October 9th through 24th, 2025
We had a lot of plans for our stay in Albuquerque (we'll call it "ABQ" for the rest of this post), including a fabulous day at the Balloon Fiesta. The rest of our stay was going to be spent visiting national parks. Unfortunately, we were there during the government shutdown, so most of the visitor centers were closed. We still visited almost all of the parks on our list, and we still had a great time -- almost always.
We left Eagle Nest and planned on stopping by Fort Union National Monument on the way to ABQ. We'd read on their website that everything was closed, but it looked like there was enough room to turn around at the gate, so we went there anyway. There was a gate well before the visitor center and the old site, so we couldn't see anything. We found a few cars and some people climbing over the gate, but we turned around and headed back out the way we came. We saw a few entitled people like this in our travels during the shutdown.
We did the Balloon Fiesta the next morning and then went to Petroglyph National Monument the following weekend. The Fiesta was still going, so they staffed the park with volunteers. It was so cool to see it staffed, but we heard some sad stories about workers being let go. We bought a bunch of stuff to support them and enjoyed the visitor center. The views of the city were lovely, but Margot wasn't up to a hike just yet, so we didn't stay long.
The same afternoon, we visited the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument and the Abó ruins. Visitor centers were closed, but we were able to park at this one and walk through the ruins. It was surprising to us they didn't have it gated, but we didn't see anyone misbehaving. We did hear from another guest that they jumped the fence at another one of the ruins in the park, and they acted like they didn't do anything wrong. People are strange.
New Mexico has a lot of nuclear history, and the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History was around the corner from where we were staying. We spent a rainy day indoors, learning more about the science behind nuclear weapons and how nuclear energy is likely our future. It was a great experience.
Monica had planned to take some paid time off to visit the parks with Margot, and she didn't cancel it. We used one of the days to do the ABQ Trolley Co trolley around the town. We try to do these tours to learn more about where we're staying whenever we can, and this was an especially good tour. We're both from Denver, and ABQ is pretty comparable to the city in many ways. Denver is larger, and ABQ is more focused on art and the film industry. We kept comparing the two places, and we actually like ABQ a bit more.
We really love this town! We enjoyed learning more about it and seeing it from the open-air trolley. The next weekend, we learned that there is a lot of relatively recent volcanic activity in New Mexico, mostly north of ABQ. The visitor centers at El Malpais National Monument were closed, but we spent a lot of time there just exploring what we found on the side of the roads. There are huge lava flows everywhere, and we were able to stand above a big one on a cliff overlooking it and just marvel at how massive it was.
We were also able to walk a path to stand under the La Ventana Arch (though it's actually on BLM land). This was a big deal, because it was Margot's first walk like this since she broke her ankles. We took it slow, and she felt great after the accomplishment. And the arch was very cool!
We also hiked a short distance on the Lava Falls Trail until it got a bit too rugged for healing ankles. It was the first time either of us had ever stood on a lava bed, and it was a pretty neat experience.
Originally, we'd planned to also visit El Morro National Monument but with the visitor center closed we knew there would be nothing to see. So, we sadly skipped that park.
Sandia Peak had been looming over us during our stay, a lovely mountain range that turns pink at sunset. We picked up some tickets and took the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway up to the top. The line at the bottom to get on the tram presented a long wait, but the view of the city was nice. We rode the tram up (so fun!), and the tram passing us on the way down waved as we waved back. The trip was a blast.
We were up on the mountain at the right time to get the best table at the TEN 3 restaurant. The food wasn't cheap by a long shot, but it was good. We watched the sunset, and it was gorgeous. There was a table next to us, and we struck up a few conversations with the couple over dinner. After we were all done eating, they joined us for a drink. It was so nice to meet wonderful people on the mountain. Even the server was a joy -- this was definitely one of the highlights of our ABQ stay (and there were so many highlights!).
We kept our national parks adventures going on a long day the following weekend. We saved it for the last possible day, hoping the three parks near Los Alamos would be open with a reopened government, but we weren't so lucky. But we went anyway, and still had a great time.
First, we went to the Volcano Discovery Center at Valles Caldera National Preserve because we read it was staffed with volunteers. The drive was breathtaking, and the volunteer at the center was so helpful. We bought a lot of stuff, of course, and we really enjoyed the simulation they had there of the volcanic activity that built the huge caldera we were in. It was pretty amazing, and so awesome to see something like this at a national park. We stayed a long while, watching the big display and enjoying the rumbling sounds it made.
After the center we drove to Los Alamos, and the drive was lovely. We were hoping to visit the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, but the visitor center was closed, still. Instead, we went to the Bradbury Science Museum to learn more about the project. It was a good museum, and it added to what we learned at the nuclear museum back in ABQ.
Each closed national park visitor center and area were disappointments, but we were still making the best of things. The biggest disappointment was at Bandelier National Monument, a park we were really looking forward to seeing. We drove the road that goes by the entrance and talked briefly with the volunteer staffing the entrance. If you had a camping reservation, they would still let you stay, but no one could get near the ruins. It was such a bummer.
We drove back home from that bittersweet day and then left ABQ in the morning. Our stay there was definitely one of the best of 2025, and we miss it already. Off to the next set of adventures!
