"Albuquerque: hard to spell, nice to... " a Albuquerque Travel Page by MountainLaurel

Albuquerque is on the Rio Grande; the Sandia Mountains form the eastern boundary of the city. To the west of the city is the West Mesa, home to Petroglyph National Monument and three extinct volcanoes. The mountains (east) and the volcanoes (west) make it easy to navigate in the city, since one or the other landmark can be seen from just about anywhere in the city, because few buildings are higher than one or two stories tall.

The downside of that, of course, is urban sprawl. ABQ is bounded by the mountains to the east and by Indian reservations to the north, west, and south, leaving only a few areas for potential outward growth. The explosive growth of the west side has led to several highly contentious votes on whether or not to extend Paseo del Norte, a major east-west artery, further to the west. After several 'no' votes, in the fall of 2003 a 'yes' vote squeaked by, and Paseo will be extended. Unfortunately, the highway will disturb the Petroglyphs. How badly they will be disturbed remains to be seen.

As an east coast transplant, I appreciate the dry desert air, but I have to admit that the summers are just too hot for me here. (And, because I'm just that weird, the winters aren't cold enough!) People from low elevations may also have trouble with the thin air--ABQ is over a mile above sea level. (Take that, Denver!)

There are tons of historical and cultural activities in the area, but most of my tips concern outdoors activities. (Lots of other VTers have covered the cultural activities better than I could.)

The local cuisine rocks. Lots of cheese, salsa, and the state vegetable--green chile! Don't be scared to experiment, but if you're not used to spicy food, make sure you have plenty of water, milk, beer, or whatever to rinse your palate after every bite.