Onion River Exploration Project: Albuquerque

Day 2 (3/30/2015)

Train around the Biopark

Our friend Tauni had agreed to be our tour guide for the day so after sleeping in and a quick breakfast at the hotel we were off to pick her up. We decided to start with the ABQ Biopark and see the spring plants in bloom. It was a good introduction to Albuquerque and brought us up to speed on some of the history, flora and fauna of the area. It was a beautiful warm sunny day and walking through the park and soaking in the sun was just what we needed after winter in the northland. Since it was early in the season, not everything was open, so our ticket also gave us admission to the aquarium. We were fascinated by the Stingrays and Jelly fish. It seemed like the stingrays wanted to interact with us and one in particular would come over by us, turn on his side and flap his fin at us. I tried to get video of it but was never prepared at just the right time. After spending some time trying to get pictures of one particular mean looking shark we took off for Old Town and a bit of shopping and ice cream. Albuquerque has become Santa Fe light and I was impressed with the quality of artwork to be seen around the town. We ended up making a couple of purchases. Our last stop before meeting Steve for dinner was going to be the historical museum but it was closed on Mondays. It was all good though and I spent the time photographing the sculpture in there sculpture court. In that way Albuquerque seemed very European with sculpture everywhere. Then it was off to meet Steve at El Pinto, Albuquerque’s premier Mexican restaurant. On the walls were pictures of most of the recent presidents eating there along with an assortment of other celebrities. The server explained the differences in chili sauces and had us try them before we ordered. It was a great finish to the Albuquerque experience.