ATP: Albuquerque, NM

[PhDeac]

Headed to Albuquerque with my wife for 5 days coming up. We will be there for a conference in which both of us will be participating, but we have some free time and will be renting a car. I've been there once for the day several years ago. She went to school in the Southwest and been there several times, although not recently.

Any recommendations? We will be going to Santa Fe for one of those days so any recommendations there are appreciated, too.

 

[twincitiesdeac]

Spend less time in Albuquerque and more in Santa Fe. If you guys ski you can ski santa fe which isnt terrible (better than east coast but not Colorado). If you are into history it is a cool & easy trip up to Los Alamos, where you can check out some really small but interesting "museums" that talk about the history of the a-bomb.

Oh, and the casino's out there have crazy low minimum wagers. Play craps on a $2 table with a 25x max back. Best odds you may ever get in a casino.

One last thing, not sure when you are going etc but if it is warm enough there is a really cool national park that I love called Bandelier which has nice short hikes (technically i think it is a national monument).

 

[WakeandBake]

Spend less time in Albuquerque and more in Santa Fe. If you guys ski you can ski santa fe which isnt terrible (better than east coast but not Colorado). If you are into history it is a cool & easy trip up to Los Alamos, where you can check out some really small but interesting "museums" that talk about the history of the a-bomb.

Oh, and the casino's out there have crazy low minimum wagers. Play craps on a $2 table with a 25x max back. Best odds you may ever get in a casino.

One last thing, not sure when you are going etc but if it is warm enough there is a really cool national park that I love called Bandelier which has nice short hikes (technically i think it is a national monument).

I'd echo this

 

[sarcasdeac]

Agreed, spend as much time in Santa Fe as you can...upscale dining try 315 or Terra, maybe Ranch House. For mexican try Maria's, or one of the food trucks - el molero is good stuff.

 

[Buttermaker]

Bump and SF is very cool, but how about a few ALBQ suggestions as well?

 

[Hot Wheels]

How about A do-it-yourself Breaking Bad tour of Albuquerque?

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/tra...-it-yourself-breaking-bad-tour-of-albuquerque

 

[PhDeac]

Great call. I'll go myself. My wife won't get it. Didn't realize it was originally going to be set in LA.

 

[rawarr]

Did the Breaking Bad stuff in January as Albuquerque was our pit stop on the way out to Arizona. It's pretty easy to get around and see all the stuff and only took an hour or two. We were able to see Walt's house, Hank and Marie's, the car wash, the laundromat, Jesse's house, the fast food restaurant where Los Pollos Hermanos scenes were filmed, the hot dog spot, and grab some blue rock candy from the Candy Lady who made the prop meth for the first season.

 

[PhDeac]

Did most of the stuff rawarr mentioned. Several were very close to the Old Town hotel. I was surprised how close several spots were to the UNM campus being that I don't remember the university mentioned much if at all. Walt's house and the car wash were the most surreal. The laundromat seemed like it was in the outskirts on the show, but it was right off an exit. Passed by Crossroads Motel ("crystal palace") without even looking for it.

Hard to believe how many legit businesses had no problem being identified with drug use and drug culture. The show is very well integrated into the community, The Candy Lady especially. The lady there told a funny story about how they had to put the rock candy in a paper bag with a card because a customer got pulled over once and got detained by the cops after a search.

Aside from that, we mostly stayed by Old Town. Ate at some of the restaurants there. Went to the Pueblo Indian Cultural Center. Ate there a few times. Drove to Santa Fe and went to The Shed for lunch. Hung out at the Plaza. Drove up the mountain to a ski area. Stopped at a few spots and did some hiking in the snow.

Also did the Acoma Pueblo Sky City and Museum, about an hour or so SW of Albuquerque. It is a small town located on top of a mesa that has been continuously inhabited since about the 1100s. The tour was excellent. The natives were really nice and I learned a lot. Even bought a Carolina Panthers ornament hand painted by one of the residents.