Spending October in Albuquerque wasn’t in my plans, but that’s where I ended up, and I had a busy and wonderful time. New Mexico is quirky, artsy, sunny, and full of outdoor places to explore.
The only downside is the reason I spent the whole month there.
Some Tough News
Eric and I (along with Nikki and Jay) had just finished a weeklong bikepacking trip in Oregon and northern California in September when we heard some bad news from our son Riley about his wife Sam. Her brain tumor was possibly growing again.
Just over four years earlier, Sam had been diagnosed with a grade 3 astrocytoma. She was treated with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, and things had been quiet since then. Every three to four months they have been traveling to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland for checkups, including an MRI. Each checkup showed no changes, which was good news.
Now Riley told me the most recent MRI showed changes. The doctors weren’t sure if the changes were tumor growth or something else. They wanted to do further testing, including another brain surgery to biopsy the area. Both Riley and Sam would have to be in Baltimore for about three weeks. Complicating matters, they have a cat and had just moved into their newly purchased off-grid tiny house. They were stressed about leaving the cat and house for so long.
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| Sam and Riley's off-grid tiny house complete with solar power, composting toilet, and water holding tank |
I offered to house- and cat-sit for them. They immediately accepted, grateful for the help. I was happy to do it. Besides decreasing a little of their stress, I could get a break from a Fairbanks in October, one of my least favorite months. Being retired has its perks.
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| Their cat Cassiopeia warmed up to me after a few days |
Eric and I had already planned to visit them in mid-October, so it was easy enough for me to change my ticket. Eric, busy with his volunteer duties, stuck to our original plan.
October in New Mexico
October is a great time to visit Albuquerque for several reasons.
First, there is the world-renowned Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the largest hot air balloon gathering in the world with over 500 balloons. Eric and I had been to it when we last visited Sam and Riley in 2024, but I got to go again. It didn’t disappoint, though the morning I went the sunrise ascension of balloons was cancelled due to unfavorable winds up high and some rain clouds. Still, many balloonists inflated their colorful, fanciful balloons hoping to fly that morning.
Second, the New Mexico weather is just about perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. I had mostly sunny skies with highs in the mid to upper 70’s when I first arrived and the temperature was still reaching 60F by the time I left. I did have a couple of days with severe thunderstorms, but I think that is unusual for October and was most likely due to the super El Nino.
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| So nice to be in shorts and a T-shirt |
Third, I got to see the fall foliage at its peak. Several of my adventures took me up to 8500 feet where the colors of the oaks and maples in the forests were spectacular.
Biking Near Albuquerque
I brought my mountain bike with me so I could ride anywhere; trails, gravel, or paved roads. Riley and Sam’s place is less than two miles from an amazing mountain bike trail system: Manzanita Mountains Trail System. My first day there, Riley took me out to show me the area. A lot of it was above my technical skill ability, but there were plenty of flowy trails, too. And the trails were a great way to connect to other less traveled roads without having to be on busy highways. I used that trail system several times during my stay.
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| Biking with Riley on the Oak Flat trails |
Bikepack Every Month Challenge to Santa Fe
Eric and I had originally planned to do an overnighter with Riley in Valles Caldera National Preserve to complete my “Bikepack Every Month Challenge” for October but since Riley wasn’t going to be there, I decided to bike from the tiny house to Santa Fe and back while the weather was good. That way, Eric wouldn’t have to bring all his camping gear when he came to visit, and I would be sure to get my bikepack trip done.
I devised a route with the help of Ride with GPS. In fact, Ride with GPS was instrumental when coming up with all the riding routes that I did in New Mexico. I am sold on using this website and app while traveling. The route to Santa Fe, about 70 miles, was all on pavement, but the roads weren’t too busy. I got to see lots of fun sculptures along the way (Santa Fe is known for its artsy community), enjoy mountain vistas, and eat New Mexican cuisine. (In New Mexico, you are expected to choose between being a red or green chili person! I’m now pretty sure I’m a green chili person.) I also got to stop in the small funky, artsy tourist town of Madrid on my way back, where I got to see more funky art and listen to live music while I ate.
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| Checking out both the red and green chili with my burrito in Santa Fe |
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| Love this sign in Madrid! |
Around Albuquerque
The city of Albuquerque has great biking infrastructure. I did several rides around town including following a route I found on Ride with GPS that took me by iconic places such as Old Town, the Virgin in the Tree, the Rio Grande River, and the High Heel Shoe Tree.
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| The high heel shoe tree! |
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| The Virgin in the Tree in Old Town |
I also learned that Albuquerque’s largest biking event, the Day of the Tread, was happening while I was there. This two-day event occurs around Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) – the celebration where families honor, remember, and welcome back the spirits of deceased loved ones. Over 1500 bikers participate in either gravel or road rides with distances ranging from 10 to 100 miles. Costumes are encouraged. Of course I had to sign up, and I opted for the longest gravel event (72 miles). It was fun. Lots of riders and volunteers dressed in costumes. My gravel ride ended up being a bit more epic with headwinds, thunder, lightning, rain, hail and mud during the event. I think a lot of riders bailed when the weather got bad – at least that’s my excuse for being the red lantern finisher.
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| The last finisher for the 72-mile gravel event! |
Valles Caldera
Although Eric and I didn’t do an overnight in Valles Caldera National Preserve – a 14-mile diameter volcanic caldera caused by a massive eruption 1.2 million years ago – we did bike there. We couldn’t do the route I devised due to some backroads being closed because of recent flooding, but with the help of a ranger we came up with another route that took in part of the caldera. It was a beautiful ride with a variety of sights.
Near the beginning, we passed through Sulfur Springs where we saw bubbling mud pots. We climbed to a high point, where we ran into a couple of bikers who told us about an alternative loop that included some grassy fields of the caldera, flowy singletrack, and a stop at the primitive San Antonio Hot Springs. So, we veered off our original route to do that instead. I opted to soak but Eric declined as we had already soaked that morning at another more developed hot springs. It was a great day and made me want to go back to ride more.
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| Sulfur Springs |
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| Bubbling mud pots |
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| San Antonio Hot Springs |
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| Fun single track |
Manzano Mountains
When looking for what was nearby, I found the Manzano Mountains, only 30 minutes away by car. This small mountain range rises to 10,000 feet from the surrounding desert. I found a loop on Ride with GPS that ended up being my favorite ride of the trip. I timed it perfectly with both the weather and peak fall colors. Parts of the road were quite rough but mostly bikeable. I was glad I had my mountain bike. And I only saw a couple of people all day.
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| I biked around and over the Sandia Mountains |
I also wanted to do an iconic route around the Sandia Mountains that sit east of Albuquerque. I knew that Riley had done this loop several times. The 65-mile route is mostly paved but does incorporate a 10-mile 4000-foot climb on gravel. Another beautiful and fun ride.
Loops Near Home
I also did several 20– to 30-mile gravel loops from Riley and Sam’s place and ended up biking over 550 miles during my stay. There are still so many places within a two-hour drive to explore. I will definitely bring my bike back the next time I visit!
Hiking Near Albuquerque
The only hike I did near Albuquerque was to Travertine Falls, which was barely a trickle at this time of year. But it was pretty in the Sandia Mountains and a nice change from biking.
While Eric visited, we did more hiking. On our way to Valles Caldera, we stopped at Coronado Historic Site where we got to explore the Kuaua Ruins of a precontact Tiwa village and do a short hike to the Rio Grande River. We joined a tour at the ruins and had the chance to go inside a kiva – a space used by Puebloans for rites and political meetings.
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| The kiva that we got to climb into |
And before getting to Jemez Springs – where we spent the night and soaked in hot springs the next morning – we stopped and hiked to the Walatowa Red Rock slot canyon – a short but beautiful hike on native land.
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| Jemez Hot Springs |
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| You can see White Sand National Park down in the valley |
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| Apache Observatory |
White Sands National Park
We knew we wanted to visit this unique national park. It encompasses the largest gypsum sand dunes in the world. We hiked all the trails that were open, the most iconic being the nearly 5-mile round trip Alkali Flat Trail, which takes you far out onto the dunes. We got caught in a short rainstorm while hiking but ended up drying out by the time we finished. It was spectacular and otherworldly and different from many other national parks we have visited.
We also did the other shorter interpretive hikes that explained the area’s history, flora and fauna. We spent about half a day in the park which was plenty of time. We could have rented sleds to slide down the dunes, too, but opted to save that for another time. After our hikes, Eric headed west to visit his mom in Arizona, and I headed north back to the tiny house.
Final Thoughts
New Mexico is a cool place with so much history and so many public lands to explore. October was a great time to be there. If I need to come back and house- and cat-sit again, I won’t be bored! There are plenty of places that I still want to hike and bike.
And for those who are wondering, Sam is doing well. She said her recovery from this second surgery was much easier than the first. Unfortunately, the biopsy did show some new active tumor but, fortunately the surgeon was able to remove all of it along with more of the original tumor. Sam will need chemotherapy for six months and will start on an immune-blocker medication. And she is looking at getting into a gene therapy study in California for treating grade 3 astrocytomas. So more to come. You can check out her Caring Bridge page if you want to follow along on her journey.
