41 Southwest Highways & Fields
Edition 2C Albuquerque, NM
Trying to find a city with diverse culture, mild weather, beautiful landscape, great food, and plenty of open spaces for recreation? New York may be diverse, Chicago has good food, and Seattle is known for its parks and greenways, but Albuquerque just seems to fit the bill perfectly. By New Mexico standards, Albuquerque is a huge city, but those of you who hail from Dallas, Houston, or Los Angeles may find it surprisingly small.
Most cities nowadays spread out for dozens of miles along the highway, with suburb after suburb of cheaply built homes and shopping malls that look like carbon copies of the last 10 I drove past. Sure, Albuquerque has run-down neighborhoods and the same shopping centers, but you can drive for a few miles and be completely out of town, no matter which direction you drive in. Albuquerque has plenty of lodging options, from budget motels to quaint old town B&Bs and luxury casino-hotels located on nearby Indian Reservations. Since I like the outdoors, I opted for the Turquoise Trail Campground in the Sandia Mountains 15 minutes east of Albuquerque. Since the campground is on the other side of the Sandias from Albu-
minutes east of Albuquerque. Since the campground is on the other side of the Sandias from Albuquerque, the city lights aren't shining in your eyes, and the weather can be much cooler. I went to Albuquerque in October to see the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta; a large event where hot-air-ballooners come from around the globe to compete in various competitions. On every morning of the week-long event, they have the Dawn Patrol, in which dozens of balloons lift off right at dawn. The flame in the balloon causes the balloon to glow in the early morning light. I woke up at 5:30 in the morning and zipped through town on the interstates. The traffic was no problem until I got off the freeway at the Balloon FIesta exit. After creeping forward one block at a time in the cold darkness, I was finally directed to my parking space. Excited, I jumped out of the car and walked in the gates. I walked past a row of food stands, smelling the lovely greasy scent of funnel cakes and deep-fried alligator.