New Mexico and Old Town Albuquerque

New Mexico and Albuquerque are beautiful.  Stark, yes, but not drab and dirty.  The landscape colors are gorgeous.

Here are some pictures I took on the drive in to Albuquerque:

We stayed last night at the Raddison in Albuquerque because it had a waterpark with a flowrider.  The flowrider was a double and much quicker than Massanutten.  The waterpark staff was very nice and helpful, and the people we met there were great.

After we rode a little Tuesday morning, we checked out and decided to drive around town a little before checking into our other hotel (it was way too expensive to stay at the Raddison both nights).  I'm so glad we did, because we stumbled across Old Town Albuquerque.

Old Town was founded in 1706 by Governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdez and looks like a traditional Spanish town.  There were lots of shops and galleries featuring traditional Native American jewelry, art and textiles.  It was beautiful.

Looks like a post card, doesn't it?

We're going to try to check out the Native American Cultural Center tomorrow before we leave, and I think we're going to take the Turquoise Trail (National Byway) to Santa Fe instead of the interstate.