Currently, I'm still at a three-fer concerning this lil' town that's maybe, just perhaps, showing…read moresigns of puberty. A touch of a late-bloomer, it would seem, seeing that Bernalillo is about 300 years old. It's a fair pass-through town for me, a welcome reprieve from a long road trip, but hardly a destination, yet. The rapid growth of westsidaz over the years drove the cookie-cutter homes of Rio Rancho into this old established community, and the newish housing developments just looked bad, lacked character; I still wince when I'm headed towards the Jemez, west. A casino, a few monster box stores, not the kind of businesses I ever thought worthy of the town itself. But that does appear to be changing. Kaktus Brewing was certainly a welcome new neighbor, years ago, and the Freight House was a perfect aggressive addition to Matt DiGregory's original Range. If the new Bosque Brewing building delivers, and it looks like it could be a godsend, Bernalillo may land on the radar for a quick getaway from ABQ.

Such a nice little town. Several Restaurants, Art Galleries, a Jewelry and Pottery Store, an…read moreAntique Store and Coronado State Monument. Something to do for everyone. Nice stop between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

Standing a whopping 36feet tall in front of the courthouse, this thing doesn't just sit there…read morelooking impressive--it moves. Water fills one pan, gravity does its thing (or doesn't, in this case), and the entire beam tips in slow-mo like a brass-and-steel seesaw on caffeine The twist? It's backwards. The lower pan fills and rises. It's like justice decided to flip the bird to physics--and maybe society--because sometimes, even laws need to rebel Around the base, you'll find 30 quotes about justice in languages from around the world, embedded in granite blocks like a secret quest for word and wisdom But honestly, the real show happens when the water starts flowing--watch it teeter, totter, and glide with the grace of a flamingo on a tightrope. If you're ever in downtown Albuquerque, swing by the courthouse plaza, watch the water-powered ballet, and let the sculpture remind you: justice might wobble, but it's always entertaining.

You will find this astounding piece in the courtyard of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court…read more It is the amazing work of Evelyn Rosenberg who was commissioned by the New Mexico Percent for Art to do the piece in 2004. It is made of copper, brass, and stainless steel and stands a whooping 36 feet tall. It is a water powered kinetic sculpture, but it was not in operation during my visit. The sculpture is billed as the world's largest scales of justice. You will find metered street parking and commercial lots and garages within a reasonable walking distance for visitors that are driving and would like to get out a get a closer look. This is not a piece that you can really get appreciation for from your windshield anyway, so I highly suggest parking. It defies logic though. The water enters the lowered pan, and when the water fills the pan the scales tip the opposite direction than the laws of physics dictate. If you look closely to the scale's base, you will see 30 quotes that are in different languages and scripts. All the quotes have a justice/law nexus. If you are unable to translate them, don't worry, the translations for them appear on granite blocks planted in the ground near the walkway leading to the scale's base. If you look even closer, you will also notice that under one of the scale's pan is a phoenix, which represents redemption and under the other pan is a dragon that stands for darkness. It if the perfect sculpture for a courthouse. I really, really like it. It is more of a plaza area with the sculpture, walkways, and quotes. I highly recommend checking this place out. It is located downtown and just outside of old Albuquerque. Anyway, as with most sculptures that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a long stop. I was there less than 10 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip.

Drive like a New Mexican! This east/west freeway that takes…read moreyou through the south side of Albuquerque is straight shot that races drivers across town. Most of ABQ is built on a grid, so this is generally the fastest way across town. I-40 intersects I-25 at an intersection called "The Big Eye," which is perpetually under construction. There certainly are some interesting things to see along this drive- the City of Albuquerque has pledged a single percentile of their overall city budget to large public works of art to put along the sides of roads. It seems that you see something cool every few exits, from aluminum yucca, to weird lights that shine over stylized rock designs. Even the sound barriers along the freeway have outlines of mountains, or simple paint designs. The strip of light blue painted along the barriers not only serves as a safety measure, increasing visibility, but matches the clear blue skies of the Land of Enchantment, making for attractive nuances along the roadway. I hear of New Mexicans complaining of traffic on I-40 and laugh, when compared to the Sam Houston Expressway, MoPac or LBJ, this ain't nuthin'! There's seemingly always several lanes open, and since there's no turns or curves on the road, it's an easy drive. Don't mind those speed limit signs, they're just for decoration.

So, honestly, can any interstate in the country beat three stars?…read more This one comes close. Ah, the glory of Burque life. Forget you, Austin. Phoenix. Chicago. San Francisco. DC. Denver, Miami, Minneapolis. Who am I kidding? Burque is none of these cities. So who measures up? Kansas City? Salt Lake? Colorado Springs? Hard to say. Welcome to the desert, friends. We do this thang with two interstates, and we get point-to-point in 20 minutes maximum, unless we're hitting Rio Rancho. We jettin' Uptown, Downtown and cross-town like you won't believe, because aside from a little slow-down in the morning and a few yawns in the afternoon, we don't have traffic. Want a great reason to live here? The commute. Long as you have a car, that is. My peeves about this freeway are geographic and otherwise gov'ment based. First off, you only got two routes, so if shit goes down on the 40, and you need to get somewhere, you're screwed. And shit goes down in all sorts of ways. When we get "weather", meaning precipitation in any of its various forms, our residents freak out. We slow down to a crawl or we speed up so fast we don't know what to do. Months of unwashed petroleum suddenly spreads like a virus across the pavement and screw with otherwise sensible tire tread, sprawling us across turn lanes. It can get ugly. Major word of caution, visitors: if it's actually raining, take it very, very easy. And concerning this freeway in particular: why do the cops shut it down, completely, for a fender-bender? Like, I get that accidents happen and we need to heed safety first, but I've seen this sucker completely shut down for the most menial of events. Two or three cars break bad and all of a sudden the entire stretch of highway, Unser to Carlisle, is a ghost town. I don't get it. Why not just shut down a couple of lanes? Oh, another thing that makes this freeway interesting: the tumbleweed snowman. That, too, must be Yelped.

At first glance, it's just a series of bright red arches along a sidewalk in Albuquerque--but walk…read moreunder them, and suddenly you're part of something sculptural, almost sacred. The repeating serpent-like shapes cast shifting shadows, and the further you go, the more it feels like a portal or procession. It's oddly immersive for a piece of public art that doesn't say much--because it doesn't have to. You feel it. The name "Kolowisi" refers to the Zuni water serpent, and once you know that, the entire piece ripples with deeper meaning. A tribute to movement, spirit, and story. Definitely worth a stop, even if it's just for a short walk that feels strangely important.

Kolowisi! This giant steel serpentine sculpture sits along…read moreLomas in Albuquerque. It straddles the sidewalk, making the pedestrian walk along inside the coils of the snake. It's reminiscent of Quetzalcoatl, the Mayan water god. Kolowisi is the water sperpent god of the Zuni Indians. The god Kolowisi saved the Zuni Indians from the giant flood and led them to the top of their sacred mountain. When the Indians were on top of the mountain, the water serpent god gave them gifts of food and water and seeds. The water god lives in lakes, reservoirs, wells, puddles and any body of water. He's kind of like the Loch Ness Monster that lives in Cochiti Lake or the Rio Grande. The water snake can change forms, like water into any shape it wants to. The City of Albuquerque relies heavily upon the water spirits, so it's an appropriate sculpture. This snake is painted what I would call 'enchilada red,' it matches the red sauce that makes Albuquerque food so great. You can't miss it. The artist is Andrew Shows. The city does a grand job of keeping it in good condition, free of graffiti and grime.

Hey, we humans are a pretty diverse species, aren't we? Different colors, genders, sexual…read morepreferences, not to mention political persuasions, curiosities and turn-ons, tats and piercings, culinary interests... hey, we're all so unique, right? And we love to post those status updates letting everybody know just how special we truly are, ad nauseam. But when it comes to how we inhabit this world, I'd argue that we're all pretty damn homogenous. Albuquerque's ever-burgeoning über-suburb, Rio Rancho, is case-in-point: endless rows of neighborhoods that blend seamlessly together, no character to speak of, sprawling across the sands. Expressing our individualism in mall-selected fashion, choice of automobile, or Christmas lawn decoration, we generally prefer to hide within our swamp-cooled abodes and smoke up on Reality TV, or streaming movies, or whatever defines us. That's America, boys and girls. I Am What I Ingest. The Shoe Tree is just a telephone pole covered in shoes. That's all it is. You have to wonder how the artist pulled it off, he/she probably started at the top and worked down from there. It's in the middle of a pretty homogenous neighborhood near a country club. I didn't take pictures of the adjacent house for privacy reasons but it's totally worth a look. Know this: while you were watching the latest mini-series, somebody was outside crafting this, and the rest of the castle, which is indeed a feat. Two dogs live here, and they continually cross a bridge in the sky. If that isn't enough to pique your interest, just go home and watch whatever it is you consider "your show".

Well, I can't really say this was worth the effort to come and see…read more I searched a few sources looking for interesting things to see. I thought this was odd enough, so why not see it? This is located in a residential neighborhood. I have no idea what the rhyme or reason for this is or was. It just appears to be a utility pole with a bunch of shoes attached all over the surface. The creator of this odd art is Michael Veseart. The shoes are pretty weather worn now. If you have an appreciation for shoes on display, this might be right down your alley. There are pretty much only women's heels... in many colors. This could just be called a High Heel Tree. I guess you could spend as much time as you'd like since there is a bench there. It is facing the houses, not the Shoe Tree. We took a very quick look and left.

Go Isotopes! This giant public work of art is in a little…read morepark by Tramway & Central and the I-40 ramp. It's sometimes surrounded by bushes. It looks like a giant hand reaching up into a mess of Zia symbol and atomic electrons. To me, it looks like a baseball mitt catching a radioactive fly ball. I believe that there used to be an eternal flame in the globe in the center of the hand. I don't know how that thing stayed lit, but I suspect it's been blown out long ago. I wouldn't recommend coming and hanging out at this sculpture, but rather admired from afar. There can be homeless encampments along here. It is a friendship park after all, and doesn't everyone need a hand of friendship every now and then? The sculptor was Ted Egri, and it was built in 1984.

So this was my final stop for the day during my scavenger hunt for my Oddities in Albuquerque…read moreseries. I actually thought it was further down past the casino but I was completely off. This guys right off Isleta Blvd in the driveway of a greenhouse! I guess first hearing about this road runner I pictured it to be much smaller like human sized, and was completely surprised when I saw how much taller it was. He's pretty tall I'd say over 10 feet easy! This roadrunner has some character and you can tell he or she's been around for awhile now but hasn't shown any signs of age other than through the paint. It's a unique site to see in the south valley especially since there already is so much character down Isleta Blvd as it is. There's a Blue Castle shaped mechanic shop just a block away from there along with a large strip mall called Mexico Accessories. So this guy keeps that area lively! I love it! If your in the south valley on Rio Bravo go north on Isleta and you'll see all the things I just mentioned along with this beautiful large roadrunner!

Cruising through Albuquerque, I stumbled on a giant Roadrunner statue that looked like it sprinted…read moreright off a Looney Tunes episode and plopped itself in front of a roofing shop. This thing is massive -- like, "Beep beep!" sized for a giant who's really into spray foam insulation. It's got those cartoonishly big eyes and that cheeky grin, standing proud like it's daring Wile E. Coyote to show up for a rematch. The best part? You don't even have to trespass to snap a pic -- just wave at the roofers and pretend you're part of some zany desert race. It's not exactly a theme park ride, but this oversized feathered speedster brings a little chuckle to your road trip and reminds you that sometimes, roadside art just wants to have fun. Beep beep, indeed!

The Lumberjack has been in shambles for too long. A double amputee and he also lost his ax, he is…read morenow back to his former self! All cleaned up and new with arms and an ax! Stop by and see him in all his complete glory!! Check, check him out!

Leave it to the New Mexicans to wanna go around disarming everyone! Har! Paul's favorite book is…read moreHemmingway's, "A Farewell to Arms." Oooh- he's a lumberjack, and it's okay. He sleeps all night and he works all day. He's got no arms, but he's still got his charms. Give him a hand, folks! This is the best display to remind you of chainsaw safety. This is what can happen if you don't use your chain guard properly, and don't practice chainsaw safety. I wish they'd replace his hands with something comical, like holding a burrito or the UNM Lobos sign, but alas, he stands armless. I support the Lumberjack's right to bear arms, as long as it is well regulated. It seems to be a political statement about the needlessness of gun violence in Albuquerque's streets. Very avaunt guard.