Last fall we took a 10-night road trip with our 20 month old through the American Southwest. To be frank, doing a road trip was tiring and trying at times, but ultimately totally worth it! We checked some items off our travel bucket list and got to spend 10 precious days with our little guy watching him explore the different landscapes we traveled through. He learned and experienced so much during our trip, like chasing tumbleweeds, learning that cactus mean "ouch, ouch!," and scanning the skies for "copters" and balloons, that hauling him and his belongings across the American desert was rewarding and we'll have the memories forever.
The 2019 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta starts this weekend and I'm looking back fondly at our photos and memories wishing that we were there again this year. We will definitely take our little guy back again when he's old enough to appreciate and remember the experience!
I thought I'd share the Albuquerque part of our road trip itinerary with you including our route, accommodations, and our excursions so you can learn from our experience and adjust to your own family's needs if you decide to undertake such an adventure! At the end of my post I'll share what I would have changed if we were to do the trip again with a toddler. I hope you find our journey inspiring and would love to hear about any other road trips you'd recommend for families with little ones! So without further adieu, please join me as I recap the Albuquerque portion of our desert road trip through the American Southwest!
Background
The idea for this road trip started with one of my travel bucket list items which was to some day take in the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. If you've ever seen computer or TV screensavers or demos with pictures of hot air balloons it's probably from the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. The event is the largest balloon festival in the world and showcases at least 500 hot air balloons annually, including many special shape balloons. I just thought it would be really cool to see in person some day, so when we were planning our 2018 family vacation I used this as a jumping off point and quickly realized how much the American Southwest has to offer! Before we knew it we had a jam-packed and diverse 10 day itinerary that was bound to please me, my husband and our toddler!
Day 1: Toronto to Albuquerque To get to Albuquerque we had to fly from Toronto via Chicago. We chose to fly with the toddler on lap option because we had the layover in Chicago which allowed us time to stretch our legs partway through our journey. With a lot of tricks in my diaper bag (stay tuned for a separate post on this) we made it through the flights and we even got about a 45 minute nap out of our little guy. Once in Albuquerque, we picked up our Enterprise SUV which we were able to rent for our trip using my husband's abundance of points that he collected during work travel. At home we drive a Mazda 3 so our little guy isn't able to see out the windows very well. Let me tell you, having him in an SUV was a game changer-- he was able to see out and comment on all of the things we were passing. I think this contributed to the success of our road trip because he was much more tolerant of car-seat time since he could enjoy our surroundings.
After picking up our rental we headed straight to the hotel to check in. We chose our hotel entirely based on proximity to Balloon Fiesta Park. You really have two options when visiting the Balloon Fiesta-- either stay nearby and walk (or use a hotel shuttle) or stay further afield and use the Park and Ride service. Details on Park and Ride can be found within the 2019 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Guest Guide. Although the Park and Ride option seemed well planned out and efficient but we decided that we didn't want to add waiting for buses and sitting in traffic to what would already be long days (wanting to take in Dawn Patrols and evening Glowdeos) so we chose to stay near the park and rely on our feet and stroller to get around. The Albuquerque Quality Inn & Suites on Alameda Boulevard checked off enough boxes for us to make a reservation-- it was within 25 mins of Balloon Fiesta Park, it had an indoor pool where our toddler could relax and it was affordable even at peak rates. Don't get me wrong. It wasn't fancy and was what you would expect of the brand, but the service was friendly, there was complimentary breakfast early in the morning before we headed out to Dawn Patrol, and there was a complimentary hotel shuttle to the Park as well which we took advantage of when it worked with our schedule. Plus, we had some luxury hotel stays throughout our 10-night road trip so we knew we had other styles of hospitality yet to come in our trip.
After checking in we headed out to Target and to stock up on essentials. When travelling in Canada or America, I try to pack light when it comes to toddler and then buy things like diapers, wipes, snacks and milk and buy them upon arrival to cut down on the amount of luggage we need to haul. For this trip it was absolutely essential to buy diapers, wipes and diaper cream upon arrival because toddler was in the midst of a month-long respiratory/GI bug that nearly derailed the entire trip and required many, many diaper changes throughout our travels (talk about a great source of mama-anxiety). We also got some glow sticks that we knew our toddler would love during our walks through the dark to Dawn Patrol.
Of course no trip to the American Southwest is complete without indulging in some Texas BBQ, so our next stop was Rudy's Country Store and BBQ where we had an early dinner of ribs, brisket, potato salad and banana cream pie. It was toddler's first time at Rudy's and he was a massive fan of eating meat straight off the paper table cloth.
We decided to head back to the hotel and try to get toddler to have an afternoon nap but he wouldn't, so we took advantage of the hotel's pool to let him burn off some steam after a day of travel and before we set out to the evening's Special Shape Glowdeo.
A quick note on Balloon Fiesta Tickets-- before we left Canada, I was able to purchase sets of electronic tickets through costco.com. Even Canadian Costco members can make purchases through the US Costco site for electronic tickets. Because I knew the tickets were being emailed to me so I could print them, I was able to use the hotel's address as my shipping address and was able to make the purchase. A pack of 4 adult tickets was $27.99 USD through costco.com. Buying the same number of tickets online or at the gate would have been $40 USD, so Costco provided a pretty significant savings.
So we walked to the Balloon Fiesta Park from our hotel and entered the field where some balloons were being unfurled onto the ground. However, we noticed that the yellow flag was flying, indicating that the Glowdeo was "on hold" based on the weather (it was slightly windy that evening). As we let toddler run around the field it was interesting to take in the sense of community between the balloon teams but we also heard discussions that based on the wind the Glowdeo was likely a no-go. Nonetheless, we walked the length of the massive field and checked out some of the vendors and buildings, but it started getting late, toddler started getting cranky, and we decided to take heed to the rumours we'd been hearing that the Glowdeo would be cancelled, and decided to head back to the hotel. Soon after I read on Twitter that the red flag had been raised and they cancelled the Glowdeo. The great news is, if you use a ticket to enter the field and the session is cancelled you can use it again another day so your admission fee isn't wasted.
Day 2: Dawn Patrol & Special Shapes Rodeo, Old Town Albuquerque, and the ABQ BioPark Zoo
Because the primary driver for the entire trip was to take in the Balloon Fiesta, we decided that we would try to attend every session until we'd taken in a Dawn Patrol and a Glowdeo, so we were up bright and early to have breakfast and head over to the Park. We managed to catch the hotel shuttle which was great because it was pretty chilly outside and cut down our travel time.
At around 6:30am as we pulled up to the drop off area in the hotel shuttle we were graced with the sight of the first balloons going up for dawn patrol and both husband and I agreed it was one of the coolest things we've ever seen. We were both in awe at the sight of the Wicked balloon rising up in the sky, seeing the design only when the flames from the burners lit up the insides of the balloon. The shuttle driver told us that he's lived in Albuquerque forever and still gets shivers when he sees the balloons light up in the dark sky, and I can totally understand why.
Soon we were dropped off at the gates and we watched as the rest of the Dawn Patrol rose above us. As we headed onto the field we could see many, many balloons being laid out and teams working to set them up for the morning's Special Shapes Rodeo. The sight was one that you just can't imagine until you're there in person.
Hundreds and hundreds of balloons slowly started to inflate around us across the 78-acre field.
We spent about 2.5 hours walking the field and watching as all of the special shapes inflated and took off. The special shape balloons were amazing-- massive in size, very detailed and super entertaining for our toddler as he watched them set flight. We saw Star Wars characters, animals and birds, scarecrows, astronauts, and advertisements like a Hunter boot or the Wells Fargo stagecoach. The event is very child friendly and most balloon teams have collector trading cards that they hand out to the children that show a picture and details about their balloon. Our toddler had fun approaching the balloon teams and accepting the cards which we then let him sort through later.
Around 9am many of the balloons had taken off and we watched the sky as it was dotted with hundreds of colourful special shaped and regular hot air balloons. It truly is a once in a lifetime sight to see.
Once we left the park we went back to the hotel and changed into clothes suited for warmer weather as the day was going to heat up. We decided we would head towards Old Town Albuquerque and the ABQ BioPark Zoo, letting toddler nap on the way. Old Town Albuquerque was a worthwhile stop, and we enjoyed wandering though the old streets with their colourful flowers and banners and seeing New Mexican red chilis hanging everywhere to dry. We popped into one shop that had hundreds of ceramic hot air balloons hanging from the ceiling and chose one to coordinate with toddler's nursery at home. To this day he still loves to talk about it and hear stories of the hot air balloon festival before bedtime.
Next we checked out the ABQ BioPark Zoo with the intent of letting toddler run around and explore after again being cooped up in his stroller for most of the day. The Zoo turned out to be just the right speed for him, not too big, enough stuff to keep him interested, and lots of open space where he could run around. To be honest, at 20 months, his favourite parts of the zoo were feeding the koi fish and ducks in a little pond. Seeing the bigger animals were a bit "meh" for him but husband and I enjoyed ourselves as well. I guess my recommendation would be that if you're just looking for a place for your toddler to run around, don't bother spending the $29 USD on two adult tickets and just take him to a park! But if you're interested in seeing the zoo it's a great place to spend the afternoon for a decent price. There was also lots of shade so we didn't need to worry too much about our toddler getting too much sun.
Following the zoo, we went back to the hotel and took toddler for another swim, and then fed him some dinner. We bundled him up into his Hatley Fleece Bundler which was the perfect way of keeping him warm during the chilly mornings and nights. It has pullover mittens and booties so we could keep his hands and feet extra toasty, and we put a down vest overtop, followed by a blanket so he was extra cozy.
We walked to the Park and got good vibes that the Glowdeo was going to be a go that night. Many more balloonists were on the field and starting to get set up, and the green flag was flying. We were pumped that we would be able to take in a Glowdeo and check it off our bucket list!
Seeing the Glowdeo was pure magic. During the evening event the balloons are tethered to the ground so they simply over above their gondolas as the teams pull the burners occasionally to keep them inflated. There are also timed "glows" when all of the balloons' flames glow at once creating a spectacular sight (and sound) across the entire field. I think toddler found the Glowdeo to be extra-magical as well because there was so much to look at and see.
We didn't stay until the end of the Glowdeo since toddler's patience eventually waned, but you could easily spend the whole evening at the field enjoying the sights, sounds and conversations with the balloon teams to learn more about the sport. After a quick walk back to the hotel we popped toddler into bed and we fell asleep soon after after an early start and busy day.
Day 3: The snowstorm...
Originally, we had planned for 3 nights in Albuquerque but sometime during the early hours of the third day husband woke up and checked the weather on his iPad. He nudged me while I was sleeping and filled me in that a significant snow storm would be hitting the the area between Albuquerque and Santa Fe later that day (am I the only one who would be surprised that there would be a snow storm in New Mexico in October???). We made a game time decision that since we had seen both morning and evening hot air balloon session that we'd seen what we needed to of the Balloon Fiesta and Albuquerque and we should try to hit the road to Santa Fe prior to the snow storm hitting, for fear of the snow storm making it so we couldn't get to Santa Fe at all the following day.
So I called ahead to our next hotel, The Four Seasons Rancho Encantado near Santa Fe to see whether they could accommodate us for an additional night. In true Four Seasons fashion they moved some things around and found us a villa for a three night stay instead of our original intended two night stay.
We quickly packed up and checked out of the Quality Inn, wanting to get ahead of the snow. Because we were up so early though, we decided to drive up into the Sandia Mountains at the edge of town to catch a glimpse of Dawn Patrol and the morning session from a different vantage point. If you've trekked to Albuquerque for the Balloon Fiesta, I highly recommend taking in one of the sessions from the mountains because the scene is brilliant in a different way. We watched, parked alongside the road as the balloons rose in the sky while the sun rose. Seeing them dotting the sky over the city, and travelling low above the Rio Grande was a sight to see, and was picture-postcard perfect.
I'm going to end this post here and hope that it gave you some ideas on how you can make the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta work for your family if it includes a toddler. We were a bit nervous going into the Balloon Fiesta portion of the trip, worrying that the long days would be too much for him or that he wouldn't be amused. But it turned out that he took advantage of car naps whenever he could and that he was totally amused by all of the new sensory experiences he was exposed to.
My advice: Adjust your expectations. Don't expect to stay at the events for a super long time like you would if you didn't have a toddler in tow, but just long enough to enjoy and appreciate them. Over the course of our 10-day road trip we planned "busy days" and rest days-- so we knew that our couple of days at the Balloon Fiesta would be followed by a few days of rest in Santa Fe.
Be flexible and don't lose sleep over it. I am pretty insanely rigid about toddler's sleep schedule at home, but we let the schedule slide while on vacation and toddler figured out how to sneak in bits of rest here and there. We were also flexible with toddler's dining. To keep him occupied, I'd often give him snack boxes (i.e. the "healthier" style of lunchables you can get in the US) to eat while we were on the go-- and I didn't lose sleep over the fact that he was eating packaged food at different times than his normal meal times.
Rely on novelty. I never give novelty enough credit when it comes to occupying our toddler. Just being somewhere new and seeing new sights and sounds was highly stimulating and occupying for him. Simple things like a glow stick to wave, or a new and simple puzzle in the hotel room kept him busy. Just have a few never-seen-before tricks up your sleeve and you'll be golden!
Sometime soon I'll continue this series about our 10-day American Southwest Road Trip with our toddler. Next up is Santa Fe, New Mexico! Stay tuned!
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