Route 66 - Day 7 (Albuquerque to Santa Fe)

This morning I got up at 4am to take a sunrise hot air balloon ride over the Sandia mountain range which is one of the things everyone says you *have* to do while in Albuquerque. It was absolutely amazing, serene and calm, our pilot Dean was great. I have a ton more pictures and videos of it that I can share in person. After the balloon ride, I ventured into Old Town Albuquerque which is pretty cool. A mix of the old adobe buildings including Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel and old residential buildings that have been converted into shops selling native crafts and other souvenirs. Then I headed over to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center which is a museum and cultural center that is jointly and equally owned by all 19 Pueblo tribes of New Mexico. There's a joke that the only two things the Pueblos have all agreed on is the 1680 revolt against the Spanish and the cultural center. :) It is truly a treasure and our guide was their Education Director Jon Ghahate who is a Pueblo native on both sides of his family. He clearly LOVES his job and I learned so much about the Pueblo native culture and peoples. I had lunch at a great little hole--in-the-wall New Mexican place called Padilla's New Mexican Kitchen that has great reviews (Blue Corn Chicken Enchiladas with fresh sopaipillas). So good and clearly originally a local's place that has started to get known - I'd call it the 'Jestine's of Albuquerque'. I drove over the Turquoise Trail through the mountains to Santa Fe rather than taking the interstate which I'm glad I did, several charming old prospecting towns hanging out in the mountain passes. I got into Santa Fe and chilled out and turned in early since I'd been up since 4am.

Sunrise balloon ride over the Sandia range