Albuquerque, NM
City Recap
Here is our Albuquerque recap.
We were in Denver for our 1st leg of this “journey.” We were content with staying in Denver for another 2-3 months, but started looking for a weekend trip to Albuquerque for the Balloon Fiesta and stumbled upon a rental that fit us perfectly. We contacted the owner, and everything seemed to be destined. We shrugged our shoulders and said, “Let’s go to Albuquerque.” FYI, we knew nothing about ABQ…just that the Balloon Fiesta was there.
We started doing some research about the area and found some kid-friendly outdoor activities. We arrived in ABQ September 30, just before Balloon Fiesta week. We started with a canoe trip down the Rio Grande to watch the balloons. We also biked around chasing balloons and of course, went to the actual balloon launch site at Balloon Fiesta Park.
If people think that’s all ABQ is about or come just for that, they’re missing out big time.
There are many nearby outdoor activities and hikes in the Sandia Mountains, Santa Fe, Petroglyphs, Tent Rocks, Bandelier or even White Sands National Monument which is only 3.5 hours away but totally worth it. We were in ABQ for over 2 months and still missed out on seeing so many sites. We need to come back for the Los Poblanos Lavender Farm, Lights at the Jimez Ruins during Christmas time, Nambe Falls near Santa Fe and the Santa Fe Outdoor Opera- to name a few. We loved the Downtown Growers Market on Sunday mornings, the Old Town & Rt. 66 history and architecture, Camino 66 pottery shop, and Ancient Ruins of Kuaua Pueblo – Coronado Site in nearby Bernalillo.
We enjoyed taking our son to kid-friendly places in Albuquerque such as A Park Above, Explora, Rattlesnake Museum in Old Town, Tingley Beach, the Albuquerque Zoo, ABQ River of Lights during Christmas-time, Tinkertown in Sandia Park, McCall’s Pumpkin Patch before Halloween and even watch planes land at Albuquerque International Sunport.
Albuquerque’s restaurant scene is very diverse. We enjoyed eating at over 25 restaurants. Some of our notable restaurants are Crackin’ Crab Seafood Boil, Poki Poki, Tamasha Sushi, Poki Poblano Fusion, 66 Diner for some ice cream, Tia Betty Blue & Tia B’s La Waffleria, New Mexican classics like Monroe’s, Pueblo Harvest, The Farmacy (get the Migas and they’ve recently moved BTW), Macs’s, Duran’s Pharmacy, El Paisa Taqueria, & Latinos Unidos Carcineria in Bernalillo (best burritos EVER).
My favorite dish was Carne Adovada, and Keli loved anything with that spicy green chile!
To burn off some of those yummy calories, we found a workout home in Orangetheory-Midtown and enrolled Shea at Gymboree Play & Music ABQ.
You can tell that while ABQ is a reasonably large city (560,000 residents), it still has the small community vibe. We had locals, total strangers, reach out to us on social media giving us suggestions like where to trick or treat or restaurants to dine in or activities to do. Shea trick or treated on Forrester Ave NW between Lomas Blvd and Mountain Rd NW and we definitely recommend that! They shut the streets down, and the homeowners get hardcore into the holiday spirit. We are thankful to them and to everyone else in Albuquerque that made our stay there an enjoyable one.
We felt very safe and had no issues while we were in ABQ.
BTW, New Mexico has some of the best sunsets that we’ve ever seen and thank goodness we didn’t have any UFO encounters!!
Thanks again Albuquerque, it’s easy to see why you’re called the Land of Enchantment!
Activities To Do In And Around The City
The National Park Junior Ranger Program has educated our son...and us immensely. We all love…
19955 Highway 70 West Alamogordo, NM ⦁ $5 per person 16 years and older, FREE…
485 Kuaua Rd. Bernalillo, NM ⦁ This is about 15 miles north of Albuquerque. ⦁…
We took a long Thanksgiving weekend trip which started in Albuquerque. We drove to the…
1800 Tingley Drive SW Albuquerque, NM We were recommended to come here to view the ducks…
202 San Felipe St NW Albuquerque, NM (located in Old Town, ABQ) First I’ll…
Coming to Albuquerque was an "on a whim" decision. We knew nothing about Albuquerque. When…
903 10th St SW Albuquerque, NM ⦁ Adults $14.50, Children 3-12 $6, Children under…
Cochiti Pueblo, NM ⦁ $5 to enter (or FREE if you have a National…
15 Entrance Rd, Los Alamos, NM ⦁ $25 per vehicle to enter (we suggest…
2441 A Park Above Ct Rio Rancho, NM ⦁ FREE to enter ⦁ Dogs…
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta @ Balloon Fiesta Park This is one of those items…
McCall's Pumpkin Patch 34 McCall Lane Moriarty, NM ⦁ Open on weekends and Columbus…
Quiet Waters Paddling 105 D Pleasant View Drive, Bernalillo, NM ⦁ Arrive at 5:30…
121 Sandia Crest Rd, Sandia Park ⦁ $3,75 for Adults(ages 18-62 ), $1.25 4-18 and…
Best Places to Eat
3710 Campus Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM (Nob Hill) This place was our selection on a…
3517 Wyoming Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM (They currently also have a second location in…
6217 Central Ave NWAlbuquerque, NM A hairdresser claimed that this place was the closest to…
820 Bridge Blvd SW Albuquerque, NM This was our go-to taco place. We visited…
6910 Montgomery Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM This place had some of the best-tasting food,…
100 E San Francisco St Santa Fe, NM Although this was in Santa Fe,…
Health & Fitness
5716 Menaul Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM I had just moved here from Denver and…
5920 Holly Ave NE Suite F Albuquerque, NM We had our, now 21-month-old, son…
5010 Cutler Ave NE Suite F Albuquerque, NM When Keli and I arrived in…
Misc Services
This is a used outdoor gear consignment shop with a vast inventory selection along with…