New Mexico-From the Southern Plains to the Mountains-State 12 of 49 on our Adventure-Part 2

If you are a first-time reader, welcome to Lora and Erics RV Adventure Blog. You can read about us at http://www.LoraandEricsRVAdventure.com. We started in December 2017 with a goal to complete 49 states before heading home to North Carolina.

We started our New Mexico adventure in Roswell. Check out our last blog to read about Roswell and the International UFO Museum and Research Library. Today we headed towards Albuquerque. We have a reservation with Hidden Valley Resort in Tijeras. The city is about 1 hour from Albuquerque.

As we started our drive Lora searched reviews of Hidden Valley Resort. The rating was 3 ½ stars which is average. The reviews were very critical of the sites being too close together. So close the slides could not be used fully. At a rest stop I googled campgrounds around Albuquerque.

We called Isleta Lakes & RV Park and Sandia Resort & Casino and left a message. Sandia Resort & Casino had signs along the highway boasting $20.00 per night. Sandia Resort call back first. We opted not to book because Sandia Resort was about an hour outside of Albuquerque. Isleta Lakes & RV Park called, and we were told there were sites on a first come first serve basis. We were 30 minutes away, so we headed there. The distance from Roswell to Albuquerque is 211 miles (3 h 10 min).

Isleta Lake & RV Park is on an Indian Reservation on the southside of Albuquerque. Isleta Resort and Casino is a short distance away. The RV Park is 5 stars. It has 2 lakes for fishing, decent size pull-thru sites, and very nice facilities. If you want to gamble or eat at the casino there is a curtesy shuttle that will pick you up at your site and drive you to the casino and back. The only drawback is a commuter train track next to the park. There are buffalo and horses corralled on one side of the campground. There are great views of the mountains from our site. We made our reservation for April 24th through April 28th.

Checking TripAdvisor there are many attractions in Albuquerque. We finished up the evening doing our usual thing. The wind was blowing strong, so I moved the truck to block the wind.

The next morning, we planned our day. Our first attraction was Petroglyph National Monument. We stopped at the Visitors Center and view the 15-minute video about the park. We picked up a map. There are a few trails from short to long hikes. Lora of course wanted the short hike.

We drove to Mesa Point Trail. The hike is less than a mile, but up some weathered trails up a small mountain. The petroglyphs are unique and tells a story for the Indians and Frontiersman of the past. In the video, seen at the Visitors Center the petroglyphs were markers for tribes, settlers, hunters, etc to represent a direction or story.

After visiting the Petroglyph National Monument, we visited Albuquerque Old Town. We found parking on the street and walked towards the center square. Our first stop was San Felipe de Neri Church. Built in 1793, it is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city and the only building in Old Town proven to date to the Spanish colonial period. The architecture is amazing in the old Spanish tradition.

From the church we called the Turquoise Museum to see if they had a tour scheduled. There was a tour at 1:00pm. We had 10 minutes to walk to the museum. It was a short walk just outside the Old Town Plaza next to Walgreens. The museum is a turquoise jewelry store and in the rear a museum. The museum tour is host by a relative of J.C. Zachary Jr. The Turquoise Collection Room displays turquoise from over eighty mines from around the world. Turquoise specimens, jewelry and art from the six continents of North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia are exhibited. The tour lasts about 90 minutes. Later in 2018 they a moving to a new location with much more elegance than a store front in a strip mall.

We wanted to get something light to eat, so we chose Old Town Pizza Parlor. The restaurant is clean and has a few sections to eat as well as a back patio. The have a pizza buffet during lunch time. The pizza was good. My wife ordered a baked ziti. They did not have meatballs, so they substituted with barely any sausage.

After eating our late lunch, we walked to the other end of Old Town Plaza toward the Rattle Snake Museum & Gift Shop. I cannot suggest how to display snakes in their habitat, but most live snake displays are in a fish tank with some landscape like the habitat of the snake. The museum is a gift shop and museum in the back of the gift shop. To see all these snakes is interesting and cool to see. We did see some snakes moving, but most are stationary. There were some other reptiles as well and some videos in constant loop interesting to see. There is a great tribute to Steve Irwin and his wife on display.

We had a busy day, seeing a lot in a short time. We headed back to the campground and ended the day satisfied with our decision to move closer to Albuquerque.

Our 2nd night was very calm, no wind at all. The Lows were in the 40’s. We do not run the heater at night, so the camper gets down to low 50’s. Under the cover’s it is very comfortable. When Bella wakes me up between 5:00 am – 6:00 am I turn on the fireplace in the living room, so it gets comfortable quickly. I also will have a hoody and sweats out for when Bella gets up in the middle of the night or early morning.

Today our first destination is to the Unser Museum. The museum is a great way to showcase the Unser family legacy. The Unser family grew up in New Mexico and the museum shares their history. It is not only about racing. The museum is in 2 parts. The first section shows the racing history going back to the depression. An interesting story we read was about the family moving the family to the mountains above Albuquerque when the small pox or polio broke out in the city. The second building has a collection of antique cars, luxury cars, and race cars. The trophy room is amazing. We enjoyed the museum so much we purchased a brick to be placed at the front of the museum in the area they call the “Brickyard” we had 3 lines of text with 18 characters per line.

We selected:

Lora & Eric Benz

Nashville, NC

For Mom & Dad 2018

We hope to re-visit the museum on our return from Alaska later this year to view the brick.

We stopped for lunch at Blake's Lotaburger. It is the first time to a Lotaburger. Very similar to McDonald's or Burger King with less options. The burgers are larger than the competitors.

After a quick meal we headed to the Albuquerque BioPark. The BioPark Botanic Garden and Aquarium are included in admission price. The park is the main attraction. The children's section is one of the best we have seen in our trip across the US. There is a large miniature train area with multiple railways, towns, and the famous Thomas the Train and friends. There are group of volunteers just to maintain the trains. When we visited the butterfly enclosure it was being constructed. There is a nice bug and reptile building. Past the lake there is 2 glass building containing the Desert Exhibit and Mediterranean Exhibit. Beyond the exhibits there is a Japanese Garden and Heritage Farm. Bring some water the walk will take a long time.

The Aquarium is an added extra to the Botanic Garden. The aquarium is small. When we visited they were adding a new exhibit. The main tank has a nice assortment of shark and other fish.

Our last attraction for the day was the Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum. The museum is not what I expected. There are very good exhibits with full size balloons used to cross the pacific and other renowned balloonist. There is a 4d theater and balloon simulator which is very challenging. The museum should be a must see when visiting Albuquerque.

We seen a lot today and we have one more day before we leave. When we got back to the camper I scheduled a grooming for Bella Bee. I had to called PetSmart because the groomer needed proof of her Rabies shot. We confirmed the shot was still good for another year. The 3rd night we got wind again. Winds East at 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph.

We dropped off Bella at 10:00 am for a 11:30 am appointment. We first walked over to Banfield to pick up her shot records. We also asked if we can have Bella’s ears checked out. They scheduled an appointment for 5:00 pm. We confirmed with the groomer if we can keep Bella after her hair cut.

Our goal is to take the Gondola up to Sandia Peak. The gondola is one of the longest in the world at near 2.5 miles. I searched TripAdvisor for the attraction and set Google Maps to take us there. As we drove toward Sandia Peak, we entered Cibola National Forest. The name Cibola is thought to be the original Zuni Indian name for their pueblos or tribal lands. We began to go up the mountain. We eventually past a ski resort half way up the mountain.

At the top we reached Sandia Crest. The drive is easy up to 10,624 feet, and we see snow. From Albuquerque we seen what looked like cell towers on the peak of the tallest mountains. We had no idea someone can drive to the same place. We thought we were going to the Tram-way. Little did we know we drove to the top. The views are amazing as you get higher.

We see a few deer on the side of the road grazing. We also seen bicyclers going up and down. So much respect for them. When we visited the Gift Shop and Restaurant on the top I asked where the Tram-way is. He mentioned we needed to hike 2 miles to reach the Tram. We would could take the Tram down and then back up, after which hike back 2 miles to the truck. Heck no!

On the way back down, we had seen a museum named Tinkertown. So far this is most off the beaten attraction to date in our 49 state tour. It does not look much driving by, but if you have time coming down the hill, STOP. It is a must see for anyone with an imagination and appreciation of folk art and architecture all in one. First there are glass bottle and concrete walls, iron stencils art, miniature scenes, antique signs, unique displays, unique statements, etc. There is no more to describe this wonder. There are signs stating shows who broadcast shows from here like M TV, Antique Road Show, and Good Morning America. The original Tinkertown Man, Ross Ward, passed away November 13, 2002 of Alzheimer’s. The imagination of this man is so amazing. Another tidbit we learned was about the boat on display. It was his brother's boat. After crossing 80,000 nautical miles he tried to sell the both in Mobile, Alabama. After 2 years, Ross convinced his brother to ship the boat to Sandia Park. This is a must see.

Our last stop was the Museum of Archaeology and Material Culture. It is a campground and museum according to the sign. We parked and walked into the office. There was a gentleman walking out if the door with a sign named Museum. We woman behind the desk mentioned the museum closed in 2013. She looked surprised we were here for the museum. The man said they lost non-profit funding and closed. The building is super small, so the museum must not be big. Most likely 30 minutes to walk thru. The sign showed $4.00 admission. The woman kept looking at the man like she was upset he would not let us look past the door. We chatted about non-profit fund raising and how we were also affected by funding in the wrong way with Shepherds Chariot.

The time was before 2:30 pm. We recalled there was an opening for Bella earlier, but we thought we could not make it. We called Banfield and was able to change the time. With time to spare we got gas and stopped at a sporting goods store to purchase hiking back packs with water sacks, and hiking poles.

We reached Pet Smart with 10 minutes to spare. The groomer had moved Bella to Banfield so all I had to do was pay the bill. We waited for Bella’s checkup. The nurse was great she was so full of energy. The doctor on the other hand seemed very shy and distant. Bella has an inner ear infection in one ear. The doctor also felt Bella has an allergy, so she was prescribed allergy pills. After $150.00+ Bella was ready to go home.

When we got home, the neighbor behind us was entertaining guests. As the night gone on the number of cars and guests increased. There was loud talk about basketball professionals and other small talk. It did not bother us because we partied in our day.

Just before sunset a couple of drunk guests got into a pickup truck and sped off spinning the tires throwing rocks. A few minutes later I seen them go full speed around the turn sliding in the gravel speeding down the gravel road towards our site. He slid into the spot just next to the camper and our truck. I was pissed. I immediately ran out the camper and walked over to the group. I looked at the man who owned the camper and said the driver needs to leave now or I will call the police. Lora came popped her head out the door in wonder. I started walking to the security guard shack at the entrance. The passenger walked over to me and said I needed to relax. I just pissed me off more. I continued walking. I told the Security Guard he needed to kick out the driver. He mentioned he seen the truck. When I returned to the camper I seen the a car gone. The camper owner came over and I told him I had no issue up until the driving occurred. He mentioned the man’s wife was trying to get the drunk guy to calm down. Another person took both guy home in another vehicle while I was gone. We invited the camper owner into our camper. We showed him the camper and I mentioned to him I had no issue with the party. I also mentioned when security arrives send them to me and I will let them know the guys were sent home and we are good. Lora was shocked. She had never seen me do this, and I do not recall ever doing this either. The group was Hispanic and we are in a unfamiliar state. All I had on my mind was back in Vicksburg, our new friend Bob mentioned do not look the other way.

The next day all was good. We packed up before 10:00 am. I was up early enough to even do the laundry. Our route takes up to Sun Valley, Arizona, just outside Holbrook.

The landscape after Albuquerque was ever changing along the way. Without warning we reached the Continental Divide which splits the rivers flow between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. We stopped to take a picture of the monument and gift shop.

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