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New Mexico10 Top Things You Must Do!By Linda AksomitisThe American Southwest is one of my favorite spots to visit. The only problem I have is narrowing the list of things I could do to accommodate the amount of time I have! So, I thought I’d help you out by creating my top 10 things you must visit and do in New Mexico. (list is in no particular order!)
#4 – Hiking or horseback riding in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Winding my way up the mountains offered some breathtaking moments—both viewing the scenery and imagining myself hiking the area! When we actually arrived at the Pecos Wilderness Area in the Santa Fee National Forest it was a great adventure. The day was warm, the Gilia flower still in bloom, and I had no trouble pacing myself at the 11,200 elevation. My partner, an experienced climber, gazed longingly at Hermit’s Peak towering a full two thousand feet above us. Another friend, doing the horseback ride with Cow Creek Ranch, also said the experience was unbeatable. #5 – Tour the Sky City of the Acoma
Pueblo. This incredible city, situated on top of 367-foot-high sandstone
rock, is the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America. Take
a tour with the descendents of its builders, for whom the city is still a
cultural center, and learn about life generations ago. San Esteban del Rey,
the Mission’s Church from the time of the Spanish invasion, is open and
still used for prayer and worship. Different members of the Pueblo are
available through the tour to show exquisite pottery work, each piece with
superior craftsmanship and style, and answer any questions your friendly
guide can’t.
#6 – Ride the Sandia Peak Tramway. Thrill seekers will find this 3819 foot vertical climb over a 2.7 mile horizontal rise to the top of Sandia Peak a real adrenalin rush. My ride in the world’s longest aerial tramway was one of horrified fascination—watching so much ground fall away beneath me was an experience I’ll never forget! At the top I gulped in the fresh mountain air, while my eyes drank in the 11,000 mile panoramic view of New Mexico. WOW is all I can say. If you’re very brave you might even ski down the mountain some winter afternoon! I followed the ride, of course, with an awesome authentic Mexican meal at Sandiago’s at the base of the tram.
#8 – The Turquoise Museum. In Albuquerque you really can find treasures in shopping malls, which is where you’ll find the incredible Turquoise Museum. Like most others visiting the southwest, I love turquoise, and where to better learn about this gemstone than from five generations of miners, lapidaries and authors. Joe Dan Lowry, author of the book “Turquoise Unearthed” showed me there was a lot to learn about what I’d always just regarded as pretty jewellery. Enjoy the daily Lapidary Demonstration, collection room with samples from 60 mines, and lots of fabulous information about mineralogy and geology.
Photo credits to Linda Aksomitis, with the ballooning Photo credit to Ron Behrmann. Contact information for all of the sites mentioned in the article: Victory Ranch Star Hill Inn Las Vegas/San Miguel Chamber of
Commerce Plaza Hotel Cow Creek Ranch Sky City of Acoma Pueblo Sandiago’s Mexican Grill at the tram Sandia Peak Ski & Tramway Petroglyph National Monument Turquoise Museum Albuquerque Convention & Visitors
Bureau Albuquerque International Balloon
Fiesta Inc. Albuquerque Tricentennial
Celebrations Pecos National Historic Park |
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TM
#1
– Visit the Victory Ranch and pet an alpaca. The Victory Ranch is an 1100
acre area Darcy Weisner, one of the owners, describes as a vertical
operation. Everything happens in-house, so they care for the animals from
birth through their productive years, harvest the alpaca fleece or wool,
process the fibers, and create exquisite hand-crafted articles. It’s truly
an amazing place to visit! One of the fun parts of the visit is petting the
alpacas and having them eat out of their hands. These friendly little
creatures come in 22 different colors, so are creatures of great diversity
and beauty.
#2
– Take someone special stargazing in the mountains of New Mexico. Have you
ever heard of a star retreat—I sure hadn’t! It was hard to believe all that
ultra modern technology, and luxurious cabins, were really at the end of
what seemed to be wilderness road, through the 200 acres of pine trees and
woodland in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. With lots of telescopes to
choose from, including an enormous one housed in a building that rotates to
let you see different parts of the sky, I also met some astronomers who
brought their own equipment. It was truly a night the sky was full!
#3 – Visit the historic town of Las Vegas, NM (really, there is one) and
stay at the Historic Plaza Hotel. I’d never heard of this Las Vegas—but this
one is the real thing—a community with more than 900 buildings on the
National Historic Register. While the stars might hang out in the other
Vegas, in this one they actually make the movies. More than 50 movies have
been made on the historic streets of this community, and it still remains
much as it did in some of those early westerns. Visiting Las Vegas made me
appreciate and admire the culture of a community that values its people and
traditions.
#9
-- Ballooning in Albuquerque. Anyone with a sense of adventure and daring
couldn’t help but love ballooning in Albuquerque. With lots of different
events revolving around ballooning to choose from it’s impossible not to
have a great time in this city that celebrates it’s 300th birthday in 2006.
Try: the Balloon Festival in Fiesta Park, Albuquerque Aloft, the New Mexico
Challenge, the Flight of Nations, America’s Challenge, the Special Shape
Rodeo, or just an early morning sail over the city. Balloon Festival will be
October 1-9, 2005 and October 7-15 in 2006. If you’d rather just be a
spectator, you don’t want to miss the mass ascension of 750 balloons
launching from the park at Festival time.
#10
– Pecos National Historic Park. Step back centuries, journeying to a time
when the Rio Grande River was the source of life and the Pecos Indians had a
thriving settlement midway through the passage at the southern end of the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains. As the centuries passed the periods changed to
the late Pueblo, then the time of the Spanish conquistadors. This historic
parks gives visitors a unique opportunity to descend into a Kiva, a
ceremonial place belowground. The park preserves 1000 years of North
American history—don’t miss the Visitor’s Center film and exhibits.