The 'Odd'yssey (Part 10)

This is our second trip to Albuquerque, the first being part of our honeymoon back in late November, 2007. It is probably not the first place people think about visiting when they are coming to the United States. Obviously, the fact that Christine, Ian, Sam and Jessie live here is our main reason for visiting. However Albuquerque is a really beautiful part of the world in its own right. Now that we have been here, even without friends to visit, we would come back again and recommend it to others. While Bugs Bunny might have said 'I knew I shoulda turned left at Albuquerque' we are quite happy to stop for a while.

Albuquerque was founded back in 1706 as a Spanish colonial outpost and named after the Spanish town, Alburquerque (the spelling of the New Mexican version is the Portuguese rather than the Spanish). It is on the Rio Grande between two mountain ranges on a flat plain. During the Civil War it was occupied by the Confederates in February of 1862, which led to the Battle of Albuquerque on April 8, 1862. When the railways came through they went to the east of the old town and consequently modern Albuquerque has both an old and a new town area.

On our last visit we went to the old town which looks just as you might imagine an old Spanish influenced Mexican town should. Pueblo style houses, cacti, sombreros and cowboy boots were all a feature. Old town also features the American International Rattlesnake Museum, the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, the Explora Science Centre and Children’s Museum of Albuquerque, and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. One of the stones found in the area is turquoise and this was a feature of lots of the jewellery available in the souvenir shops and well as having a museum of its own. Despite Wayne’s excitement, Meg banned him from buying either a cowboy hat or the beautiful snakeskin cowboy boots that he saw.

Just to the north and east of the city are the Sandia Mountains which are part of what makes Albuquerque so attractive. The old native name for the area simply means ‘where water slides down the arroyo (dry river bed)’, whereas ‘Sandia’ is the Spanish for ‘watermelon’. One theory as to why is the colour of the earth (which is very red) with the deep green of the fir trees that line the curved ridges. Another theory is that the Spanish settlers saw the cucumbers grown by the natives and mistook them for watermelons. From the west (which is where Christine and Ian live) the mountains provide a great frame for the modern city.

On Saturday, Ian took Wayne and Samuel up to the top of Sandia Crest which is 10 678 feet (3 255m) above sea level. It is possible to do this using what is the world’s longest tramway which is 2.7 miles (4.3 klm) long and ascends 4 000 feet (1 200m) in about 15 minutes. Instead they took the Sandia Crest Scenic Byway which begins to the west of the city and takes almost 14 miles (22klm) to reach the top. Along the way we passed numerous cyclists who had decided to spend a Saturday morning torturing themselves and at the top it was noticeable how gingerly some of them were walking.

Some of the views from the peak were absolutely stunning as we went for a hike of just over a mile to an old stone cottage on one of the ridges. The forest we walked through was comprised of fir, spruce and aspen and is inhabited by bears, species of deer, various smaller mammals, and mountain lions (although we only saw squirrels). As well as being able to see down into Albuquerque and across to the Manzano Mountains in the south west, there were also views back to the east toward Texas. One of the most amazing sights at the top was the bird feeders at the café/souvenir shop which were surrounded by tiny emerald green hummingbirds. Having never really seen hummingbirds in the wild before, Wayne was stunned by how many there were and how they hovered and drank the sugar mixture through tiny holes.

It is really clear when you are standing on the mountain that Albuquerque is in a valley lying between two mountain ranges with the river running through the centre. From the top we could see the Boca Negra, which is quite close to where the Wightman’s live and which has the Petroglyph National Monument. While Albuquerque is America’s 34th largest city (with about 522 000 people) and Rio Rancho on the north west is one of the fastest growing areas in the country, the greater Metropolitan area is ranked much lower because of the limits imposed by the geography of the mountains surrounding.

One of the impacts of this is that Albuquerque is one of the hot air ballooning capitals of the world. Every year the first week in October sees the International Balloon Festival with people travelling from all over the world. In fact, if you have ever seen television footage of a large number of hot air balloons in the one place, or posters of the same, there is a good chance that it was taken in Albuquerque. Consequently, it is also the site of the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum which is where we went with David and the children on Sunday morning.

While we both had some knowledge about how balloons had impacted upon history we were amazed by some of the things that we found out. For example, there was a significant exhibition of how the jet stream was discovered. During World War II the Japanese launched thousands of balloons with bombs attached which were designed to float to the height of the jet stream travel across to the United States and then drop their load. While a large number of these balloons did make the journey and cause both forest fires and deaths there was a conscious decision made not to publicise this so that the Japanese would not be encouraged by their success. That many of the balloons for this were made by schoolchildren was also a revelation.

Other ballooning feats, from the first manned balloon flights a few hundred years ago, to the use of zeppelins in war ad during the 1920’s and 1930’s, to the more recent attempts by people like Steve Fossett to fly around the world in a balloon, all were heavily featured. There were also many interactive displays to enable the visitor to simulate taking off and landing in a hot air balloon, constructing a hot air balloon, basket weaving, and steering balloons in the air, among other things. The museum shop was also full of educational stuff about the impact of weather, balloons, and some of the historical material. Because Wayne collects lapel pins we had a look at some of the hundreds of balloon related pins, and we found one of the festival pins which had an Australian flag as part of the design. We took this to the desk, only to discover that because it was a collectable pin from one of the balloon festivals it was priced at $70. We went home without it.

On our way home from the ballooning museum we noticed that one of the major streets in Albuquerque was named Unser. Ian let us know that, as we had suspected, it was named for the famous racing car driver Al Unser. He was the second of three men who have won the Indianapolis 500 Race four times. Both he and his son Al Unser Junior have been inducted in to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and are from Albuquerque. We took a detour to take in the Unser Racing Museum and drive past where the Unser’s had previously lived, which is down in the Rio Grande section of Albuquerque. Being on the river it is one of the greenest parts of the city and the region, most of which is largely desert.

Because the Wightman’s house is on the outskirts of the city area, there is a region of desert over their back fence. At night there are coyotes, rabbits and all sorts of other animals roaming, particularly at night. This morning we saw a coyote loping down toward the road and this evening an armadillo was walking across a rock in a local front garden. Wayne spotted a prairie dog earlier in the week and there have been all sorts of birds in the sky around us. Some of the land is protected Reservation land, with the Sandia Pueblo in the north and the Isleta Pueblo in the South. It is possible to learn a lot about Native American lifestyles, arts and crafts, and to travel out to historical towns such as Placitas which Wayne, Samuel and Ian went through on the way home from the top of Sandia.

One of the biggest features of New Mexico is some of the pictures that are prominently repeated. The state flag has an impression of a sun, while other images of human figures and animals are used in decoration everywhere. These are the petroglyphs which are cave and rock carvings (as opposed to pictographs which are drawings on to a surface). While many cultures have had them, in North America it is particularly in the states bordering Mexico which seem to have them most abundantly. All sorts of meaning are speculated for them but much of this is guesswork, given that many of these drawings date back thousands of years.

On our last full day in Albuquerque we spent part of it down at the Kirtland Airforce Base in the south of the city, which is where Ian works. The base was opened in 1939 and is home to the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, the National Nuclear Security Administration and Sandia National Laboratories just to name a few. One edge of it is also the Albuquerque International Sunport, Albuquerque’s local airport from which we will be flying out on Tuesday. It was fascinating to see the size of the base, which is as big as many towns; the huge number of different types of aircraft (both airplanes and helicopters); the base housing which provides short term accommodation for members of the military stationed in Albuquerque; and the facilities available on the base, which include everything from gyms, sports fields, childcare centres, schools, shopping centres and a McDonalds. The base was named in honour of one of the American militaries earliest aviation pioneers, Col. Roy C. Kirtland, who obtained pilot certification way back in 1911.

Another reason to come back to Albuquerque is as a base for further exploration into the state of New Mexico and further afield. While almost 50% of the state’s population lives in the Albuquerque region there are other famous towns such as Roswell, Truth and Consequences, Alamogardo, Santa Fe and Carlsbad which are all worth visiting. It is also a central point from which to head down to El Paso in Texas, across into Arizona, north to Colorado, east to Amarillo and other parts of Texas. Being New Mexico, there is also the option to travel south to Chihuahua in Mexico, just across the border.

As you might have ascertained we have loved visiting here. Provided Christine, Ian and the kids are here we will be back. Even if they move there is a very good chance that we would come back again anyway. Indeed, if we had won the lottery drawn on Saturday night, Meg even had a house picked out which she would have bought for next time we visit.

The 'Odd'yssey (Part 9)

Yesterday was our first full day in Albuquerque, New Mexico after a couple of weeks spent travelling in and near Texas. Consequently, we were very appreciative of the opportunity to sleep in a bed that we were going to be in for more than 1 or 2 nights. It was also nice not to be sharing a room with one other adult and two children. We lay in bed until after Ian (Christine’s husband) had gone to work and Chris had taken the children to day care. It was a very relaxing start to the day, made even nicer by some filtered coffee and the chance to watch the morning news while waiting for the washing to finish.

Meg and Chris had decided to go and look at some display homes (Christine for ideas for her own home, Meg because…well, does she really need a reason?). They dropped Wayne off at ‘the Lab’ and headed out to an area called Loma Colorado, which is slightly misnamed because it is in Rio Rancho, New Mexico and the state of Colorado is a significant distance north of there. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it there very quickly because, as they were on their way, Chris received a phone call from Day Care to say that Jessie had a rash and that they needed to come and pick her up (it was later revealed that Jessie had been running around outside just before this, and the Doctor identified it as a heat rash, but it never hurts to be too careful).

After Jessie was collected, the trip out to Rio Rancho (it is in the northern part of the city of Albuquerque) was completed, and some of the houses were able to be inspected. Albuquerque has a very interesting mix of house styles. Most of the area makes use of the natural earth tones of the region, so flying over the city means a patchwork of browns, reds, pinks and greens which looks particularly lovely from the air. Many of the houses in the area are of the ‘adobe’ or ‘pueblo revival’ style which might be familiar to any of you who have seen westerns set in Mexico. We are always fascinated to drive around the city and see the contrast between these; more typical American house styles; and a harder edged mix between the two.

The houses that Meg and Chris got to inspect were of the more typical western style with a sloping roof having been built by Pulte Homes. There were many to look at which featured some very up to date mod-cons and some lovely architecture. Both came away (somewhat earlier than expected because of concern for Jessie) with a couple of houses that they particularly liked and some excellent ideas for interior designs. Meg, in particular, was enamoured of a couple of houses but as she thought through their strengths and weaknesses decided on the Santa Cruz (if you are interested in seeing it, just follow the hyperlink). Now all we need to do is find a few hundred thousand US Dollars and we will be able to buy it.

Meanwhile, Wayne was still at ‘the Lab’ which is the nickname given to the Baseball Stadium in Albuquerque that plays host to the Albuquerque Isotopes. The Isotopes play in the league, which is just below the Major League level, called AAA (or Triple A). Interestingly, the team in Albuquerque used to be known as ‘the Dukes’, however that team moved to Portland, Oregon in 2001 and changed their name to ‘the Beavers’. In 2003 the ‘Calgary Cannons’ moved their team to New Mexico and a decision had to be made about what to call them. In a Simpsons’ episode from 2001 called ‘Hungry Hungry Homer’, Homer Simpson discovers that his beloved Springfield Isotopes are to be moved to Albuquerque and fights to prevent that from happening. Because of this, the new Albuquerque team decided to call themselves the ‘Isotopes’ (which is also apt because New Mexico plays host to a number of significant facilities dealing with nuclear technology).

Back in 2004 a gentleman called Morgan Spurlock made a documentary about the impact of fast food on the human body called ‘Super Size Me’. If you haven’t seen it, Meg and Wayne recommend that you do, because it is very, very funny. It is also very disturbing and you might find that you do not wish to eat McDonalds (or any other fast food) for a considerable time afterwards. In 2008 he released another film, ‘Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?’ which takes a look at both sides of the war against terrorism. As well, he has made a reality television series called ‘30 Days’ in which a person spends 30 days immersing themselves in a life markedly different from what they are used to (being in prison, a devout Christian living in a Muslim family, a homophobe staying with a homosexual person, etc.).

As it turns out, because ‘the Simpsons’ is celebrating 20 years in production, Fox had commissioned Morgan to produce a documentary looking at the impact of ‘the Simpsons’ on American (and world) culture. One part of the documentary involved going to an Albuquerque Isotopes baseball game and interviewing people in the crowd about their feelings about the show. It will come as no surprise to those of you reading this (because otherwise why would we have gone to all this trouble to communicate this information) that yesterday also happened to be the day when this part of the documentary was to be filmed. It was, however, sheer coincidence that Wayne was to be there on this day, it was just the only day that the Isotopes were playing in town while we were in Albuquerque.

Because it is not Major League Baseball, tickets were considerably cheaper than at the other two games we had been to during this trip, and Wayne was able to get a great seat behind home plate which allowed him to see the whole field and get a good view of all the action. Before the game began, however, he ventured into the Isotopes shop to look at the various merchandise available. If you were truly a fanatical fan you could kit out your house, your car, your wife, your children (including tiny babies), your pets, your golf clubs and an enormous variety of other things, let alone yourself, in gear with the Isotopes logo on it. While Wayne was in there, Morgan and the camera crew came in and Wayne found himself in the background of a shot while they were purchasing Isotopes gear. He was very excited at the thought of being on US television for a second time (he and Meg were in the audience for a taping of the show ‘Deal or No Deal’ while on their honeymoon back in 2007).

The game itself was a very exciting one, against the Tacoma Rainiers, and Wayne enjoyed his excellent viewing position for the first inning and a half. However, as the temperature started to climb into the 90’s it became very hot, so he decided to retreat back under the cover of the grand stand. This gave him the opportunity to explore the rest of the stadium, as well as to chat to a number of people who all expressed astonishment that an Australian would be among them watching (relatively knowledgably) a game of baseball. As the game progressed into the sixth inning, the shade from the grandstand moved over Wayne’s ticketed seat, so he moved back down to watch the last couple of innings in the comfort of his seat.

By the bottom of the seventh the game was very close and tension was high when Wayne found himself being asked by one of the documentary crew (who incidentally grew up in Perth, before moving to the United States) if he would consent to being interviewed for the documentary. Being something of a Simpson’s fan (as well as a fan of ‘Super Size Me’) Wayne jumped at the opportunity, although it was a bit of a wrench to drag himself away from a game which was so close. Being interviewed by Morgan was good fun, he expressed amazement at the amount of travel we have done in the last few years and asked numerous questions about the impact that Wayne perceived ‘the Simpsons’ had had upon Australia. Wayne was even persuaded to sing the song from the episode ‘Homer at the Bat’ and talk about the impact that the show had personally had upon him. Because of events on the field there were breaks in the filming and Morgan told Wayne about some of his own experiences in the places that we have been.

During one of the breaks, Meg rang Wayne on the mobile, so Wayne took the opportunity to put Morgan on so that he could ask Meg some questions as well. All in all, Wayne couldn’t speak more highly of what a ‘good bloke’ Morgan Spurlock is. He noted that, before and after the interview Morgan was constantly being asked to sign autographs and have pictures taken. A local radio DJ organised to interview him about his impressions of Albuquerque and he was really gracious with everyone that he dealt with. Having flown in specifically for the game, he and the crew were off to the airport almost immediately after (Wayne was the final interview for the day) to fly back to New York. The documentary is to be aired in January and no doubt, in the editing process, much (if not all) of Wayne’s involvement might be taken out. Nonetheless, it was still a really positive experience, as was the fact that the Isotopes scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and were able to close out the ninth for a win, Isotopes 8 Rainiers 6.

After the game, Chris and Meg picked Wayne up from the stadium and were able to travel back to the Day Care centre in time to pick up Samuel and head home. Later, Chris had to take Jessie to the Doctor (once you have left sick you really need a Dr’s certificate in order to be readmitted) so Wayne and Meg got to chat to Samuel about robots and watch ‘Curious George’ with him. All in all, it was a very positive day, reinforcing Meg and Wayne’s feelings about Albuquerque as a whole.