priority” parking. We all enjoyed viewing the art and craft exhibits. It is amazing how talented some folks are. I personally wanted to see the monkey exhibit, but that would have required a $5 withdrawal from my cheese bank, something I wasn’t inclined to do. Instead, I viewed the sea lion performance and watched the duck races.

Award-winning quilt.

Cool train set-up.

The sea lion performance and duck races...

My family discussed taking a pre-Fiesta balloon ride. We had the pleasure of taking one many years ago in a rural area of NJ. It was a spiritual experience, seeing deer in the fields, being among the clouds, and landing in pastureland. (We also were the volunteer chase team for that balloon company for a few trips thereafter). Mom is a bit frightened of heights; she asserted she would not enjoy floating above a city-scape and would worry about where we would land (not an entirely crazy notion since we did witness balloons crash into cars within parking lots, knock folks down, and land in fields with tons of goathead spurs). So, the verdict was in—no balloon ride.

We spent an afternoon in the Old Town section of Albuquerque. We walked around the Plaza admiring several classic cars parked nearby, and we perused the various shops. We toured Albuquerque’s Mother Church, the San Felipe de Neri. The Parish was started by Franciscan priests in 1706, and the original church building which was located across the Plaza was completed circa 1719. That building collapsed in 1792, replaced with the current structure in 1796. I said a prayer, thanking God for all his wonders and asking him to bring peace and love to his children here on Earth.

Residents outside the American International Rattlesnake Museum.

We enjoyed a beverage while watching the birds at this beautiful outdoor cafe.

Classic cars parked around the Plaza.

This church dates back to 1796...

We couldn’t volunteer at the Balloon Fiesta without touring the Anderson- Abruzzo International Balloon Museum. Admission is waived on Sundays until 1 p.m. before Fiesta begins. The Museum is chockful of history, memorabilia, even actual balloons. It is quite impressive and worthy of a visit even if a paid admission ($6/adult) is required.

This "50" display is comprised of an extensive collection of Balloon Fiesta pins.

Up, up, and away in my beautiful balloon!

We were compelled to cruise along Historic Route 66 (which is Central Boulevard) within Albuquerque and add it to the list of areas on which we traversed the Mother Road. Not a good idea! Nearly every business dons iron bars on windows/doors to protect against theft and property damage. I was saddened to witness so much homelessness, mental illness, and drug sales/usage, and quite honestly, a bit scared when we had to stop at traffic lights. But munching on lunch at the Route 66 Diner, with its retro décor and extensive collection of Pez dispensers, was the perfect antidote to calm me down.

We took a trike ride along NM-14, also known as the Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway, which offers views of the Sandia Mountains and its unusual rock formations. We visited Madrid, a coal mining town in the mid-1800s that supplied the Santa Fe Railroad. Once coal use diminished, the townspeople vanished, and Madrid achieved ghost town status. Then the 1970s arrived, along with the hippie-dippies and squatters. Now the area has an eclectic assortment of art galleries, boutiques, bars, and marijuana dispensaries. We continued to Cerrillos, known for its gold and turquoise mines. Walking through this small town, it is difficult to fathom that it was once considered the Capitol of NM. The fact that it provided the filming location for Young Guns is more apropos. We turned around at this point, stopping at Trail Riders Café in the village of Tijeras. It has an extensive vegan menu, so Dad was thrilled.

A church along the Turquoise Trail in Antonito.

Some of the unusual rock formations along the Turquoise Trail...

The set for the film, "Wild Hogs" in Madrid.

Some unique art creations in Madrid.

A wonderful cafe within an art gallery in Madrid.

Views within Cerrillos...

On another day, we ventured via NM-165 to visit Sandia Crest—or at least we tried to. We stopped about 2 miles along this unpaved road to take a ½ mile hike up to a cave on the side of the mountain. Super cool! But upon the return hike, we noticed heavy clouds moving in, so we scrapped continuing up to the Crest. Unfortunately, we still got caught in rain and hail. My parents put their Duluth Trading Company raingear to good use. Unfortunately, my raingear (e.g., a 3-millimeter trash bag) didn’t offer the same level of protection, especially from the hail. Now I need to invest in a new trash bag! We made a second attempt to reach Sandia Crest a few days later. This time we took the fully-paved NM-536, which provided great motorcycling and lovely scenery through Cibola National Forest. The air was cool and crisp. And the fall foliage was fully underway, with the aspen leaves changing from green to gold. It was a terrific day of riding.

You can see the stairwell that leads to the cave we explored. This cave was deeper than we would have thought, as you can see from this video:

The aspen leaves turning from green to gold.

One wonderful thing about our nomadic lifestyle is you meet up with friends no matter where you are. Hence, we had a great time at Steel Bender Brew Yard with Jim/Mary Beth, fellow DRV Mobile Suites owners whom we met in 2021 while in NJ. And we had the wonderful opportunity to catch up with Hank/Shirleen in Tijeras (which gave us a second opportunity to dine at Trail Riders Café), folks we met in 2016 while we all were camping outside Whittier, AK.

After we completed our volunteer commitment at the Balloon Fiesta, we relocated for a few days to Enchanted Trails RV Park. Since it was only 15 miles from Balloon Fiesta Park, we decided Dad would ride the trike while Mom hauled Suite Retreat. (Though Mom does her fair share of trailering, this was the first time she didn’t have Dad with her. So, this was a monumental occasion. No worries, this Rambling RV Rat rode shotgun for her.) Enchanted Trails is a small, older park, but well maintained. It has huge pull through sites, clean facilities, and friendly, helpful employees. Propane sales, windshield chip repairs, and a small parts store are all on-site (and if this store doesn’t have what is needed, Camping World is within walking distance). But what makes this park unique is its vintage RVs restored to their glory days for guests to tour (prior to Covid, they were vacation rentals). The RV decors and accessories add to the authenticity. So awesome! This is when RVs were built like tanks, with high quality and true craftsmanship.

Maximus with the Vintage RVs

Love the retro interiors...

After catching up on laundry and purchasing a new exterior waste valve for our RV, we decided to do some hiking at Petroglyph National Monument. We stopped at the Visitor Center. I noticed all the Federal government employees were still behind plexiglass, wearing masks, with minimal interaction with guests--2+ years since the start of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the Volunteers were front and center, maskless, dealing with the public. We watched the film (which was no longer offered indoors but instead set-up outside the Visitor Center and handled by the Volunteers), and I earned another Junior Ranger badge.

We stopped briefly at the Monument when we passed through Albuquerque in 2017. But since we had our full RV set-up and our tabby cat with us at that time, we only visited the Boca Negra section of the Monument. This time we explored Rinconada Canyon by hiking its 2+ mile loop. It is said there are more than 300 petroglyphs along this trail. But truthfully, the strong sunlight, the distance the trail is from the rocks, and the erosion of the rocks through the years made it difficult for me to see them let alone snap decent photos of them. Later we hiked the 3.5 mile round-trip Volcanoes Trail which provided some up-close and personal views of Vulcan Volcano and the city-scape of Albuquerque. While the area volcanoes look innocuous now, their eruptions many moons ago left us with the geology and topography we see today.

Some of the petroglyphs from Rinconada Canyon Trail...

Views from the Volcanoes Trail...

I am so blessed to witness so much history, geology, beauty, and culture. In the language of the Ancestral Puebloans who migrated through these lands, I say "wantah", which means "I am very much thankful."

We did lots of fun stuff while in Albuquerque. But the highlight had to be taking the Breaking Bad Tour, a recipient of my Rambling RV Rat 5-cheese award. (For those not familiar, Breaking Bad was an AMC series from 2008-2013 that showcased Bryan Cranston as Walter White, AKA Heisenberg. Walter was a meek and mild, average-Joe chemistry teacher in Albuquerque who morphed into an egotistical, fanatical Top Chef of the most potent, most pure methamphetamine—cooked initially from within a Winnebago Bounder RV. It is a well-written drama that hooks ya from the very first episode). The Tour sells out quickly and we tried for several dates before we were able to secure tickets. Luigi, our driver and tour guide, was terrific. He was informative, entertaining, and, having been involved with the show’s production, was well versed on Breaking Bad. He took us to the various locations within Albuquerque where filming occurred, including the Dog House frankfurter joint, the junkyard, and the car wash that Walter purchased to launder money, to name a few. The final tour stop is the Breaking Bad Museum in Old Town Albuquerque (which we visited previously during our aforementioned day of touring Old Town). Dad received magnets as prizes for knowing the answers to several Breaking Bad trivia questions. (Mom wishes he would clear his noggin of useless knowledge and remember important things instead). We met and bonded with Greg/Maryann who hail from NJ, especially since Greg looked a bit like the character Hank and Dad is often told he looks like Walter. Although, since he trimmed his beard, he seems to resemble the Breaking Bad character Mike. What do you think?