When Chandler and I started looking at Albuquerque and Santa Fe, we decided to stay in one hotel while visiting both cities. For most of our trip, we’re only in a hotel for 1-2 nights, so getting to stay in one place for 4 nights was glorious!
We opted for Santa Fe because there was more that we wanted to do there. What we didn’t look into was the size of each city! We knew Santa Fe was the capital of New Mexico, but we didn’t realize its population is only 87,000, while Albuquerque’s population is 565,000.
We opted to spend our first day in Albuquerque to discover if we’d made a mistake (we realized it wouldn’t be the end of the world, it would just mean more driving between the two cities). We had considered going to an Isotopes game (Minor League Baseball), but with the temps what they were, decided against it.
Instead, we got a late start and our first stop in Albuquerque was lunch at Itality. Despite what the name might lead you to believe, the restaurant is owned by Native women and offers plant-based foods. Chandler very sweetly let me pick both our meals since I don’t often get to eat food that reminds me of my childhood. So, of course I ordered the fry bread special, but I also ordered the tamale plate (which came with another side of fry bread!). The food was amazing and I was in heaven. Albuquerque had gotten off to a great start.
Next up on our list was the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. The museum has exhibits about Pueblo culture from ancient times to present day.
We started with the rotating exhibits. The South Gallery had an exhibit for Chandler, Pueblo Baseball: Stitching Our Community Together and the Artists Circle Gallery had an exhibit for me, Reflective Presence: The Art of Jesse Littlebird and Jonathan Loretto.
Below are two clay bobbleheads by Jonathan Loretto (Jemez/Cochiti). The first, Frybread Joe, is a humorous search for the best frybread; while the second, Rainbow, is about speaking out about missing Indigenous peoples.
Then we made our way into the permanent exhibit, We Are of This Place: The Pueblo Story. We learned more about the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico. We learned about the Zuni sacred fetishes (really called animal helpers – and I would buy my own in Santa Fe the next day!) and got to hear some incredible traditional stories (accompanied by more clay figurines).
There was information about the Pueblo languages and how they have been endangered since the boarding school era. Pueblo languages are not written and so they are only passed down orally. We listened to the languages of the Taos, Santa Clara, Pojoaque, Cochiti, and more.
We also learned about the 1680 revolt. The Pueblos joined together to expel their Spanish oppressors. Led by Po’Pay, a group of religious leaders organized an uprising from their sacred underground kivas (we were lucky enough to later see similar structures in Mesa Verde National Park). They defeated the Spanish invaders and lived free from Spanish control for 12 years.
One of my favorite works of art from this gallery was the following untitled piece by Frances Tafoya (Santa Clara).
After that we headed to Albuquerque’s Old Town. If I’m being honest, we didn’t spend a lot of time there. It was pretty kitschy and not our style. You could buy bleached cow skulls for $60 and there was a lot of alien paraphernalia. On a whole it seemed more appropriation over appreciation, but with over 150 galleries, shops, restaurants, and museums, it’s very possible we missed an authentic spot or two.
It was still too early for our last activity of the day, so we headed over to Bow & Arrow Brewing Co. Just like Itality, it is owned by two Native women, which is something I definitely loved about Albuquerque. Their theme is “All Beer Is Brewed On Native Land,” and they’ve launched the third edition of their Native Land Collaboration.
They share a beer recipe (this year is an American Stout) with participating breweries to raise money for Native nonprofits. So far they’ve raised over $100K – this year’s nonprofit is Navajo Farming, a Native founded and operated nonprofit education farm on the Navajo Nation. They retain traditional ecological knowledge while promoting western science with youth.
I ordered their Besos Fruited Gose and it is the lightest and most refreshing sour beer I think I’ve ever had! Plus they had NA options for Chandler, which is always appreciated. And their happy hour is an excellent deal.
Finally it was time for the Sandia Peak Tramway. It had been a bit cloudy earlier in the day, but that had given way to blue skies and lovely weather as we took the tram up to Sandia Peak. At $38 a ticket, it was a bit pricier than a lot of our road trip activities this summer (our National Parks pass was only $80 for the entire year – a sick deal!), but 100% worth it. Sandia Peak Tramway was the longest tram in the world from 1966-2010, until the Wings of Tatev was built in Armenia.
And once again we’d found a surprise – this time a national forest. Because Sandia Peak is in Cibola National Forest.
We had taken a tram up a mountain in Leysin, Switzerland and down a mountain in Capetown, South Africa, but this trip was going to be hike-free, with a round-trip ticket. The views were stunning (on a clear day you can see 75 miles in any direction) and we probably walked around the peak for about 30 minutes before heading back down.
The weather was significantly cooler up top, but luckily we’d both thought to bring our jackets! You can take photos from the tram, but the windows aren’t the cleanest : ) And the views from the top are better anyway. That said, I did enjoy converting one of my last images (from the tram) into black and white, which isn’t something I often do with my photography. It just felt right.
We wrapped up the day with some pad thai at Thai Vegan on our way out of town. We’d thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in Albuquerque, but didn’t feel like we’d missed much. We were happy to be staying in Santa Fe and looking forward to our next two days!
Abroad With Ashley 