Albuquerque Oddities

Believe it or not, we didn't spend EVERY waking moment at the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. One day we decided to do a little sight seeing. I may have mentioned before that one of my favorite websites is Roadside America. You can type in the name of any town or city in any state, and if there is anything weird, odd, or funny to be found, it should be listed. Since Jim and I like quirky things (thus we married each other), we just get a kick out of some of the things listed. If we are going to be in an area for a couple of days, we'll see what's around. You'd be surprised what you find.

Soooo, without further ado, here's the Roadside America's guide to Albuquerque.

The first sight we visited was this. Try and guess what it is.



Give up? If you said a telephone pole, you are right. But can you guess what is ON the telephone pole? High heels. That's right, folks. This person, for who knows WHAT reason, has nailed high heels all the way around and to the top of a telephone pole THAT IS IN USE. Here's a close up of it.



Okay, now help me out here. You've got to wonder how the heck this started out. Was a woman walking home late one night, broke the heel off of her shoe, decided the heck with it, happened to have a hammer and a nail, and whacked it onto the pole? Or did the woman of the house just throw some old heels out to the garbage and they never got picked up so she decided to nail them to the pole? C'mon. What could possibly possess a person to nail shoes to a freakin' telephone pole? Any ideas? I can't get over that they are still allowed to stay there!



As if things couldn't get any freakier than that, the next stop was what was called the Bug/Spaceship House. I could see how either name could apply. This house is in a regular old neighborhood.

Here is a side view of the house.



Weird, huh? Here's a closeup of the front of the house.



Odder still. The front of the house has metal sculptures lined up on the grass. Here is a larger shot of the front of the house with two dinosaurs.



Now, you may wonder what this guy's neighbor thinks, living next door to such a weird house. Let me give you a clue. THIS is what's in the front of the next door neighbor's house. It looks like a jack from a ball and jack game for the Jolly Green Giant.



You might think, "Oh, that's not too bad." Yeah? Get a load of the house.



Neither one of these houses were my cup of tea. Me? I prefer the normal looking house across the street. Now THAT had my name on it!



We left our little "architectural tour" and were on our way to the next quirky stop when I noticed this bumper sticker. I had to take a picture of it for Otin - so this one's for you, Otin. I promised you that I'd post it!



Next stop? Chevy on a Stick. The official name of the sculpture is "Cruising San Mateo". It was erected as part of a street-widening project on Gibson Boulevard (at San Mateo).



Did you know that the Center of the Universe is in the University of New Mexico? It's true! There is a "hallway" sculpture in three dimensions -- X,Y,Z made of concrete,



and in the center of it, on the ground, you will find this:



There. So now you know. Feel better?

I didn't feel TOO out of place walking on the campus grounds. Pretty much the students ignored the old couple walking around. They probably figured we were somebody's parents that were visiting I guess. I was surprised to see a couple of Vespas parked alongside bicycles.



But then I was happy to see the college students getting around with bicycles and even a skateboard.



This is a photo of the college newspaper office. I took it to show you what a typical building looks like in the Albuquerque/Santa Fe area with the adobe walls, the pieces of wood sticking out near the top (upper left) and that the doorways (and sometimes the windows) are painted that blue color to ward away evil spirits.



This unusual sculpture and fountain was also on the UNM campus.







The plaque was a little scratched up so I copied down what it said.

“Tribute to Mother Earth”

My grandmother was a farmer who worked not only with the EARTH, but with many things which EARTH provides for our use. She was the weaver of our clothing, and she created many other wonderful objects. She revealed to us the meaning of life, and taught us how to live. Most of all, she nourished and healed our minds and our bodies, our hearts and our souls.

Toward the end of 1990 certain signs appeared to me in a dream which indicated that her days upon this earth were drawing swiftly to an end. She passed away on January 12th, 1991. In many cultures it is customary to hold an important ceremony one year following the death of a loved one. I helped my mother return to Korea to participate in that ceremony.

I decided to build a very special shrine to honor all grandmothers, and especially our Mother Earth who nourishes us always even though we may mistreat or ignore her. I dedicated the shrine on January 12th, 1992, the anniversary of my own grandmother’s death, in honor of Mother Earth, in hope that we humans, together with all the other creatures of the marvelous Nature which surrounds us, who with us are all children of the Creator, may flourish in universal harmony and joy.

First Moon 1992
Youn Ja


Driving around, this vehicle caught my eye.




Did you catch that - "Cuz jail sucks"? Yeah. I don't know if any of you are fans of author Janet Evanovich, who's protagonist is Stephanie Plum, a bail bonds person. Can you imagine Stephanie driving around in that vehicle? Too funny!

And finally, here is a photo of the statue, "Madonna on the Trail". According to Wikipedia, "Madonna of the Trail is a series of 12 monuments dedicated to the spirit of pioneer women in the United States. The monuments were commissioned by the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). They were placed along the National Old Trails Highway and extended from Bethesda, Maryland, to Upland, California, in each of the 12 states the road passed through."




The 12 states and the dates of dedication are as follows:

1. Springfield, Ohio—July 4, 1928
2. Wheeling, West Virginia—July 7, 1928
3. Council Grove, Kansas—September 7, 1928
4. Lexington, Missouri—September 17, 1928
5. Lamar, Colorado—September 24, 1928
6. Albuquerque, New Mexico—September 27, 1928
7. Springerville, Arizona—September 29, 1928
8. Vandalia, Illinois—October 26, 1928
9. Richmond, Indiana—October 28, 1928
10. Beallsville, Pennsylvania—December 8, 1928
11. Upland, California—February 1, 1929
12. Bethesda, Maryland—April 19, 1929

I believe we have seen 3 or 4 of the statues.

I hope you've enjoyed the "off the beaten path" of Albuquerque, NM.

On Sunday we left Albuquerque, and drove up to Santa Fe. We will be here for one week. Lots of sights to see here, so stay tuned!