When we told people we were headed to New Mexico for Thanksgiving, they all assured us we would really enjoy our time in Santa Fe and Los Alamos. And we did.
But when we mentioned we were also spending time in Albuquerque, the universal response was: why?
Well, I’ll tell you why… because there’s quite a lot to see and do there. I’m not sure why Albuquerque has such a meh reputation, because some of my favorite pieces of our trip took place here.
Albuquerque is a city of about 600,000 people situated between the Rio Grande and the Sandia Mountains in central New Mexico. Along the Rio Grande is a unique ecosystem called bosque, a cottonwood forest that relies upon annual flooding of the river to maintain a constant underground water source. Unfortunately, human alterations to the flow of the river have reduced flooding and endangered the bosque, but efforts are now being made to preserve it.
Rising behind the river – and Albuquerque – are the Sandia Mountains. The name Sandia is likely derived from the Spanish word ‘sandía’ – meaning watermelon – in reference to the pinkish color of the rocks at sunset. We did catch a glimpse of this color one evening, but we were driving at the time and I wasn’t able to capture a good photo.
Albuquerque was our home base for the first four nights of our trip, and we spent each of our days doing very different things.
At this point, you may be looking back at the title of this post and wondering if I struggle with math because four days is definitely more than 48 hours. But we arrived in the city late afternoon on day 1, and day 2 was spent at El Malpais National Monument. Days 3 and 4 were the ones we actually spent in and around the city itself, so I figured turning this into a 2-day itinerary made more sense.
So without further ado… a summary of our time in Albuquerque.
- Sandia Peak Tramway
- National Museum of Nuclear Science and History
- The Breaking Bad Store
- Petroglyph National Monument
- Food and Drink
Sandia Peak Tramway
The Sandia Mountains are a stunning backdrop to the city, and no matter where we were, we could see them on the eastern horizon. If you know me at all, you know that I have a never-ending desire to stand on top of tall things. And we could have hiked to the highest summit – Sandia Peak – via many different trails, but we decided it would be far more fun to take a gondola to the top.
The Sandia Peak Tramway was built in the 1960s to serve the Sandia Peak Ski Area, but now runs year-round between the base of the mountains and the Sandia Peak summit. It is the longest aerial tram in the US and the second-longest in the world, spanning 2.7 miles (4.3 km) and ascending 3,819 vertical feet (1164 m). There are only two support towers, giving the tramway the additional distinction of having the third-longest span in the world, with 7720 feet (2353 m) between the upper two towers.
At the highest point, we were 900 feet (274 m) above the ground. I’m not usually afraid of heights, but looking down at that moment gave me a brief feeling of vertigo.
The tram operator narrated our journey up – and then just chatted with us on the way back down since we were the only ones in the tram car for that leg of the journey. He was super knowledgeable, and pointed out the different features of the Sandia Mountains, the wreckage from a plane that crashed into the mountainside in 1954, and recommended a 1.9 mile (3.1 km) hike to the Kiwanis Cabin on the summit. I’m glad he did. The sun was shining, there was no wind, and we really enjoyed our time in the Sandia Mountains.
Cost: $24-29/person + tax and fees round trip; purchase tickets online one day in advance
National Museum of Nuclear Science and History
After the gondola, we headed across town to the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, a Smithsonian affiliate devoted to the development and use of nuclear technology. Admission ranges from $7-15 per person (but free for us with our local museum membership!) and is well worth it.
We went in expecting to learn about nuclear weapons – and we did – but there were also exhibits on the discovery of radiation, WWII and the Cold War, nuclear energy, nuclear waste, uranium, and the use of nuclear technology in medicine. Plus, the outdoor area behind the museum had a collection of planes, missiles, rockets, and a nuclear submarine. We spent the entire afternoon here, and unfortunately our brains gave out before we made it through all the exhibits. It was fascinating!
Fun fact: Brazil nuts are the world’s most radioactive food due to their high concentration of radium.
Something I hadn’t known prior to visiting the museum is that the bombs dropped on Japan were not identical. The one dropped on Hiroshima – known as Little Boy – was made from uranium. The one dropped on Nagasaki – known as Fat Man – was made from plutonium.
During the development of the bombs, scientists realized that the method used to trigger the uranium bomb wouldn’t work with plutonium so they set out to develop a new trigger method. Once the mechanism was developed, they realized they would need to test it to ensure it would actually detonate the bomb. This was the world’s first test of a nuclear weapon. It worked. Three weeks later, the bombs were dropped on Japan.
Cost: $7-15/person, tickets can be purchased online in advance or at the door
The Breaking Bad Store
I haven’t actually seen Breaking Bad. My husband has, though. And we’ve been watching Better Call Saul together (we still have one season to go, so please no spoilers in the comments!). So when I learned about the Breaking Bad Store through a friend who recently traveled to Albuquerque, I immediately added it to our itinerary.
The store is located in old town Albuquerque, nestled amongst other shops that are very clearly catered to tourists. We didn’t visit any of the other stores – as a general rule, I very much dislike shopping – but we did pop into the Breaking Bad Store and Museum.
The store was exactly the type of souvenir shop you would expect, and we browsed the many items but ultimately didn’t purchase anything for ourselves. The museum is next door and it’s small but fun. They had quite a few original items from both shows (including, weirdly, the actual underwear Bryan Cranston wore in a scene in season one), as well as life size cutouts of the characters and a couple displays. It was an entertaining place to spend a few minutes.
Plus, it brought us to the oldtown area of the city, a place we otherwise weren’t planning to visit. There’s a beautiful old church here as well.
Petroglyph National Monument
Just beyond the western edge of Albuquerque – on the other side of the Rio Grande – is Petroglyph National Monument. The monument was established in 1990 thanks to the extensive efforts of concerned citizens and local indigenous people who were worried about the city’s rapid westward expansion. Rocks containing petroglyphs were being moved and damaged to make way for housing developments, resulting in the loss of thousands of years of history and destruction of sacred land.
Although there are ongoing disputes related to administration of the monument, somewhere between 17,000-24,000 petroglyphs are now protected within its boundaries. I’m actually going to share a separate post on the monument next week, but for now, here is a preview.
Cost: $2/car, pay at the trailhead; America the Beautiful passes are accepted
Food & Drink
Of course, we can’t visit a new city and not sample the local craft beer scene. There are quite a few locations to choose from; ultimately, we settled on two places that were recommended to us prior to the trip.
The first was Bow and Arrow Brewing Company, a Native women-owned brewery located off I-40 in a somewhat industrial portion of the city. As soon as we walked in the door, I knew I was going to love this place. The long tables gave it a classic beer hall vibe to contrast with the cozy, somewhat rustic interior.
We each ordered a flight, and all six beers were good but two of them were absolutely fantastic! One was a pumpkin oatmeal stout, and the other was a marshmallow vanilla cinnamon bourbon barrel-aged stout. That second one is a mouthful, but it lived up to its name. It’s one of the best beers I’ve ever had!
Marble Brewing Company was recommended to me by two people, so that was our other brewery visit this trip. Once again, we each ordered a flight, allowing us to sample 12 of the 14 beers they had on tap. As two people who dislike IPAs, we appreciated that most of their menu consisted of non-IPA varieties. My al pastor burrito bowl from the Mexican food truck parked out front was also very tasty.
All in all, I felt as though this amount of time in Albuquerque was adequate. We were able to complete everything on our itinerary, and we really enjoyed the variety of activities the city had to offer. With the tram to the northeast, Petroglyph to the west, our hotel down south, and the breweries and museums located more centrally, we managed a pretty thorough tour of the city, too. We rarely had to drive more than 20-25 minutes to get from one place to the other, though driving time could be shortened slightly by choosing a more centrally-located hotel.
I’m glad we committed two full days of our vacation to Albuquerque. I think most people overlook it in lieu of visiting Santa Fe, but I recommend giving Albuquerque a chance.
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