A Weekend Trip to Albuquerque, NM

How to make the most of 48 hours in the Land of Enchantment (with kids)

Very short trip, but very fun times.

Our journey to Albuquerque, New Mexico was our first family-of-four, out-of-state trip this year.

We’ve been contemplating visiting New Mexico during the International (Hot Air) Balloon Festival which takes place in October but we came across a great, last-minute flight deal and figured a winter visit would let us become familiar with Albuquerque and see if its worth a return trip in the Fall (Spoiler alert— IT IS, we definitely want to go back).

However, as life would have it, this trip had to be cut short (more on that in a bit). Still, we tried to enjoy as much as reasonably possible with young kids, in two days, without overdoing it.

For starters, the state of New Mexico has 19 pueblo tribes and each pueblo is a sovereign nation. With that said, Albuquerque is a major and incredible cultural center of the American Southwest!

Further, the city’s elevation is approximately 5,300 feet above sea level and it’s surrounded by the Rio Grande Valley and the Sandia Mountains in an ecosystem called a “bosque” (pronounced bos-kay and meaning forest). There are plenty of Wile E. Coyotes and Roadrunners in Albuquerque (Toby chased after a roadrunner but the avian creature was much faster than my 6-year old son, in case you were wondering). 

Lastly, its rich culture and unique architectural landscape showcasing clay-colored adobe-type homes anywhere you go, is very charming! All of these elements make Albuquerque a worthwhile trip.

Here are some of the highlights of our 2-day visit and a few recommendations:

Where to eat

Albuquerque is known for its unique take on blending Native American, Spanish and Mexican cuisine and some signature ingredients include blue corn as well as the ever popular red and green chiles. 

When you’re in town, try to enjoy:

*A bowl of Hatch Green Chile with chicken. You can generally find this at most local eateries but I recommend Sadie’s and Monroe’s (specifically because they each have a good kids’ menu). The green Chile bowl will likely be spicy but oh so good!

*Carne Adobada and a Sopapilla for dessert (Sopapilla is like a horn shaped beignet without sugar but you can add honey). 

*TAOS Snack Bars. Any local pharmacy or local market will carry these all-natural New Mexico-made snack bars. Delicious and nutritious and awesome for that moment in the day when the kids begin saying: “Im hungry!”.


Where to Visit

There are plenty of things to do in Albuquerque, including museums, national monuments and the popular bosques. Here are some good starting points:

*The Rio Grande Nature Center State Park. There are plenty of comfortable trails to hike and walk, an impressive Candelaria Wetlands Viewing Blind and a fantastic visitor center. You can make this a 30-minute stop or a three-hour journey. It’s awesome. 

*Petroglyph National Monument. This is one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America, featuring an impressive amount of volcanic rocks with carved designs done by Native Americans and Spanish settlers nearly 700 years ago. We went to the Boca Negra site which is a relatively easy hike and gives kids an up close and personal view of the petroglyphs. 

*Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. It’s a museum, with a great deal of historic artifacts and exhibits. There’s also a good restaurant and an awesome gift shop. There are plenty of things for the kids to see including outdoor hand-made clay chimneys and Ristras (those famous arrangements of drying, hanging Chile peppers). 


Where to shop

*Old Town Albuquerque. Once a bustling, busy tourist area with live music, restaurants and gift shops, Old Town Albuquerque was hit hard by the Pandemic and it shows. Fortunately, plenty of small shops still remain open. You can find anything from clay pottery and turquoise jewelry to Kachina dolls, hand-weaved blankets and Native American art there. We bought most gifts from a store called Chili Patch

*Rose’s Vintage Valley Antiques. I love vintage shopping so I was delighted to find this gem of a shop. It’s owned and operated by a lovely couple with a deep appreciation for quality collectibles and vintage goods. I found the coolest roadrunner & cactus brass figurine to bring home so it could remind me of our trip to New Mexico. Rose is a kind and generous woman who immediately made me feel at home, at her shop. Her husband David is awesome too. Stop here for local art and mid-century statement pieces. 

Address:

1836 Candelaria Rd., NW

Albuquerque, NM 87107

Rose and David Dominguez.


Snap Some Photos!

Finally, I would recommend you take the opportunity to pose for pictures and take some selfies with the awesome natural terracotta colors of the Albuquerque landscape. Golden Hour is particularly beautiful with pretty views of the basin.

Here are some of my selfies:


On a final note, our travel plans had to be cut short because I tested positive for COVID and later Paul did too. My symptoms were mostly mild and luckily, the kids never caught the virus.

This was a clear reminder that the Coronavirus is probably here to stay and it’s a stubborn son of a gun that can pose a health threat even to those who are vaccinated (like us) and ruin fun plans. We hope to return to Albuquerque soon. In the meantime, here are a few things we missed but hope to check out next time.

  1. The National Rattlesnake Museum

  2. Breaking Bad Landmarks

  3. Sandia Moutain cable car ride

  4. A trip to Santa Fe

I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

Stay safe, friends!

Xo,

-Anabel M.

Anabel Marquez