Albuquerque

10/2 -- 10/3/2021

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Located in north-central New Mexico, Albuquerque is the most populous city in the state of New Mexico. Albuquerque has one of the highest elevations of any major city in the U.S., ranging from 4,900 feet (1,500 m) above sea level near the Rio Grande to over 6,700 feet (2,000 m) in the foothill areas of Sandia Heights and Glenwood Hills.

Getting there ...

We have spent previous 2 days at White Sands National Park, and drove from there via Trinity Site to Albuquerque.  The city hosts the International Balloon Fiesta, the world's largest gathering of hot-air balloons, taking place every October at a venue referred to as Balloon Fiesta Park, with its 47-acre launch field. This Balloon Fiesta was one of the main reasons to have this New Mexico trip.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

   


10/3 ... 

We had an early start at 4:30AM to head to the Balloon Fiesta again for another session on Sunday morning. 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

   

 

 

 

 

The majority of balloons were in the air by 8:30AM.  It's time for us to go back to hotel to take a break before checking out.   Here is the official guide for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta for 2021.  It should be useful for anyone who may want to plan a future trip.

 

 

One special museum at the Old Town is the Rattlesnake Museum.  It is a small museum but it has the largest collection of different species of live rattlesnakes in the world (some of them were staying so still that you may wonder if they are real alive or plastic :-)).  On its website, it claims it hosts more different species than the Bronx Zoo, the Philadelphia Zoo, the National Zoo, the Denver Zoo, the San Francisco Zoo, and the San Diego Zoo, all combined!  I am not a big fan of snakes (in fact I am very afraid of them), but Woanyu found it very interesting and enjoyed the visit very much (that's why I chose this museum to visit...).

Going Home ...

October is one of the most enjoyable times of year in New Mexico.  During this season, the sky is bluer, the days are gentler, and the mornings crisper, and it is really a pleasant experience to visit Albuquerque especially with the event such as Balloon Fiesta.  Combining the nature at White Sands and cultural event at Albuquerque, we have concluded a perfect 4-day New Mexico trip with everything better than expected.


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