Twin Tricentennial Towers! This towering public work of art…read moreis on both sides of I-40 at the Rio Grande exit, on the entrance to Old Town and the Museum areas. It's a cool, welcome site when getting down to the attractions that's a nice feature. These towers feature a stylistic flame on the top, with Indian and local symbols around the tower. It's like a conservative, Indian version of Watts Tower in Compton. I'm a little surprised that a city government paid for a public work of art with crosses on it without riling up the ACLU. Albuquerque's pretty old if they're celebrating their tricentennial. The whole intersection here has been decked out in Southwestern decor- the overpasses are painted with Indian design. The sculptor was Jim Glidden, and it was installed in 2006.

Agreed, Curt, Albuquerque is pretty old. Considering New Mexico got its statehood in 1912, it's…read morerather impressive the city managed to govern independently for 200 years before The Man up and planted a flag here. Because that's all it takes, you know, to claim ownership of a place. No flags? Plant one, and the place is all yours. But we're talking about the city, here. In 2006, the city planted two bronze towers on either side of Interstate 40 at Rio Grande, adorned with symbols and images of Original Burqueños, and the towers are well worth checking out. During that same year, the city put a Tricentennial spin on all sorts of public works; the sewer cover on my street honors the celebration. To put this in more generalized terms, it's nice to live in a city that values public art -- it's actually legislated, called the Art in Public Places Act (AIPP), and here are deets: "For each appropriation exceeding one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), agencies shall allocate as a nondeductible item an amount of money equal to one percent or two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000), whichever is less, of all eligible capital projects. These funds are to be expended for the acquisition and installation of works of art to be placed 'in, upon or around' the new building or the building in which the major renovation is to occur." Learn more about it here: http://nmarts.org/art-in-public-places/

What a great landmark to hike to on the Sandia Crest! I've been up there twice now once in the snow…read moreonce when it was clear at both times it was a beautiful addition to the hike. There are a few benches inside and it stays super cool, a nice place to escape with the Sun for a few moments.

The view of the surroundings was breathtaking and amazing! The couch was super comfy and warm from…read morethe sunlight.

It was a little hard to find, but we finally found it. Pretty cool to see in person and the story…read moreof how it is made is really cool too!

Welcome to Albuquerque! This public work of art sits at the…read moreentrance to the Duke City along I-40. Keep an eye out for it, because it can be easy to miss with all the scenery. The work of art was created by artist Gordon Huether in 2003. He made the sculpture out of salvaged F-16 fuel tanks! The yucca is the state flower of New Mexico, and they really get about this big out here! The yucca is a shiny metal, from such highly buffed aluminum aircraft parts. At night, it's lit up with changing colored lights, so it looks otherworldly. It makes a cool statement of the part that the Air Force has played in Albuquerque's history. Kirtland Air Force Base and Sandia National Laboratories are just a few miles from this sculpture. The sculpture is part of the 1% Art initiative of the City of Albuquerque, where they pledged a single percentile of the city's budget to big public works of art like this one. The U.S. Department of Transportation, and the State of New Mexico also chipped in on this one. It's a great work of public art!

Albuquerque's version of the highly instagrammable "iamsterdam" sign has debuted in Civic Plaza,…read morebut is a moveable art installation that will be featured at many major Duke city events for that perfect photo-op. The sign features the city's ongoing slogan "One Albuquerque" to bring the city and its diversity together as one. It's a fun new way to promote the cities inclusivity while also giving visitors and locals alike a place to take a quirky picture to let everyone know that they've been to Albuquerque, because why not right? We love a good photo op!

Foodie Tuesdays is one of the Coronavirus silver linings, a food truck assembly at a beautiful,…read moreexpansive city park and community center in the Heights. In this pandemic panic, people are looking for opportunities to try unique food in spaced, outdoor settings, and that's what the experience delivered. I also saw the first live music jam I'd seen in months, just a little jazz trio but hey, they riffed on Herbie's "Rockit" so, you know, it was a nice reminder of how truly old I'd grown. Alongside food trucks such as Tikka Spice, Catalyst Coffee, ABQ Grill N Que and Pop-Pops Italian ice, I watched families chillin' on blankets and lounging in flatbeds; lots of kids on the playground (is that safe, yet?); and plenty of older kids flirting by the skate park. All good, Burque. We need more of these opportunities to break up the daily monotony, and I'm glad we made the drive across town.

Bottom Line: Local folks steppin' out and makin' their…read moreappearance in a tough time. Food okay to good, selection thin, prices toward the upper edge of the window as is normal at these small gatherings of vendors. Top Line: The afternoon of October 6th was the day to tick "go to Foodie Tuesday at Domingo Baca" off of my To-Do list. So I braved the traffic on Paseo Del Norte to make the haul from the westside. When I got there I was initially underwhelmed. There were four food trucks set up: the Italian ice guy, Tikka Spice, Wow Wow Lemonade, and Mighty Mike's Meats BBQ. That number didn't grow during the hour I was hangin' in the sunlit little pocket park that serves as the venue for this event. So very slim pickings on diversity & selection. Food wise I went with: - an order of samosa Chaat from Tikka Spice (very nicely spicy that left my lips stinging with a lovely burn, a moderately small quantity for $8) - a Blue Hawaiian lemonade from Wow Wow (sweet lemonade colored blue at $4 for a pint) - a half pound of smoked brisket from Mighty Mike (super tender, decent flavor that wasn't as starkly smoked as I'd have preferred, a little plastic cup of exquisite sweet/vinegary sauce, about $12.50 after we donated our pound of flesh to the fat cats at the Round House in Santa Fe). Seating for eating is distinctly lacking. Only a couple picnic tables, though there is plenty of open grass to sit on. Foodie Tuesday was not crowded that afternoon I was there and everybody was being courteous about social distancing. Besides the food trucks there were about half a dozen tent/table vendors selling farm produce, baked goods, canning, honey, & knick-knacks. As noted, prices resided at the upper edge of the window, as is usual at such farmer markets. Fresh costs more. Overall I'd rate the market a 3-star affair, due to lack of very much selection and somewhat deficient amenities. But the friendliness exhibited by the engaging vendors is certainly worth a star bump. They were all consistently open & friendly, so kudos to them for coming out and trying to brighten the pandemic landscape for the rest of us.

Who in their right mind would spend 18 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to restore…read morea 1944 4-8-4 steam locomotive? Always had a passion for locomotives, and one of the highlights of my childhood was getting an electric Lionel train, complete with a steam locomotive, railway cars, caboose, rail tracks for Christmas. Got the address of the NMSL&RHS, and used my 10 year old GPS tracker to find the place. Not easy to see, as the museum is located on an old railway spur in an industrial section of Albuquerque (ABQ). Only a sign on post pointed me the right way. I've seen locomotives up close, and been inside some at the Sacramento Railroad museum. Before I can even get a look, got to mount a hard hat. Two buckets of hard hats, to be cleaned, and cleaned. Didn't see anyone cleaning the to be cleaned hats, and hope the previous user of this hard hat didn't have lice! Once fitted, the wife and I got a first hand individual tour of the locomotive. A representative of the NMSL&RHS spoke for a good half an hour, answering our questions, or rather the wife's questions, as she is an industrial hygienist, and knows all the ins and outs of hazardous chemicals involved in restorations. Locomotive #2926 went into service in May 1944, and served until 1953, when it went into mothballs, on a static display behind a security fence in Coronado park in New Mexico, rusting away until 2000, when it was purchased by the Railroad Historical Society. Heard that the purchase price was like $100, but with a big precondition: the locomotive had to be transported from it's mothball location to a permanent storage location elsewhere. Transporting a several hundred ton non-operational locomotive can be a daunting task, involving giant cranes. It ended up on this rail spur. The historic society set out to restore the locomotive to operating condition. Had to put in thousands of work hours, getting the right parts, and if the parts were no longer in circulation, having the parts made on the spot. The restoration is 17 years in the making, and still in progress. One of the most expensive part of the restoration process is the half million dollars it cost to remove the asbestos coating around the locomotive, used for insulation. 2926 is a steam locomotive, but doesn't run on coal, but bunker oil. The steam tender holds up to 7000 gallons of bunker oil, the same type of oil used to power up naval ships on the high seas in WW2. 2926 has a skyroof , as the heat generated in running the engine can quickly turn the engine room into a blast furnace. The compartment is a maze of switches, gauges, levers, pulleys and other equipment among the 4 seats. Usually they only have 2 seats, one for the conductor, and another for the guy shoveling coal. Here the back two seats are for observers, either brass in the company , or politicians. Two tiny forward windows. Place is open to the public only on Wednesday and Saturday. All monetary donations appreciated. No chance of me hitting the wrong lever, and starting the train down the track! No DWA!

Disclosure: I am a member of the society and a huge rail fan, so this review is completely biased…read more Our group is restoring the steam locomotive that used to be on display in Coronado park. When completed, it will be fully functional and ready to lead steam excursions. Work is performed on Wednesdays and Saturdays and visitors are always welcome between 9:00 am and 2:00 pm. One of our members will be available to escort you up close to a huge main line steam locomotive and answer any questions you may have. Yes, you can touch it. I recommend that anyone with an interest in vintage steam equipment or railroading come by and visit.

You will find this mural in downtown Albuquerque. It is simple, but still demands your attention…read more It overlooks a small private parking lot and there is metered street parking available so, parking to get a quick closer look is relatively easy. This mural is the work of Ben Johnson who painted the piece in 2018. It is still in great shape and looks awesome. It is a basic mural with simply the words "STAY GOLD" in tall thin letter. The words are set against a two-tone blue background. The mural is painted on the side of the Wing It Up restaurant and you will find a retaining wall that is painted on the opposite side of the parking lot. It is not park of the mural, but comlliments the mural well. I am not sure of the mural's meaning, but I am assuming that it has something to do with that it is on Gold Street. I personally think that it would have been cool if the mural featured gold paint. Anyway, as with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a long stop. I was there less than 10 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip.

Cruising through Albuquerque, I stumbled on a giant Roadrunner statue that looked like it sprinted…read moreright off a Looney Tunes episode and plopped itself in front of a roofing shop. This thing is massive -- like, "Beep beep!" sized for a giant who's really into spray foam insulation. It's got those cartoonishly big eyes and that cheeky grin, standing proud like it's daring Wile E. Coyote to show up for a rematch. The best part? You don't even have to trespass to snap a pic -- just wave at the roofers and pretend you're part of some zany desert race. It's not exactly a theme park ride, but this oversized feathered speedster brings a little chuckle to your road trip and reminds you that sometimes, roadside art just wants to have fun. Beep beep, indeed!

So this was my final stop for the day during my scavenger hunt for my Oddities in Albuquerque…read moreseries. I actually thought it was further down past the casino but I was completely off. This guys right off Isleta Blvd in the driveway of a greenhouse! I guess first hearing about this road runner I pictured it to be much smaller like human sized, and was completely surprised when I saw how much taller it was. He's pretty tall I'd say over 10 feet easy! This roadrunner has some character and you can tell he or she's been around for awhile now but hasn't shown any signs of age other than through the paint. It's a unique site to see in the south valley especially since there already is so much character down Isleta Blvd as it is. There's a Blue Castle shaped mechanic shop just a block away from there along with a large strip mall called Mexico Accessories. So this guy keeps that area lively! I love it! If your in the south valley on Rio Bravo go north on Isleta and you'll see all the things I just mentioned along with this beautiful large roadrunner!