Albuquerque

Albuquerque is the main city of New Mexico. It has grown a lot in the last 50 years as many people have realised that it has an almost ideal climate.
Yesterday (Tuesday) we drove into the city and sorted what we would do today. We then went to the local Whole Food Market for Sally to stock up on Soy Yogurt.
Today we travelled back into ABQ to the museum, which is just by the Old Town. They have a guided walk from the museum, which was very good value. The tour guide was an English woman, which was interesting. The history was fascinating. Starts with the Pueblo Indians, which just means Village People (No they didn't have a YMCA then). In 1539 the Spanish wandered in, coming back in 1590 to settle the place. In 1680 the Peublo had a revolution and kicked the Spanish out, but after 12 years they both realised that they needed each other (aah!)
The architecture is all adobe, which is mud and straw bricks. Because the material is weak you can only have a single story building (unless you make the walls several feet thick, like for a church). As wood was quite difficult to obtain and bricks need wood/coal to make then adobe was the best stuff. It was also a good insulator.
Things really changed with the coming of the railway in 1881. They brought tin sheets (rain proof roofs) and wood. They also brought ideas. So we see the architecture change dramatically - 2 story houses! roofs that didn't leak! building designs that owed more to East Coast fashion than practical desert dwellings. Unfortunately for Old Town ABQ the railway passed about 1 1/2 miles to the East, so the people moved, so Old Town stayed Old Town, while ABQ grew and grew.

A word on the weather. ABQ is at the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert and is about 4000 feet up. It has much cooler summers than even 100 miles south. 340 days of sun per year and built on the banks of the Rio Grande, so plenty of greenery. If you go 100 miles north there are ski resorts, 100 miles south just desert. ABQ is built in a valley. If you want it cooler, buy a house in the hills. No wonder people are moving here by the thousand.
A fascinating city, with a great history. we have rally enjoyed our few days here. Tomorrow we move 90 miles further North, by-passing Santa Fe for the moment and stopping in Espanola.
Another word about the weather. Not only is it dry but we are still getting strong winds. Gusts up to 60 m.p.h. are predicted for tomorrow, hope we are OK travelling.