We drove from Arizona to New Mexico, stopping first in Las Cruces, NM. The only thing that was high on our New Mexico list was White Sands National Park (like any good Boyz II Men fans). Las Cruces is the closest decent size city, so we booked a room at the Hotel Encanto Las Cruces.
The hotel leaned heavily into the Spanish colonial/cross theme of the area. It was charming and quaint, and definitely not the cookie-cutter hotel chains we’re used to on road trips. It could use a refresh, but it was clean and the staff was very nice.
The next morning, we were getting ready to head to White Sands when we learned that the government shutdown affected the national parks. We finally made it to New Mexico, and we couldn’t go to the top, public-owned, place on our list because our government was (and still is) run by petulant men-children. After substantial cursing out of men who put their egos and wallets above the American people, we shifted course and headed toward Albuquerque, our final stop for this trip.
On our way to Albuquerque, we stopped at the Pueblo of Isleta, one of 19 Pueblos within New Mexico. It was established in the 1300, and it seems more important than ever to honor the native people who were here long before my ancestors. We stopped at St. Augustine Church, which dates back to 1613.
We arrived in Albuquerque too early to check in, so we stopped at Ex Novo Brewing for lunch. The food was fantastic, and it started a new love affair with Hatch chiles.
We stayed at the Hotel Andaluz Albuquerque, it a weirdly shaped, overpriced room. We quickly learned that we happened to be visiting during the famous Balloon Fiesta, which is why everything was sold out or overpriced. We ended up with a queen suite, and the bed was tucked away in a little keyhole-shaped closet. But the room was comfortable and the hotel was beautiful.
We started the next morning on the hunt for birds and balloons. We checked out the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park. I read that I might see a roadrunner there and that it was a great spot to view the Balloon Fiesta without getting stuck in traffic. I didn’t see a roadrunner but we did have a great view of the balloons.
A lady stopped and asked The Husband what I was doing when I was deep in the bushes looking for a roadrunner. She said there are tons of them at her house, so he asked her where she lived! She actually gave him an intersection to check out, so we headed back to the car and drove to the spot she suggested. She was right! We immediately saw a roadrunner, a new lifer!
Overall, we were pretty underwhelmed by Albuquerque. The downtown area was pretty dead. Nothing really stood out, but we’re glad we got to see the Balloon Fiesta.
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