Old Town Albuquerque

Friday, November 1
So far this week we had avoided heading into downtown Albuquerque, but today we wanted to see the Old Town ......and maybe just one museum!

Against my better judgement we took I 40 through town. They sure drive fast on that highway. Most folks do well over 80 MPH in a 65 zone! Thankfully the morning rush was over so we managed to fight off the trucks and bad drivers and made it to the Old Town Plaza area just fine.

Junction of I 25 and I 40.

Lots of shops in these old adobe buildings. Many date back to the early 1800's.

The famous Candy Lady shop. Way overpriced for us though.

Very colorful, even though the flowers were nearly done.

A slice of an adobe wall. Mud, straw inside, a plaster outside.

Branches in the window make bars.

Town Square

The San Felipe de Neri Church was founded in 1706 by Franciscan priests. This is not the original church. It was built ca. 1793

The adobe walls in the church are 5 feet thick in places.

Lots of shops surround the Town Square.

After we walked and looked at all the sights we moved the truck over to the Albuquerque Museum. Parking was easy and free with a Museum admission. It was a nice museum that had artworks as well as historical displays depicting the history of Albuquerque and area from pre-historic to modern times. A worthwhile stop for sure.

Beautiful grounds with sculptures.

A painting from the early days of Albuquerque. San Felipe de Neri Church is shown in the center of the painting.

A model made of multi-media. (plaster, wood, cloth, etc.)

Wood carvings of country entertainers.

Our favorite painting. A coyote, painted in 1995. See below.

Early contact with the Spanish.

Lots of artifacts of course.

Another of our favorites. The Sandia mountains.

Huge sculpture.

We took the slow road home, or in other words old Route 66 through the middle of town. We didn't get too far before we were 'forced' to stop at the Route 66 Diner! We had a very late lunch/early supper. They had great food and the interior was right out of the '60's. We followed Central Avenue, better known as Route 66 all the way through town and then continued on Hwy 333 home.

The 66 Diner

Inside was like walking back in time.

Huge collection of Pez dispensers.

Lunch......and supper!

Driving down Central Avenue you can see the remnants of Route 66, mostly by looking for old diners and motels.

We did find the Musical Highway this time. Between Mile Marker 4 and 5 heading east on Hwy 333 (old Route 66). Just keep your speed at 45 MPH and keep your right wheels near the right side of the driving lane (but not on the white line). Sure enough you start to hear the bars from America The Beautiful.  It's a short version for sure as the Musical Road is only 800- 1300 feet long, but a nice thrill. We saw many vehicles doing u-turns on the highway to go back and do it again. Very cool! Click here to learn more.

Tomorrow, Saturday, we'll explore close to home. We need propane and a few supplies. Sunday we head south to Roswell and then onward to Brantley State Park near Carlsbad.

......and that was Our View From Here!

Sandia Crest, and BRRRR!

Thursday, October 31
Wow, was it cold last night! It was -12C (10 F). I also have a thermometer inside our utility cabinet where the water lines connect. It showed -2 C (28 F) this morning. We had loaded the on board water tank so we didn't need the water spigot. Good thing cause it was froze.

When we left Alberta I had been using my heated water hose. When we were packing the trailer to head south I figured I would save some space and not bother bringing it along. I mean....we were heading south to get into some warm weather, right? We dragged that dang hose with us last year and never used it! This year, we have had freezing night time temps for the past two weeks!

It has been abnormally cold around Albuquerque. Last night 13 communities around the state set record low temps. On average it is about 20 F below normal around New Mexico. We're not really helping the situation. The RV park we are at is in the hills. Albuquerque is roughly 5,000 feet. We are at roughly 6,500 feet. Definitely colder here in the hills than in the valley. Things are looking up though. They expect to be back to normal temps by early next week.

Anyway, after a very cool start to the day the temps were rising and the sun was shining and we wanted to take a drive up to Sandia Crest which is the highest point in the Sandia ridge that overlooks Albuquerque. At 10,630 feet it provides an outstanding view.

Lots of switchbacks.

We saw a half dozen small dark deer on the way up and back.

Hard to read. The Crest is about a mile above Albuquerque. Seen from the valley floor at sunset the Crest has a red-orange hue that the Spanish referred to as watermelon color.

The city of Albuquerque

A half-million people live in ABQ.

A string of dormant volcanoes to the south.

A forest of radio antennas on the top of the Crest. The first antenna was placed in 1945.

The view to the Northeast. Santa Fe is just below that large mountain range on the horizon.

View to the West.

A long twisty road down.

We made it safely back down the hill and headed into Albuquerque (ABQ) for a bit of shopping. On the way home we took Hwy 333. Not just to keep us off the Interstate but to try and find the Musical Highway. Well, we didn't find it today but some further Google research under our belts and we'll have another try tomorrow. Stay tuned to see how we made out!

....and that was Our View From Here!