So it looks like my returned Peace Corps friend is marrying her Turkmen honey in Albuquerque in June, and wants me there for the wedding. Might as well make an excursion of it, right? So what should I do while I’m there, and is it worth taking more than just a weekend? What should I know that normal guidebooks won’t tell me?
Some suggestions:
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Spend an entire day in Santa Fe if you’ve never been there. Stuff other than tee-shirts and coffee mugs is expensive, but there are a gazillion art galleries, museums, and beautiful Catholic churches. My favorite past-time when I lived there was loafing around the plaza, people-watching.
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Spend a day in and around Los Alamos. Half a day at the Science museum & bookstore and another half driving through the Jemez Mts. which is a large volcano. The big valley (called Valle Grande) at the summit is about 1/5 the entire volcanic caldera floor. The last eruption was about 25,000 years ago, the last cataclysmic eruption (that produced the caldera) was about 1.0 million years ago.
There are a few natural hot springs in the Jemez as well. To find them, or to just drive the backroads of the forest to beautiful and remote places (a fun frolick if you have a S.O., a blanket, and perhaps a picnic), get a copy of the Santa Fe National Forest service map. (This may be hard to find at retail stores, but you can buy one through the Forest Service website before the trip.) If you stay toward the Los Alamos side of the Jemez Mts., far back on some of the logging roads, you can go all day (and night) without seeing another soul. The western part of the Jemez tends to be a zoo of people from ABQ trying to escape the heat - especially on weekends. During the week, the entire forest is far less busy.
- Find some New Mexican food, not hard to do, but finding GOOD New Mexican food can be a challenge. Also, be careful - this stuff is addictive. You’ll have a choice of “red or green”. I recommend green for first timers. Both can be hot or mild depending upon the restaurant or the particular batch they’re cooking that day, but red chile, which many afficionadoes eventually grow partial to, is “spicier” or “tangy-er”; green has a more mellow “greener” taste. Also, “do as the Romans do” and ask for a fried egg on top of your enchiladas.
Some favorite places for red or green chile straight up, local style: [Albuquerque]: Garcia’s on Central Ave(downtown), Duran’s Central Pharmacy on Central Ave (downtown. Lunch only), Sadie’s (in a bowling alley - can’t remember the name of the bowling alley), Ron’s Camino Real (a little touristy, but good) … [Santa Fe]: Tecolote Cafe (Cerrillos Road), Guadalupe Cafe (Guadalupe St., near the plaza), Tommasita’s (Guadalupe St. - I think - near the old train yard) … [Espanola - New Mexican food capitol of the world]: Matilda’s (hard to find, but I think the best in the entire State), Angelina’s, Rio Grande Cafe, and La Cocina. (Espanola is a small city. Locals can direct you to these places fairly easily.) … [Los Alamos]: Historically the absolute worst bunch of restaurants in the state. It’s always been a mystery to me how a town could have so many restaurants and not one of them figure out how to serve up decent food. However, if you’re stuck there mid-day and happen to be hungry, the Chinese buffet across from the science museum is tolerable. Don’t be fooled by outward appearances or chic names of other places - they’re not fit to eat. You’ll be better of buying some fruit, cheese, and bread from the supermarket.
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Chimayo (located east of Espanola) - A tiny village with a world famous Catholic church (Santuario de Chimayo) that’s worth a visit, especially if you’re Catholic, and a famous restaurant nearby. The restaurant is rather touristy. Not many locals frequent it, but you may catch a glimpse of a movie star, or other celebrity, and lots of rich Texans having dinner. This excursion won’t take the whole day and is a long drive from ABQ, so plan something else in addition, like …
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Harding Mine - go toward Taos and turn off to Dixon. Continue east through and past Dixon. The road winds and climbs and then levels out. After the road levels (going east) look for a beat-up turquoise sign on the right that says something about University of New Mexico. Take the rough, trashy, narrow little dirt road next to it. (Caution - probably not passible in a low clearance sedan loaded down with people & luggage). The little road ends in a parking area; hike the trail to the mine. Collect some nice rocks and minerals. … This property is owned by UNM and managed by the UNM Geology Department. You must have permission from them to enter the mine site. Contact them before going out and get permission. They’ll want you to fill out and turn in a liability release form.
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Taos - I lived in northern New Mexico off and on for about ten years and never figured out the attraction to Taos. But, some people love it. Plan on an all-day trip from ABQ, perhaps stopping at Chimayo on the way back.
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Albuquerque - I lived in and frequented Albuquerque over the years I lived in N.M., and honestly, I didn’t find much that I would encourage others to check out or do there. There is an “Atomic Science” museum at the nearby Kirkland Airforce base, but I didn’t go there and can’t offer an opinion. A stroll around the old Albuquerque plaza (“Old Town”) can be nice, but Santa Fe is far superior. But no matter what, you have to visit the Frontier Restaurant at least once, especially on a weekend night and/or on Sunday morning. It’s located on Central Avenue across from UNM.
Expect hot, sunny, and WINDY days. Take (and use) sunscreen and/or long sleeve shirts. The valley (ABQ, Espanola, some of SantaFe) can be fairly warm during the day. Cool at night, cold in the mountains (stocking cap & gloves). … Drink plenty of water, all day long. Carry bottles of drinking water with you in the car and steadily nurse on it through the day.
Hope this helps.
Hot. Hot hot hot. And in case you think I mean as hot as it gets, be glad the wedding’s not in July. Oh yeah, bright too. Bring sunglasses. If you weren’t planning to leave the city to try the things chigger suggested, the tram in Albuquerque is pretty fun. I think it’s supposed to be the longest tram in the world, or something.
Also, I would like to add Little Anita’s in Old Town to the list of good New Mexican food in Albuquerque, and as a bonus you can see Old Town which is a bit touristy, but fun to walk around.
Jemez is cool! The hot springs are relaxing and the scenery is beautiful. Great place for a picnic or some thing romantic.
Albuquerque is pretty boring. I think you would get bored after 4 days; I know my mom did, and I can’t wait to leave. 
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I have only been to Santa Fe once, and I have never been back. Not that exciting, but a good place to visit since you’ll be here.
The Tram is cool.
There are many casinos.
Sadie’s isn’t that good, or maybe they were just having a bad day.
Garcia’s is pretty good.
Wish I could be more helpful. Hope you have a good time.
While it will be hot, the humidity is nothing compared to Chicago, so I doubt you’ll be uncomfortable.
I second the museum in Los Alamos, as well as a drive in that locale. If you’re interested, nearby Espanola is supposedly the “Lowrider Capital of the World.”
The weather you experience will depend on when you visit. Towards the end of the first week in June we tend to get a cool spell, so bring a jacket–especially if you intend to visit the mountains. The last week of June is one of the hottest, driest times of year, on the other hand.
If you want to do some shopping, their are a lot of cool and unusual stores along Central Avenue between the eastern edge of UNM and Carlisle Blvd. They sell items ranging from antique clothes and jewelry to books and records that you wouldn’t find at the stores in the malls. Check out the Peacecraft store, which is a non profit gift store that sells crafts from Central America, Africa, and Asia. (Note: If you go further east than Carlisle the neighborhood tends to deteriorate and get rather weird and scary.)
You can also visit the Tinkertown Museum up near Cedar Crest. A bored man made dozens of fascinating dioramas (mostly centered on Old West themes) with movable parts. There is also a yacht that someone sailed the world in and a lot of other weird stuff. Plus hummingbirds. You’d have to see it to believe it.
The other restaurants people have mentioned are fine, but I’d skip Sadie’s. When it was in the bowling alley, it really was great, but they got too big for their britches after they moved into their own building. The service is now lousy and the food has been tourist-proofed. Try the Sanitary Tortilla Factory instead. If you’re in the University area, El Patio is good. This town is full of restaurants, so even if you’re not fond of New Mexican food, you’ll still have plenty of excellent places to choose from.
If it’s hellishly hot in town (and, as KRC noted, that’s variable in June), you might try the drive along Highway 14 (the “Turquoise Trail”) along the east side of the Sandias between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. There are a lot of little communities in there, including Madrid, which has become quite an artists’ colony, and Golden, which has not and therefore retains some of its original ghost town quality. The Tinkertown Museum is indeed a lot of fun, and it’s on the way up to (or down from) Sandia Crest, which is not only a great escape from the heat, it’s got a wonderful view of the city. If you don’t want to drive around the back of the mountain, you can take a ride on the Sandia Peak Tramway, which is indeed billed as the world’s longest aerial tram. If you are on the east side of the mountain and you’re into that sort of thing, you can take scenic rides on the chairlift, too.
Perhaps I’m not much of an atomic science buff, or maybe I was permanently embittered by having to live there, but I don’t believe the museum is worth the 90-minute trip to Los Alamos. If you’re interested in that sort of thing, the Atomic Museum in Albuquerque is no longer on base; they moved it to a location near Old Town because the base was closed to casual visitors after 9/11. I’m probably biased, but I think that Old Town is worth a visit. There are a lot of shops, quite a bit of history, and the Albuquerque Museum is right there.
If you’re interested in Native American culture, there are many thriving pueblos very close to Albuquerque, and almost all of them are very welcoming to visitors (although I wouldn’t send you to Santo Domingo unless it’s a feast day). The Acoma Pueblo is the oldest continuously inhabited village in the United States, and they offer very informative and interesting tours. If you happen to be here during the feast days of one of the pueblos, it’s a lot of fun to visit then. There will be dances and booths with wonderful food and authentic jewelry and pottery for sale. If you’re interested but you’re not up for a trip out of town, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center is in the middle of Albuquerque and has a lot to offer.
It’s usually not all that windy in June. And remember, it’s a DRY heat. Enjoy your trip!
Thanks for all the great ideas…keep 'em coming! I’ve only been to Santa Fe once, when I was about 10 years old, so I don’t remember much (and I imagine it’s changed quite a bit in the interim).
A day trip to Taos and/or a pueblo sounds cool (I’m a huge archaeology geek), but I’m probably going to be traveling alone, so unless I can coordinate with some other wedding guests who are also going from here (Chicago), I don’t know about back-country hiking by myself. I’d get lonely pretty quickly, no matter how beautiful it is. So small towns and artsy stuff, not to mention local food, sound pretty appealing. The wedding will be June 2oth, so it should be pretty stinking hot by thhen. But it still beats Chicago humidity; I do remember that much.
I’ll have to do some reading up, but please share other ideas and recommendations (where to stay, anyone?) in the meantime if you have them.
I asked for some vacation recommendations last year. Here was that thread:
A lot of good information, and I will definitely second the drive thru Valle Grande and Jemez Springs. That’s known as the “wrong way to Albuquerque” (or Santa Fe, depending upon the direction). If you have time, I’d also second a trip to Bandelier National Monument. Cliff dwellings, and waterfalls (not a particularly common site in NM!)–but if you do, pack plenty of water. I was extremely dehydrated after the waterfall hike–and that was in October.
Thanks all for the corrections on Sadie’s and the Atomic Science Museum. It’s been a few years since I was at Sadie’s (sniffle) and I never made it to the ASM, but I worked near it for a while.
I was going to wait, like you said, until June. However, the only thing I know about it is, that’s where Bugs Bunny made his wrong turn.