Around Albuquerque

After spending the morning at the Balloon Fiesta, we spent the afternoon touring around some of the popular things around Albuquerque. First up was the national Museum of Nuclear Science and History. I'll be honest, this wouldn't be something I would have chosen to do on my own, but since it was part of our tour, we got to check it out.

This is the nation’s only congressionally chartered museum in its field and an intriguing place to learn the story of the Atomic Age, from early research of nuclear development through today’s peaceful uses of nuclear technology.

My favorite part of our visit here were our tour guides, they were all veterans and were so knowledgeable and passionate about everything they were teaching us.

We were given the History Tour where we learned how nuclear chemistry shaped our future. This tour focused on the scientific discoveries of the atom, the Manhattan Project and Trinity Test, as well as the Cold War era and the airplanes, missiles and rockets on display in the Museum’s Heritage Park.

My second favorite part of this museum was the gift shop, I had a good time giggling to myself over all the science themed jokes.

After learning all about nuclear history, we headed to Old Town for a quick shopping trip. I had been excited to explore Old Town, over the past week we had driven by it several times and ate at a couple of restaurants in the area but hadn't had time to fully explore the fun shops. We only had about 30 minutes, which wasn't enough time for me, but I'm glad we were able to spend a little time in this part of town.

The shops were a little on the touristy side, but were so fun to walk through. I loved all the balloon related souvenirs!

After our quick run through old town we boarded the bus to head to our next activity. Driving around town during the balloon festival is so fun because you can see the balloons flying all over the place. The balloons can land anywhere in town, and often end up in parking lots of business buildings or front or back yards.

Our last stop of the day was at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center is a world-class museum and cultural center created as a place where Pueblo people can tell their story. As the gateway to the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico, the center is the perfect first stop for visitors to New Mexico, providing an introduction for understanding the state’s landscape, legacy, and story of continuance. Their mission is to preserve and perpetuate Pueblo culture, and to advance understanding by presenting with dignity and respect the accomplishments and evolving history of the Pueblo people of New Mexico.

We began our time here by watching segments of their cultural dance program. Dances are used to connect to ancestors, community, and traditions while honoring gifts from the Creator. Dances ensure that life continues and connections to the past and future are reinforced. 

The dances are spiritual, sacred and beautiful, we were told we could record them for our own personal use and to remember them, but were kindly asked not to post the videos anywhere online or on social media since they are a sacred part of their culture. Pictures were ok, but I still tried to limit the amount of pictures I took. Their traditional dance costumes and jewelry were absolutely gorgeous.

After the dance program, we wandered through the museum where we learned about the history, culture and art of the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico.

During our time in New Mexico, we saw a lot of buildings made out of adobe, I found it fascinating to learn why the Pueblos used this as their main building material.

I thought this was so beautiful.

After we toured through the museum, we had lunch at the Pueblo Harvest Cafe in the museum. Then we headed back to our hotel for a very much needed nap, we had all been up since 4:30 am and were exhausted!