Albuquerque, New Mexico June 2 – June 6, 2024
We finally started moving north, however the heat continued to follow us and it is still hot. Moving into higher elevation did not give us any relief from the heat wave that blanketed the south and southwest, but we are still having a good time. We stopped in Albuquerque to see a few sights. We did a little shopping in the downtown area which was small but cute and had some neat shops.
We visited the Petroglyph National Monument. Petroglyph National Monument protects a variety of cultural and natural resources including an estimated 24,000 petroglyph images carved by Ancestral Pueblo peoples and early Spanish settlers. Many of the images are recognizable but others are not. As people passed through the area, they marked the rocks with images. So basically, this is just ancient graffiti. We hiked up and around the rocks to see the petroglyphs. I was amazed that so many were visible after hundreds of years.
About an hour outside of Albuquerque is the Acoma Pueblo, which is one of a very few Pueblos that is currently occupied. Acoma (pronounced “Ack eh meh”) sits on a mesa about 370 feet above the desert floor. The Acoma people have lived in this area since 1100. A few Acoma still live in the Pueblo which does not have electricity or plumbing. (crazy people). Our tour guide was one of the residents. The history of the pueblo and the Acoma people was interesting. Overall we enjoyed our tour.
One evening we stopped by Marble Brewery for a sip of beer. It was a much needed “cold one” to beat the heat!
While in Albuquerque, we met up with friends of friends, Chris and Margaret, They were nice enough to spend an evening with us and share their local pizza hangout .
Next stop Sante Fe!
“Heatwave” by Martha and the Vandellas