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Downtown Albuquerque has undertaken a massive redevelopment and revitalization project that so far appears to be working. We spent part of an afternoon here in 2002 (our Amtrak train had a two and a half hour layover) and it seemed like everything was under construction. This time the city was much easier to navigate—especially on foot.

Albuquerque is growing and since it is bounded by the Sandia Mountains to the east and Petroglyph National Monument on the west the growth stretches north and south along the Rio Grande Valley. With a nod to its growth, Albuquerque recently built a light rail commuter train, the Rail Runner.

The Old Town plaza (which closely resembles the one in Santa Fe), the original center of town, is anchored by the San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church. The church was erected in 1706 and still holds services. One of the afternoons we were there a funeral was held in the church. Really brought home to me that it wasn’t just important because it was historic but because it is a vital part of people’s lives (and deaths).

The old adobe houses around the plaza have long since been converted into shops and restaurants. It is less for the locals and more for the tourists. Walk a few blocks away however, and you’ll still find narrow streets, lined with brightly painted adobe homes. The squeeze is really on these residents as downtown grows and high rises are deemed more valuable than personal histories. As in Tucson and other cities, does the monetary gain outweigh the cultural losses? Hmmmm.

Time for something with clearly defined winners and losers—football! We picked up tickets to a rare Thursday night University of New Mexico Lobos football game against the Utah Utes. It wasn’t because we cared about either team, but because it’s fall and that means football.

The reason the game was on a Thursday was to honor a former Lobo football player, Brian Urlacher. He currently plays for the Chicago Bears (and is a good part of the reason why they’re doing so well this year) and his weekends are full. It was a nice ceremony, Brian stayed and cheered on his alma mater. The Lobos, who looked lousy in the first half, came from behind and won!

During a visit to the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, which I recommend, especially the History part, another myth was busted. The famous “Squash Blossom” necklace of the Navajos is no such thing. Now I’d always found it ironic that the two things Navajos are most known for are woolen blankets and silver jewelry, two things that were not an original part of their culture. Both of these were introduced by the Spanish in the late 1500s.

The Spanish brought over the sheep and silver smithing skills which they shared with the Navajos. The Spanish also taught the Navajos some designs most importantly the pomegranate flower design that they learned from the Moors. The pomegranate was a symbol of royalty because it was red and the flower-end was shaped like a crown. The necklace should be called “Pomegranate Blossom.” So now you can buy “authentic” Native American art which is based on a Spanish adaptation of an African design—the original global marketplace!

During our visit I picked up a copy of Rudolfo Anaya’s Zia Summer. Anaya is a local Albuquerque Chicano author and he is captivating. It’s really cool to read about an area that you are visiting and get a different perspective on it. Anaya swirls together modern day culture, fact, ancient Pueblo tradition, Mexican folklore, religion and language in a very believable and human fashion.

New Mexico is, as we are learning, many things. It was Spanish, Mexican, Native American, Confederate (for about a month) and American. It is still primarily agricultural and has one of the lowest per capita incomes in the nation. Yet it was here that the world was ushered into the modern age when the first atomic device was detonated on July 16, 1945. Now the state is host to Los Alamos National Laboratory, White Sands Missile Range, Sandia National Laboratories and the Trinity site.

Appropriately the National Atomic Museum is also in New Mexico, near Old Town Albuquerque. Ever curious, I paid the museum a visit. Though the building looks neglected on the outside, the inside is crammed—and I do mean crammed—with exhibits and information. The museum touches on everything radioactive from the first theories, isotope discoveries, medicinal usage, atmospheric radiation, power generation, to weaponry.

In the words of Inigo Montoya from one of my favorite movies, Princess Bride, “Let me ‘splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.” Radiation is everywhere, we receive doses everyday. Those who live at higher elevations receive more per day than those of us who live at lower elevations. Even our food has low doses of radioactivity. I have never eaten one, but you might want to stay away from Brazil Nuts. They are the world’s most radioactive food because the tree absorbs radium and disposes of it by concentrating the radium in the nut. Yikes!

Marie Curie was an amazing woman who won two Nobel Prizes (the only woman to have done so) and discovered radium. Her work with radioactive materials advanced nuclear medicine but it cost her her life. Radioactive materials have saved lives, produced huge amounts of energy and been turned into massively destructive weapons. I cannot judge or change what has happened, I can only hope that we learn from the past.

One weekend we went out to the Ladera Disc Golf Course and played a round. There was a large group playing ahead of us which made it slow going but it was such a nice morning that we didn’t mind. Lance shot pretty well even though it was his first time on the course. A very curious roadrunner followed us as we played.

We also explored some of Albuquerque’s great multi-use paths. Our favorite ride took us along the Rio Grande River where the cottonwoods had turned a bright yellow. We crossed many irrigation canals, some of them have been in use for 300 years!

We visited the Pueblo Indian Cultural Center to learn about the 19 pueblos in New Mexico. The Center consists of a historical museum, art gallery, extensive gift shop and small arena. Since we were there on a weekend we were able to watch an exhibition of Native American dances. The dancers were very talented and each dance was thoroughly explained which made it all the more enjoyable.

It’s showtime! It was fun to have an occasion to dress up for and we were really excited about the New Mexico Symphony’s Lord of the Rings concert. Throughout the concert the original artwork from the Lord of the Rings books was flashed on two large screens. The images helped us follow the music event by event. The symphony, the Boy Choir, the Concert Choir and Leena Chopra (the soprano) performed so well together that at times we were moved to tears. The only downside was that the Kiva Auditorium has horrible acoustics. At times it seemed to swallow up all the sound. Overall, it was superb.

And after all that it was time to leave. But not without playing another disc golf course. The Brent Baca Memorial Disc Golf Course was south of Albuquerque, on our way out of town. The holes were long, over 500’ but Lance seemed to handle it fine. I walked Rookie around and let him roll in the sand and sniff everything. Until we met a very, crabby rattlesnake. Rookie didn’t seem to care; I think he was mad because I didn’t let him sniff it. Trust me buddy, it would’ve been your last sniff. After lunch in our RV we followed the road south to Socorro.

Photos: View the photos from the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Dates: We stayed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from 10/13/06 to 10/29/06.