| the original state magazine
Central Attractions and Travel Guide
Nearly everywhere you turn in the Central region of New Mexico there are reminders of legends both past and present. Also, with the abundance of high-tech industries and laboratories located here, it's a sure bet there are future legends in the making.
The state's largest city and only metropolitan area, Albuquerque, sits
almost in the geographical center of the 
Land of Enchantment and hosts
the crossroads of New Mexico's two primary arterials, I-25 and I-40, which
replaced America's legendary Route 66.
The area also served as a crossroads for the epic expedition of Francisco
Vázquez de Coronado, whose horse-backed parties of Spanish conquistadors
branched out from here to explore east as far as Kansas, north to southern
Colorado and west to the Grand Canyon. Coronado ventured north into this
uncharted territory from Mexico in search of what proved to be a highly
elusive legend — the Golden Cities of Cíbola. He died heartbroken and defeated
because he ultimately failed to find any riches other than vast, beautiful
landscapes and a rich Pueblo heritage that still flourishes today. The
Santa Ana, Sandía, Zia and Isleta pueblos lie within the Central region,
each with a bountiful, centuries-old culture graciously shared with visitors.
All but Zia operate successful business ventures, mainly in the form of
Las Vegas-style casinos that draw modern explorers in search of golden
riches.
The Petroglyph National Monument on Albuquerque's West Mesa contains historical treasures in the form of up to 15,000 ancient rock carvings created there centuries ago by Native American artisans.
The beautiful Sandía Mountains anchor the Central region, and the rocky
western precipices of the range are 
visible from nearly everywhere in the
region. Spanish explorers named the mountains Sandía because they likened
the color the mountainside turns at sunset to that of watermelon (sandía
is Spanish for "watermelon"). You can see what they meant on
nearly any given evening. The peaceful farming communities of Los Lunas
and Belén lie south of Albuquerque off I-25 along the Río Grande, on the
old path of El Camino Real and the Chihuahua Trail. The area serves as
a refuge for migrating birds, whose annual seasonal flights further illuminate
the beautiful skies at both sunset and sunrise.
To the east and north of Albuquerque is the Turquoise Trail, a historic route through several legendary mining towns and picturesque hills, with abandoned turquoise mines first worked by ancient Native Americans.
For more information on traveling in this area of the state, visit the regional tourism authority, The Heart of New Mexico, at www.heartnm.com/.
Central Cities: Albuquerque, Belen, Bernalillo, Bosque, Bosque Farms, Boys Ranch, Canoncito Navajo Reservation, Cedar Crest, Claunch, Clines Corners, Cochiti Lake, Corrales, Cuba, Cubero, Edgewood, Estancia, Jarales, Kirtland AFB, Los Lunas, Moriarty, Mountainair, Peralta, Placitas, Rio Rancho, Sandia Park, Seboyeta, Tajique, Tijeras, Tome, Torreon