FAVORITE THINGS FRIDAY #10..New Mexico...Discover Puye Cliff Dwellings, The Sandia Peak Tram and The International Balloon Fiesta

Welcome back for the last installment of your trip around New Mexico.

Today we'll be staying in Albuquerque mostly, but first I have to tell you about the Puye Cliff Dwellings. This is one of the best kept secrets, as I find most natives of New Mexico don't even know about it.

At the Santa Clara Indian Reservation near Los Alamos, 90 miles away, are the Puye (translates to "pueblo ruin where the rabbits assemble or meet") Cliff Dwellings. From about 1250 to 1570 A.D., these cliff dwellings were home to about 1500 pueblo Indians, until drought forced the villagers to relocate closer to the Rio Grande River.

Carved out of a 200 foot high cliff ridge, the cliff dwellings contain over 700 rooms. The rooms dug in the cliff wall extend over a mile along the Puye mesa, sometimes at two separate levels. Over a dozen stairways, that are more like ladders and handholds, link the great house (Portions of this structure were once up to two to three stories high.) on the mesa top to the base of the cliff and the dwellings at its side. These "stairs" have been cut into the cliffs with finger grips to make the climbing easier. There are also two subterranean ceremonial kivas at the base of the cliffs. On the faces of the walls petroglyphs, including animal forms, human figures and geometric designs can be found.

Our second stop is The Sandia Peak Tram in the foothills of the mountains on the east side of Albuquerque. A trip on the world’s longest aerial tramway takes you above canyons a distance of 2.7 miles. At sunset the skies produce a beautiful scene and from the observation deck, 10,378 feet atop Sandia Peak you have a panoramic view of the Rio Grande Valley. There are two restaurants, Santiago's Mexican Grill at the base of the tram and for those looking for a more romantic dinner, there is High Finance at the top of the tram.

Our third and final stop in New Mexico is the best of all! Every year, in the first week of October, we are host to The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. This will be the 36th year of the fiesta. Back in 1972, when it started, there were only 13 balloons that participated. This year it will start on October 3rd where they open this amazing event by lifting off from local elementary schools. Then starting the next morning they have mass ascensions where over 700 hot air balloons lift off in about 20 different waves of 30-40 balloons each. During the day there are competitions, car shows and lots of good food to buy. At night they have a "Glodeo," where the balloons don't lift off, but light up to music and then there are fireworks. What is amazing is that the local public is on the field with the balloons and you can even volunteer to be on the chase crews that follow the balloons from the ground. During this week our population increases by about 25,000 people.

I found this video on You Tube. This is from the "Special Shapes Rodeo" back in 2006. 


Well, that completes our tour of New Mexico. I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of the places that make our state special.