Being a local tourist - visiting historic Albuquerque
Discovering my own home town and visiting Albuquerque
Have you ever been a local tourist? Have you ever wondered why someone would travel to wherever you call home? I recently had the opportunity to be a tourist in my own home town and I was surprised by what I found. In fact, this is something I’ve done many times in the past and always uncovered a great adventure.
What is a local tourist?
Being a local tourist means seeking out tourist attractions in your own home town and then patronizing them. But let me add that the less mainstream those attractions are, the better. If you have small businesses or historical sites of local attractions, so much the better.
Something I never talk about is a job I held between owning the Featherbed Railroad (a local tourist attraction) and stepping into the RV business. I worked in the tourism department of my local county for a while.
The dollars you spend on locally-owned small businesses of any kind can truly make a difference in your community. But, by being a local tourist, you also learn more about your community and you can be a better tour guide when folks ask you what they should do.
So instead of going to chain restaurants or huge attractions, seek out something that’s truly unique to your area and enjoy that. Often times I find these are far more enjoyable than anything any big chain can offer.
Plus, as we venture out in our RVs this also gives us something to look forward to when we’re back at the home base.
So I ventured into old town Albuquerque and got to experience some unique things recently which I’m sharing with you here.
In some ways I was inspired to visit old Albuquerque after dropping Peggy off at the Greyhound station - you can read more about that adventure here.
Hey, let’s eat!
While this portion of my day in Albuquerque wasn’t planned, per se, it was also part of the adventure. Once I had visited the two historical sites I’m going to share with you I just asked my smart Alec phone for “lunch.”
One of the options was the Range Cafe which is a local restaurant that’s well known for it’s baked goods and New Mexican cuisine. Oh, baby, I’m in!
This local chain has been around since the 1990s and has good local eats. New Mexican fare is slightly different than traditional Mexican food that I’m used to having come from Southern California. The beans aren’t refried and you get potatoes instead of rice. Naturally there are always green chilis because New Mexico is known for growing chilis and we do it well.
I should write that New Mexico is known for red and green chili as that’s what they’ll ask you - red or green referring to the chilis. You can also often get both which some folks call “Christmas.”
Enjoying a Harvest Host stay in New Mexico
What I got was juevos rancheros which was quite good. I also ordered a locally-brewed beer to go with my lunch because. Well. Beer.
Overall a very good lunch indeed - the juevos rancheros paired very well with the Elevated IPA from La Cumbre brewing company. And that brings up another thought.
We have also stayed at local breweries through Harvest Hosts (we have a discount!) which is another way to be a local tourist. We also got to stay with friends Robin and Gary at Sierra Blanca brewery in Moriarty - that was enjoyable.
It all started with trains
My morning on the town started with a fascination with a huge steam locomotive that a group of volunteers have restored. Like many old steam locomotives, this one got retired and then was plopped into a local park where kids could climb on it and their grandparents could reminisce about the days when steam was king.
Almost a quarter century ago a group of volunteers bought Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 2926, a huge passenger steam locomotive, with the intention of restoring it to be track-ready. Built in 1944 AT&SF 2926 ran for over a million miles on the rails before retiring.
The local volunteers got to work and just 21 years later the locomotive was back under her own power. It’s no easy task restoring these gigantic machines. How big?
With fuel and water 2926 weighs in over 900,000 pounds. It’s huge. And on Wednesdays and Saturdays they open up the shop and let goofballs like me learn more and climb into the cab.
They do fire up the locomotive on special occasions but with a 14,000 gallon fuel tank and a thirst for about 100 gallons of water per minute, it ain’t cheap to do so. It’s still a very impressive sight.
While I was visiting the 2926’s shop, I learned about the Wheels Museum not far away.
The Wheels Museum
The Wheels Museum is an interesting place indeed. This is the result of the passion of Leba Fried and a lot of local volunteers, the Wheels Museum pretty much has a collection of almost anything that has, well, wheels.
Located in a portion of Albuquerque’s old rail yards, there are plenty of things for railroad buffs to ogle including several model railroad layouts. There are also vintage vehicles from a fire engine to numerous cars including one used on-screen in the TV show Better Call Saul. Hey, it’s Albuquerque.
There are also a lot of historical bits and pieces including things from the local railroad industry. Kids (and adults) can ride a small train inside the building and the miniature railroad displays were all shuttling miniature trains while I was visiting. It was pretty neat.
One of the things in the museum is the dead middle point of Route 66. There’s a shield on the ground that designates the spot and I found this out from local historian and author Ronn Perea.
Ronn has been a comedy show promoter for decades but is also known as a historian. I found myself speaking with Ronn for a good long while as he shared some really interesting stories about the area from the barber’s chair he was occupying.
He’s also an author and had several of his books on-hand to sign. Glad I had cash, I bought one of the books and am looking forward to learning more about this community.
More Albuquerque Stuff
I think any town has some sort of museums, exhibits, attractions or other small businesses that you can support. By visiting these places it makes for a great day without a lot of miles on your vehicle. But these visits can also mean the world to these small businesses.
Of course Albuquerque is famous for hot air ballooning and that’s something else you can do when you visit - there are several companies that’ll gladly take you up into the skies.
We’ve also shared our visit to Tinker Town in the past, another quirky local tourist attraction.
There are so many nifty things in this town and in yours, too.
Another thing we’ve discovered is Buffett’s Candies. This Albuquerque institution makes some wonderful treats and has been in town since the 1950s. We stumbled upon their new location but that caused us to venture into their original location.
I remember years ago when I lived in Southern California riding around with a friend of mine who had spent his whole life in the area. As we drove by the Watts Towers I asked his opinion of that landmark and he had never been there. He has since passed away so that means he never got there.
In addition to balloons in the sky, keep your eyes peeled if you roam Albuquerque as there are murals and statues all over the place. This is a very artsy town.
While we love the RV life and all the adventures our Mini Lite takes us on, there’s also a lot to be said for checking out your own home town and seeing just what it has to offer. You may be surprised.
