Rio Grande Zoo | Duran Central Pharmacy

Thursday - 6 June 2002: Albuquerque, New Mexico - This morning we went to the Rio Grande Zoo in the Albuquerque Biological Park. I had visited this park six years ago, and was lucky to be with a group of zoologists, so I feel I had an insiders-view of the Zoo. The Rio Grande Zoo has a very nice bird show, where birds are brought out one by one for everyone to see. The handlers tell the audience about each species and how endangered they are and how their habitat is disappearing at a rapid rate. Most the parrots were donated to the Zoo when their owners were no longer able to care for them. (All photos today were taken with my video camera!)

Peregrine Falcon


Macaw

We spent several hours at the zoo. It was a hot day, yet many of the animals were very active. The Zoo has 6 Lowland Gorillas - including a new baby boy. He was sleeping in the shade with his mother, and it was impossible to get a photo. We also visited the reptiles, cats, other primates, bears, New Mexican animals, the rain forest animals and the Australian exhibit.

Ocelot

Time to refuel and time visit another restaurant on my list. Would you believe one of the most famous restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico is at the Duran Central Pharmacy (1815 Central Ave. NW)? Strange, but true. (Considering yesterday's M&J Sanitary Tortilla Factory is down the street from the bus depot... our tastes are obviously questionable.) Duran is a regular pharmacy - you can get your prescriptions, make-up, magazines, soap, etc., but back in the corner is a small Mexican restaurant that is a favorite with the locals. The restaurant is incredibly clean (unlike the so-called Sanitary Tortilla Factory) and simply decorated: red barstools around the counter and about 10 small tables. The menu is very small and only a few things are offered every day - and a few more are offered two days per week. (If you lived here, you would have to mark your calendar, I guess.) A woman was rolling-out tortillas just inside the kitchen, so I ordered a very simple quesadilla, so I could taste the tortillas. It was very, very good and served with chile. In New Mexico, chile is red (or green) sauce. It is a smooth cooking sauce, such as you would use as an enchilada sauce. Delicious and spicy. DT tried The Torpedo - a tortilla folded over potatoes and onions with chile sauce. Again, we tried each other's meals. I think I won, but The Torpedo was also lovely.

After lunch, we drove over to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. All 19 Pueblos in New Mexico are represented at the Center. Visitors can learn about the art, history and culture of the Pueblo people. The Center has a Museum, Children's Museum,, a school and, of course, a gift shop. It is in a very pretty setting - the buildings are built to resemble pueblos. For some strange reason, they also sell cigarettes at deeply discounted prices.

Back to Goldie for a rest and a swim in the pool - we had a quiet afternoon enjoying the sun and listened to The President speak from Washington. I can't figure how making another bureau is going to help stop bureaucracy. Why do we need a CIA and a FBI? Why can't there be just one spy agency? Why can't this ONE spy agency take care of Homeland Defense? Isn't that what the FBI and CIA should be doing anyway?

Camping in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Here is a photo of a campground we have passed several times. DT insisted I post this photo. Sadly, there are people LIVING in this campground and it looks as if they have been living there for about a million years... like they came in off Route 66, before the interstate was built. Does that sign advertise NO HOOK-UPS? Don't stay here.

For our evenings entertainment we decided to forego the last restaurant on my list and instead try one recommended by a couple we met at the Duran Pharmacy. They suggested Monica's El Portal (321 Rio Grande Blvd NW, 505-247-9625). El Portal was good, but nothing special. However, the salsa at El Portal was the best we had tasted here in town. We both agreed the food at M&J Sanitary was the best we had tried, but the best thing about Mexican restaurants in Albuquerque is the sopaipillas, served with honey. A sopaipilla is a triangle piece of soft, slightly-sweet dough - deep fried. When fried, they puff into a hollow 3-D triangle. Served warm, they are heavenly. Let's call a sopaipilla what it really is: a donut.

RV Park: American RV Park