Albuquerque, New Mexico Road Trip

We have never been to New Mexico before and we knew that the best time to visit New Mexico was during the international balloon fiesta. We love hot air balloon festivals and have been to a few but this one is pretty epic. It was totally worth the drive.

We expected to see hundreds of hot air balloons in the air but we got to see and experience so much more. Here you’ll find so much beautiful history and people. Make time for locals when you travel. You can learn so much from them.

If you’ll talk to locals they will remind you that your in the Land of Enchantment. This is New Mexico’s nickname.

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

We took a road trip in October and our three week vacation was planned around this balloon fiesta. In 1972, the fiesta celebrated their 50th anniversary on a local radio station and since then it has grown to be among the world’s finest balloon festivals. In 2019 they had 550 balloons which were launched from this location. We have never seen so many balloons in our life.  Everywhere we looked we saw hot air balloons.

At first they had nine balloons in the sky and it stayed that way for 15 minutes eventually there were dozens of balloons being prepared for launch.

We woke up really early. We wanted to make sure that we would not miss it. You’ll first park in a large parking area and then a school bus will drive you right up to the balloon fiesta.

Dawn patrol starts at 6:00 am. It starts slow and then you’ll see balloons all over the place in no time.

San Agustin de la Isleta Mission

San Agustin de La Istela Mission is another mission to add to the list of ones we’ve visited. This is the only mission we’ve visited that was made for a Puebloan community. During and after mass you can find vendors outside of the mission selling bread, pies, and eggs. All the food we tried here was so good. We actually ate all of the bread while we waited for mass to be over. Here you have a chance to talk to locals.

Piedras Marcadas Canyon in Petroglyph National Monument

Petroglyph National Monument has a trail on which 400 petroglyphs can be found. It is known as Piedras Marcadas Canyon. It’s a good 6.5 mile drive from the visitor center which offers maps with directions to the trail. When you follow those directions you find a 1.5 mile sand trail from which petroglyphs can be found. When we started we didnt see any petroglyphs for a quarter mile but instead got to see a roadrunner as well as a rabbit. At first when you find petroglyphs they are few and not very complex. As you go along you begin to see rocks covered nearly entirely in petroglyphs.

Come early if you want to see wildlife here.

Coronado Historic Site

It is not everyday we visit a archeological site and even less often that we visit the first archeological site to be open to the public in modern times. Coronado Historic Site is a place where you can view Puebloan architecture. Here you can find the ruins built by the Kuaua Pueblo. They have buried a large amount of the ruins so that they don’t decay. There are replicas which you can enter if you go on a tour. The tour was very informative and ends in a mural room. One of the kivas here had the inner walls covered with murals which have been preserved and located in a building nearby.

You’ll learn so much history on the tour here.

There are also locals selling jewelry outside.

They have a few spread-out picnic tables. The view is so stunning. Don’t forget to bring your own lunch with you.

 Indian Pueblo Cultural Center

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center is one of the biggest places that exists to tell the story of the culture that the Native Americans had. We spent most of our time in the courtyard where you can find cultural dancing as well as a variety of vendors. We have the fried bread and enjoyed it quite well. You never want to pass up an opportunity to enjoy fried bread. We think they are the best.

After that we went around the indoor exhibits which surround the courtyard in a circular shape. This makes the exhibits very easy to transition to and allows you to start from any part of it. Here you can see the beliefs, traditions, and legacy of the Puebloan people.

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