Albuquerque

2gypsies wrote:
If you're going to be there in Fall, do go to the Balloon Festival which is the first part of October. We boondocked 13 nights on the festival grounds and signed up to crew for a balloon. We got an awesome long balloon ride for our efforts and it was fun to do.

This would be a long travel day but you could drive up to Jemez Springs on Hwy 4 and continue to Los Alamos and Bandelier Nat'l Monument to Santa Fe and back to Albuquerque. It's a beautiful drive.

Here's a good web site for scenic drives in the area.

Scenic Drives

If you want a awesome hike experience head north to the Cochiti Lake area (a nice Corp of Engineer campground, too) and nearby is Tent Rock National Monument (Kasha-Katuwe). It is full of ancient rock formations/spires and you can walk among them.

You could even take the high speed commuter train up to Santa Fe for a day.

Go to Sandia casino for lunch and a great overlook of the city.

Drive Hwy 14 on the backside of the Sandia Mtns. which also takes you into Santa Fe.

Albuquerque is like any other big city. For one thing, it's huge. If you're into museums there are plenty and restaurants are easy to find and most are very reasonable.

X2 on Tent rocks hike!

Here are the tent rocks...



This is the canyon you hike through to get there!



Cochitti Lake is also very nice, it has no sewer at site, but does have water and electricity. Good value especially if you have a senior or annual pass.

If you're going to be there in Fall, do go to the Balloon Festival which is the first part of October. We boondocked 13 nights on the festival grounds and signed up to crew for a balloon. We got an awesome long balloon ride for our efforts and it was fun to do.

This would be a long travel day but you could drive up to Jemez Springs on Hwy 4 and continue to Los Alamos and Bandelier Nat'l Monument to Santa Fe and back to Albuquerque. It's a beautiful drive.

Here's a good web site for scenic drives in the area.

Scenic Drives

If you want a awesome hike experience head north to the Cochiti Lake area (a nice Corp of Engineer campground, too) and nearby is Tent Rock National Monument (Kasha-Katuwe). It is full of ancient rock formations/spires and you can walk among them.

You could even take the high speed commuter train up to Santa Fe for a day.

Go to Sandia casino for lunch and a great overlook of the city.

Drive Hwy 14 on the backside of the Sandia Mtns. which also takes you into Santa Fe.

Albuquerque is like any other big city. For one thing, it's huge. If you're into museums there are plenty and restaurants are easy to find and most are very reasonable.

Pepperoni wrote:
Breaking Bad was filmed there. There may be tours, or the sites are mapped online.

Here's Walt's house...



Just don't throw pizza on their roof!

:)

Brian

I would recommend the Al Unser Racing Museum. When we went we were able to find a Groupon so it was cheap to go. Not only is there history of the Unser racing family with cars and even Indy trophys, but also a car museum.



We also enjoyed the Gillman Tunnels up on NM4.



For "Cheap" food try Pit Stop 66. It is actually a gas station mini-mart across the 40 from Route 66 Casino (not affiliated). Get the Laguna Burger!! Might be the best Green Chili burger in New Mexico. (At a gas station??? Yep!)



Another interesting eating place is the Frontier Restaurant.

It was featured on Man Vs Food. It is cheap but good! Right across from the University.

Enjoy!

Brian

BTW you can read about some of these on my travel blog....

Great site to get info on Albuquerque::

www.visitalbuquerque.org/.

I'm a native and my personal choice of New Mexican food is Breakfast at Garcia's Mexican Kitchen. They're all over town.
The Huevos Rancheros is a great way to start the day::::::

Hit Sadie's Restaurant for some delicious authentic Mexican food. Old Town is worth checking out. I'm jinxed with the Tram (I've ridden it three times, and been stuck at the top all three times, weather twice, mechanical failure once, and no, it's not unreliable, it just doesn't like me). The National Atomic Museum also gets a vote. Breakfast at the Frontier Restaurant on Central Avenue (and take the time to drive the entire length of Central Avenue if you get the chance, it's one of the last pieces of Route 66 left). The Natural History Museum is worth a stop.

Sandia Peak Tram. We expensive cus we had our three grands with us, but oh my - the views were stupendous!

Thanks guys, I'll put Old Town on our list for sure. We will be there next fall.

My mother in law lives in Albuquerque so we're taking another trip there in September again. Last time we went, she took us to Old Town Albuquerque and it was very interesting. We ate there too and it was not very expensive that I can remember. We also drove to Santa Fe and walked around. Went to the famous church with the spiral stairs. This time when we go back we're going to take the Tram and drive up the Turquoise Trail, the back way to Santa Fe. She says it's beautiful.

We enjoyed the trolley tour and Old Town. Took our Golden Retriever to both.