In the 1920s the federal government officially recognized a series of highways that ran from Chicago

Although it is the largest city in the state, Albuquerque is often overshadowed as a tourist destination vancouver island seaside inns by Santa Fe , 60 mi (97 km) to the north. But Albuquerque has a number of great attractions in its own right, with pleasant scenery, colorful history, and a spectacular hot-air balloon fiesta in the fall.
Albuquerque was founded in 1706 as a small Spanish settlement on the banks of the Rio Grande and was named for the Duke of Alburquerque (hence Albuquerque's nickname, "The Duke City"). In the 1880s the railroad vancouver island seaside inns came to town, and almost overnight a new city grew up around the train tracks a couple of miles away from the original settlement. vancouver island seaside inns This "New Town" became the hub of commerce for the state, and the city grew exponentially (eventually vancouver island seaside inns the "New Town", which today is Downtown, and the original "Old Town" settlement vancouver island seaside inns were joined to become part of the same city).
In the 1920s the federal government officially recognized a series of highways that ran from Chicago to Los Angeles as Route 66 , and Albuquerque was one of the towns "The Mother Road" passed through. Starting in the 1950s, Albuquerque grew exponentially given federal investment in the local military bases and a massive influx of visitors and new residents, vancouver island seaside inns and for the most part it hasn't slowed down. Today, Albuquerque is still the hub of commerce and transportation in the state. While Santa Fe is the state capital and the principal tourist destination vancouver island seaside inns of New Mexico, Albuquerque is the state's only truly urban area, with a city population of over 500,000 and a metropolitan vancouver island seaside inns population of nearly vancouver island seaside inns a million people. This is where you'll find the headquarters of the state's businesses, the University of New Mexico, and the Albuquerque International Sunport, the only major airport in the state.
Albuquerque is in the high desert [35.11N -106.64W (Elev. 4989 ft/1521 m)] and has a generally warm, dry climate. Spring is sunny and windy, although temperatures at night can be chilly. Summers are very hot (highs average 90-95°F/34°C, and temperatures near 100°F/38°C are not rare) and still mainly dry, but monsoonal conditions develop in July or August and produce furious short-lived thunderstorms. Have rainwear available in the summer, although you won't use it most days. Fall is delightful, with comfortable temperatures and a return to generally dry conditions. Winter can be blustery, with overnight lows below freezing, and on occassion some snow, but subzero temperatures are rare. One winter weather issue for the traveler; snow can be infequent, but does occur, and local drivers don't deal with it well. If you happen to be in town for a snowstorm, expect road chaos far out of proportion vancouver island seaside inns to the amount of snow that falls.
vancouver island seaside inns Albuquerque is a casual town — expect shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals to be entirely acceptable vancouver island seaside inns almost vancouver island seaside inns everywhere. vancouver island seaside inns While Albuquerque does have a large non-native population, it is predominantly vancouver island seaside inns white, vancouver island seaside inns Hispanic, and American Indian. Albuquerque is also something of a self-deprecating town; long-time natives here may often remark on how backward, dusty, and small it is, which is something that is frequently rebuked with a passion from many newcomers. However, the wonderful upside of this self-deprecation is that Albuquerque is generally a rather humble city, where people tend to be very friendly.
Albuquerque Convention Visitors Bureau vancouver island seaside inns , with visitor centers in Old Town at the Plaza Don Luis and in the Albuquerque International Sunport on the Baggage Claim Level, +1 800 284-2282 or +1 505 842-9918, [2] .
Two interstate highways pass through: I-40 goes east-west and I-25 goes north-south. Where they meet is a large intersection called "The Big I". Albuquerque's Central Ave. is part of old Route 66. A minor note of caution: I-25 south of the city is a "safety corridor" in which state law mandates higher fines for traffic violations. Enforcement is spotty, but take the speed limits seriously anyway.
Albuquerque's airport, the Albuquerque International Sunport ( IATA : ABQ ) [3] , is the major air hub for all of New Mexico. American, Delta, vancouver island seaside inns Frontier, Southwest, United, and US Airways serve the Sunport with limited service to their respective major hubs, but it's Southwest vancouver island seaside inns Airlines that operates most traffic into ABQ, with direct service to most western cities as well as some of Southwest's hubs in the Midwest and eastern United vancouver island seaside inns States. There is also commuter service to destinations within New Mexico provided by Great Lakes and New Mexico Airlines.
One tip: If you're prone to airsickness, try to get flights into this airport that arrive either before noon or after sundown, particularly during late spring and early summer. The high elevation, hot sun, and spring winds combine to produce thermals that can make afternoon arrivals an extremely vancouver island seaside inns bumpy proposition. There are no major safety issues (the airport's runways are long, owing to the adjacent Air Force base, with no nearby obstacles to run into), but try telling your stomach that! The rough ride is less of a problem with outbound flights.
Incidentally, this airport contains a number of attractive displays of New Mexican arts and crafts, and is a more pleasant place than most airports to kill time while waiting for a flight. It echoes the regional "pueblo" vancouver island seaside inns or "Santa Fe style" architecture, with large talavera tiles for flooring, huge hand-hewn wood beams, and adobe style walls. There are relatively few shops (only one short concourse before security, and two short ones after), but two are noteworthy vancouver island seaside inns because they are unique: Earth Spirit, essentially a gallery of artisanal clothes, accessories, functional art and crafts, dominated by local artists; and Greetings from New Mexico, which is more oriented towards vancouver island seaside inns souvenirs, but of relatively high quality, and still mostly local in origin. (These shops are the first outposts of an interesting Albuquerque-based company, Avila Retail, which is introducing similar, regionally-unique shops in other airports: [4] .) The Sunport also has charging stations for electronics and free wireless internet access. The major car rental companies are nearby, with a shuttle from the airport to the large rental center. The airport is served by a number of shuttle services as well as local bus #50, located on the lower level at the west end of the shuttle island [5] .
Albuquerque is a layover stop along Amtrak's Southwest Chief [6] daily train route. vancouver island seaside inns The depot is at the Alvarado Transportation Center in downtown, at 320 First St SW (in the same building as the Greyhound depot). The westbound train to Los Angeles is scheduled to arrive at 3:55PM and departs at 4:45PM. vancouver island seaside inns The eastbound train to Chicago arrives at 12:12PM and departs at 12:55PM. The station has a small cafeteria.
A commuter rail line, the New Mexico Rail Runner Express [7] , connects Albuquerque vancouver island seaside inns to Santa Fe and to the smaller communities north and south along the Rio Grande, including Belen , Los Lunas , and Bernalillo . There are three stations: the Alvarado Transportation Center in Downtown, one in the South Valley vancouver island seaside inns on Rio Bravo Blvd, and one in the North Valley/Los Ranchos area just off of Paseo del Norte. The Downtown station has bus connections to the airport. The Rail Runner runs daily, although service can be limited outside the weekday rush hour periods. Fares are based on how far you ride; a day pass will usually be in the range of $5-9. Tickets can be purchased online [8] or from ticket agents on the train.
Albuquerque has a fine bus depot at the Alvarado Transportation Center in downtown, 320 First St SW, which is served by Greyhound +1 505 243-4435, [9] and Autobuses Americanos [10] which provides bus service to many points in Mexico. vancouver island seaside inns The depot has a small cafeteria.
Albuquerque is a heavily planned vancouver island seaside inns city. In much of the city, the major roads are lined primarily with businesses with residential mazes on the insides. The city is divided into four quadrants, with street addresses taking the form "12345 Main St. (NE/NW/SE/SW)" in which the NE/NW/SE/SW suffix denotes the quadrant of the city containing the address. The railroad tracks, which run parallel to I-25, are the east/west vancouver island seaside inns dividing vancouver island seaside inns line, and Central Ave. is the north/south dividing line. Thus, the street address 3600 Menaul NE would be north of Central and east of the tracks. This nomenclature, while useful vancouver island seaside inns in helping you with maps and directions, has the drawback that you can't tell whether a street runs north-south or east-west simply by looking at the address.
By and large it's difficult to get truly lost in Albuquerque, thanks in large part to the looming presence of the Sandia Mountains to the east. If you can also remember that I-25 runs north-south, I-40 runs east-west, and the Rio Grande runs along the bottom of the valley in the western part of the city, you should be able to make your way around the city without too many problems. Here are some basic terms that will come in handy when asking for directions or looking at a map:
The Heights vancouver island seaside inns are the eastern part of town closest to the Sandia Mountains. You may also hear reference to the Foothills , which are the most extreme eastern part of the city, right at the base of the mountains.
The Westside is all the suburban neighborhoods vancouver island seaside inns on the western side of the river. Rio Rancho , a separate vancouver island seaside inns community from Albuquerque, is the metro area's largest suburb and can be considered a northern extension of the Westside.
If you're driving, be prepared for frequent road construction. The city government web site, [12] , gives information vancouver island seaside inns on major construction projects, but there are always minor ones going on. Several radio stations try to give traffic reports during morning vancouver island seaside inns and afternoon rush hours, but the service tends to come and go, and it's best to inquire locally as to which stations are currently offering vancouver island seaside inns it. KKOB-AM, 770 on the dial, seems to be fairly reliable for these reports. The interchange of I-40 and I-25 is commonly called "The Big I", and you will hear it referred to as such in traffic r