By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – Paul Ingles has spent more than 50 years behind a microphone, but for the past two decades, much of his work has centered on a deceptively simple subject: peace. The Albuquerque radio producer is the co-founder and executive producer of Peace Talks Radio, a nationally syndicated series that explores […]
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X Marks the Spot: City residents can help balloon pilots by offering safe landing spots
By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – Bernalillo County and the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta are once again asking local landowners to help hot air balloon pilots find safe places to land during this year’s event. The county and Balloon Fiesta announced the 2026 “X Marks the Spot” program, which allows property owners to signal that […]
3 Questions: Suzanne Fricke, owner/director of Gallery Hózhó
By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – For Suzanne Fricke, art is as much about understanding place, history and culture as it is about what hangs on a gallery wall. An art historian, curator and educator, Fricke has spent much of her career studying and championing contemporary art from the Southwest, with a particular focus on […]
Japanese Fall Festival returns to EXPO New Mexico with Asian art, food, music and culture
By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – Japanese culture, food, art and live performances will come together in Albuquerque this September as the Aki Matsuri Japanese Fall Festival returns to EXPO New Mexico. Presented by the New Mexico Japanese American Citizens League, Aki Matsuri is an annual celebration that gives New Mexicans an opportunity to experience […]
The most alien place you’ve ever been: Day trips to Roswell
The Southeast is calling. Roswell is a long day trip away, or you can hitch up your RV and make a few days of it at Wild Willy’s RV Park. After you had fun at the Balloon Fiesta, we invite you to come down to the southeast of New Mexico and explore the town where […]
Get off the beaten path to find farm life, food and art in the Village of Corrales
We asked locals to share their favorite things to do in their neighborhood during Balloon Fiesta. Here’s Corrales Mayor Fred Hashimoto with his tips for planning your visit to the historic Village of Corrales. Welcome to the Village of Corrales, Balloon Fiesta visitors! Corrales is a rural community bordered on the east by the Rio […]
Day trip along the Turquoise Trail, aka “The back way to Santa Fe”
Turquoise Trail: The very name conjures up images of Southwestern treasure waiting to be unearthed. New Mexico State Road 14 is a 54-mile stretch connecting the Albuquerque area to the Santa Fe area. Known to locals as “the back way” and to tourists worldwide as “The Turquoise Trail,” this picturesque path is a National Scenic […]
The Santa Fe Reporter’s balloonists’ guide to one day in The City Different
Can you even believe it’s Balloon Fiesta time again? We swear it feels like it happensmore than once a year, but maybe that’s just because it covers two weekends and fillsthe sky with a month’s worth of color — and hot air. Thousands descend uponAlbuquerque for the event each year, but over the years Santa […]
A day of adventures around Sandoval County & Rio Rancho
Hundreds of thousands of visitors pack Albuquerque every October for the Balloon Fiesta, but once the morning mass ascension wraps and traffic clogs the roads around the park, savvy travelers point their cars north. Rio Rancho and the rest of Sandoval County pick up where the launch field leaves off, trading crowds for mountain views, […]
Lavender farms and Globitos make Los Ranchos a side trip worth taking
Los Ranchos de Albuquerque is a semi-rural village tucked between Old Town and Corrales. It’s one of the oldest settled areas in the Rio Grande valley, and back in the mid-1800s it served as the Bernalillo County seat. It was also the original path of Route 66, pre-1937. Nowadays, it’s a quiet neighborhood lined with […]


