Village of Corrales Old Town Albuquerque Albuquerque BioPark Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Sandía Park Tramway

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1 Come relax in the splendor of the beautiful Farley hacienda in Corrales, New Mexico. Consider using it as a starting or ending home base for day trips in the area or as a stop off to explore the expansive and majestic Southwest. Crossing the borders into the Village of Corrales is like stepping into a time and place where the stresses of twenty-first century life give way to the grace and pace of another era. Walkers, bikers, horseback riders, and even carriages are a part of everyday life. With proximity to the Rio Grande, the village was founded for agricultural purposes and named by the Spanish explorers who observed the many corals protecting the many more horses. The Rio Grande Bosque on the eastern edge of the village provides refuge for native animals and plants. Oh, and Corrales boasts four vineyards within its tiny borders! Albuquerque combines a unique blend of multi-culturalism, natural beauty, profound historic attractions, and spectacular climate (over 5000 ft. above sea level) with four distinct seasons, museums, galleries and shopping to create a distinct and unforgettable visit for every kind of visitor. Highlights include Old Town Albuquerque, founded in 1706, encompassing about ten blocks of historic adobe buildings; Albuquerque BioPark including the Zoo, Botanic Garden, Tingley Beach and the Aquarium. The Anderson- Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science are just two of the city s fascinating museums. The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and the National Hispanic Cultural Center host exhibits, dance performances, and more. Other attractions include the Sandía Park Tramway second longest (by a few feet) in the world, Nob Hill on Old Route 66, the American International Rattlesnake Museum, and the Petroglyph National Monument the list goes on. Held each year during the first week in October, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta attracts hundreds of thousands of guests to Balloon Fiesta Park to experience a nineday extravaganza of color and excitement, celebrating the world's oldest aviation sport, ballooning at the world's largest hot air ballooning event. For nine days hundreds of colorful balloons, from all over the world, float above the city each morning as dawn breaks over the Sandia Mountains. It's no wonder this visual feast is said to be the world's most photographed event. 1

2 Southeastern New Mexico Southeast New Mexico is home to what s been referred to by many as the Eighth Wonder of the World. The underground magnificence of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has always commanded respect and awe. Carlsbad Caverns National Park invites you to explore some of the world s largest caves there are 100 known caves here, whose collections of stalagmites, stalactites, and catch the Mexican freetail bats fly out each evening it will leave you speechless. Also in Carlsbad: the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park, where your imagination can run wild with endangered wild species. Place your bets at Ruidoso Downs Racetrack, host of the world s richest quarter-horse race. Ruidoso also boasts the second-largest ski mountain in New Mexico Ski Apache, at 12,000 feet in the Lincoln National Forest, and with some of the best warm-weather powder in our state. Ski Apache boasts a new high-speed, eight-person gondola. For a different take on mountains of white, be sure to travel to White Sands National Monument, outside Alamogordo, where you can hike through the world s largest natural deposit of gypsum 275 square miles of the stuff! While at White Sands visit the Trinity Site. Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. From space, the two most recognizable items on Earth are said to be the Great Wall of China and White Sands. Also in Alamogordo, see what a big part New Mexico has in America s space program, at the New Mexico Museum of Space History. Cloudcroft is internationally famous among stargazers; Sunspot Solar Observatory and the Apache Point Observatory are located there. The town is also known for its pure mountain air, cool summer temperatures, and relaxed, rustic atmosphere. While all regions would like to claim Billy the Kid as their outlaw, it s Lincoln County that s widely known as Billy the Kid Country. Historic Lincoln was his home, and where he earned most of his notoriety. The famous Lincoln County War (remember the John Wayne movie, Chisum?), a protracted feud among rival cattle barons, merchants, and cowboys, gave Billy the chance to strut his stuff. Other famous legends sprang from the region, including Smokey Bear, who in 1950 survived a devastating fire in the Lincoln National Forest to become America s legendary icon for fire prevention. The Smokey Bear Historical Park, in Capitán, is the place to learn about forest health, forest fires, and fire ecology. 2

3 Then there s Roswell, famous for what s now known as the Roswell Incident allegedly, a flying saucer crashed here in In addition to the annual UFO festival over the Fourth of July weekend and the Roswell Intergalactic Film Fest & Cosmic-Con, you can visit the town s International UFO Museum and Research Center, whose exhibits, compilation of testimonials and programs will let you decide for yourself about what crashed here all those years ago. South Central If you like camping, fishing, boating, or just being outdoors, Elephant Butte is for you. There is plenty of water and beach as this is New Mexico's largest State Park. Elephant Butte Lake can accommodate watercraft of many styles and sizes: kayaks, jet skis, pontoons, sailboats, ski boats, cruisers, and houseboats. Or perhaps, if you re a birder, bring your binoculars to the Bosque del Apache, a refuge for Sandhill Cranes and over 32,000 Snow Geese and Ross Geese, dozens of Bald Eagles and Goldens, Great Blue Herons, Occasional Pelicans, Avocets, and many, many other birds. This beautiful Refuge is also home to small herds of Mule Deer and families of Coyotes. Seeing the sunset "Fly In" and the dawn "Fly Out" is an experience you will never forget! If you are lucky you can also see what we call "Puffs" of Snow Geese, thousands rising into the air, sometimes within feet of you. The sound of wings and the sound of geese talking is a fantastic, primordial experience, guaranteed to "wow" you out of your worries and "wow" you out of your own body, and guaranteed to lift your soul to join them. The Very Large Array, one of the world's premier astronomical radio observatories, consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration on the Plains of San Agustin fifty miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. Each antenna is 25 meters (82 feet) in diameter. The data from the antennas is combined electronically to give the resolution of an antenna 36km (22 miles) across, with the sensitivity of a dish 130 meters (422 feet) in diameter. You may have seen it already in the movie, Contact. Once known as Hot Springs, Truth or Consequences New Mexico is a small resort town with a year-round population of slightly more than 6,000. This little town got its name in 1950 as part of a publicity scheme to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Ralph Edwards hugely successful game show on NBC radio. Once Hot Springs became Truth or Consequences, Edwards traveled to town annually, celebrity friends in tow, for nearly 50 years! A walk through downtown T or C can be like stepping into a living time capsule; one can stroll among stores on WPA-era sidewalks, take a soak in one of T or C s many hot springs or dine at a steak house straight out of the 1980s SpacePort America is the first and only home base to many U.S. commercial space flight and rocket launch programs. It is home to Virgin Galactic s WhiteKnightTwo and 3

4 SpaceShipTwo. Over 650 passengers have already booked their seats at over $200,000- $250,000 per flight, including many Hollywood celebrities. SpaceX recently signed as the Spaceport s newest tenant and they will soon begin testing their Falcon 9R a reusable vertical launch and lander vehicle. UP Aerospace and Armadillo Aerospace have already conducted more than a dozen launches from Spaceport since In November 2013, a NASA SL-8 Flight Opportunities rocket marked the 20th rocket launch from the Spaceport America Vertical Launch Complex. North Central The North Central region of New Mexico challenged Georgia O Keeffe, motivated Taos Ski Valley founder Ernie Blake, and inspired travelers to trek the Santa Fe Trail. Today, the region offers an impressive list of attractions from adventure and culture to the endless recreational activities and great cuisine; from the world-renowned art galleries on Canyon Road to that something that inspired O Keeffe and others to stay in the Land of Enchantment! In Santa Fe, visit three of the oldest buildings in the United States: the Palace of the Governors on the Historic Plaza, San Miguel Mission, and a house that dates back to the 13 th century. Enjoy the Georgia O Keeffe Museum, El Rancho de las Golondrinas (in nearby La Cienga), the Museum of Fine Arts, the New Mexico History Museum, and the Museum of International Folk Art. The Santa Fe Opera has taken its place among the world s leading opera festivals. Every July and August since 1957, opera lovers have been drawn to the magnificent northern New Mexico Mountains to enjoy productions by one of America s premier summer opera festivals. The dramatic adobe theater blends harmoniously with the landscape. More than half the audiences of 85,000 come from outside New Mexico, representing every state and 30 foreign countries. Around Santa Fe/Taos area you can find: the longest continually inhabited Native American Pueblo (Taos Pueblo) just outside the quaint, eclectic and art friendly town of Taos (great skiing location in winter); the historically significant and once secret town of Los Alamos where the atomic bomb was developed, and Bandelier National Monument that protects over 33,000 acres of rugged but beautiful canyon and mesa country as well as evidence of a 4

5 human presence here going back over 11,000 years. Walk in and among cliff dwellings and kivas of a time long past and a civilization all but forgotten. North Central New Mexico boasts more artists per capita than any other region of comparable size in the United States! Northwest Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It hosts the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest. Containing the most sweeping collection of ancient ruins north of Mexico, the park preserves one of the United States' most important pre- Columbian cultural and historical areas. Another hidden historical gem you ll find nearby: America s longest narrow-gauge railroad, the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, which winds its way out of Chama. Go back in time and visit the Santuario de Chimayó, a legendary shrine often described as the Lourdes of North America. NOTE: If wine is of interest, New Mexico's sun-soaked soil and cool high-desert nights boasts the oldest wine region in the country. High desert climate and ideal soil feed Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Johannisburg Riesling, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel and other classic grapes and fruits to produce award-winning wines from 50 different wineries. Just look along the Rio Grande valley up and down the state! The first grapevines planted in what is now the state of New Mexico were brought in 1629 to Senecu, a Piro Indian pueblo south of Socorro, by Fray Gracia de Zuniga, a Franciscan, and Antonio de Arteaga, a Capuchin monk. San Antonio de Padua Mission, at Senecu, was located on the east bank of the Rio Grande, slightly north of the present small village of San Antonio. The cuttings brought by the missionaries were a variety of Vitis vinifera, commonly called the "mission grape". This variety is still grown in New Mexico today. Historians think it is a European variety from Spain, called Monica. Travel beyond New Mexico 5

6 Sedona, Arizona rests at the bottom of Oak Creek Canyon (one of the most scenic drives in the country) and is about a 6 hour drive through Gallup, New Mexico and Flagstaff, Arizona. If you go, consider also visiting Walnut Canyon and walk in the footsteps of the people that lived here over 900 years ago. Under limestone overhangs, the Sinagua built their homes. These single story structures, cliff dwellings, were occupied from about 1100 to The people that lived here are believed to have moved on to become the modern pueblo people of today. Walnut Canyon is one of their ancestral homes. Sedona's main attraction is its natural beauty with an array of red sandstone formations. The formations appear to glow in brilliant orange and red when illuminated by the rising or setting sun. The red rocks form a popular backdrop for many activities, ranging from spiritual (First Peoples believed the area to be sacred and many consider the area rich with energy vortexes) pursuits to the hundreds of hiking and mountain biking trails. Hint: catch the sunset atop Airport Mesa! Once a frontier mining town, Durango, Colorado draws thousands of tourists year-round for the myriad outdoor recreational activities and scenic beauty. Mountain bikers, rafters, kayakers, horseback riders, rock climbers, hikers, campers, hunters and fishermen are drawn to the two-million acre San Juan National Forest and to the San Juan mountains, the largest range in the Rockies. But the city's biggest tourist draw is a nine-hour historic train ride in a vintage steam locomotive. The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which hauled precious metals in the 1880s, now takes tourists for a 47-mile, open-air journey through mountains and forests and past abandoned mines to historic Silverton and back. Children and train buffs will relish the chance to climb into a locomotive and pore over railroad memorabilia at the railroad's museum. Skiers flock to the Durango Mountain Resort in winter, which also offers hiking, fishing, rafting and horseback riding in warmer months. Slow down your pace with a stroll past splendidly restored Victorian buildings in historic Downtown Durango and wind up a very active weekend in a local brewpub or saloon. 6