Roaming Away: Albuquerque

Less than a two-hour flight from Los Angeles, 300-year old Albuquerque offers its own scintillating blend of culture, history, diversity, and diversion. The city sprawls but it’s almost imperceptible thanks to low-lying architecture and distinctive neighborhoods that are ringed by wide-open spaces and intriguingly shaped peaks. And all that sky!–big, blue, and often punctuated with colorful bobbing hot-air balloons. Another big bonus: Albuquerque sits on historic Route 66.

Favorite Pursuits:

• Ballooning. Famous for the nine-day kaleidoscopic Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta held each autumn, hot-air ballooning is offered year-round (weather permitting). Be sure to check out the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, where you can learn everything about ballooning and view history making gondolas, parachutes, and other high-flying items.

• Old Town Museum Hop. Within a short walk of one another are three distinctive museums: Albuquerque Museum of Art & History with permanent and traveling exhibits that focus on Southwest culture; New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, where eight exhibit halls cruise you through New Mexico’s dinosaur and tropical past (it used to be a humid jungle!) and other fascinating events; and the hand-on, fun-filled Explora that makes even jaded adults want to be kids again. Close to Old Town, the Turquoise Museum is a not-to-be-missed educational experience for anyone thinking of purchasing this exquisite stone.

• Cultural Centers. The 16-acre National Hispanic Cultural Center offers superb exhibitions by Hispanic artists, a theater that presents a wide variety of performing arts, sculpture garden, and genealogical library; learn about New Mexico’s 19 pueblos (including visiting etiquette) at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, an extensive facility with numerous galleries and a huge (and wonderful) gift shop. Opened in 1927, downtown’s KiMo Theatre presents performances by Opera Southwest and other entertainers within its magnificent “Pueblo Deco” venue.

• Petroglyph National Monument. Run by the National Park Service, the monument is home to approximately 20,000 carved images–some that depict people and animals, others indecipherable to most visitors, all fascinating. Short walking trails offer a taste of this archeological site, while more active visitors can opt for lengthier hikes.

• Sandia Peak Tramway. Billed as the world’s longest aerial tramway, the enclosed trams rise to an elevation of more than 10,000 feet offering breathtaking views of the New Mexico terrain. Sandia, in Spanish, means “watermelon” and that is indeed the stunning shade they assume at sunset.

• Acoma Pueblo. Only about an hour’s drive from Albuquerque, the Acoma Pueblo truly lives up to the “but a world away” cliché. Here you can take an Indian-guided tour of the fascinating mesa set more than 300 feet above the valley floor. Inhabited since before the 12th century, the Acoma People are renowned for their distinctive and delicate thin-walled pottery, which you can purchase in the cultural center or from vendors with tables set up along the tour path.

• Food. New Mexican cuisine is laden with tasty red chile or green chile or sometimes both. Even a turkey burger will have some kind of chile in or on it. Favorite restaurants: Old Town’s circa-1700 Church Street Café, famous for its handmade tamales and Spanish-style chile rellenos; Nob Hill’s O’Neill’s Pub, which offers terrific ambience, handmade furnishings and décor, and unique treats such as addicting crispy corned beef and cabbage egg rolls; family owned and operated since 1962, rambling El Pinto is usually packed with locals who savor the traditional recipes; and The Pueblo Harvest Café (within the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center) for blue corn pancakes, Indian toast with pinon butter, and “Native-Fusion” cuisine.