Bernalillo

We spent the day up in Bernalillo looking over the property and getting more familiar with the area. The building lot has been measured and surveyed and properly staked which is what I wanted. It looks the same as the last time I was there. We trudged around looking at the flora and the abundant signs of various fauna. It was a little hazy so the view was not as clear as before but we could still see most of it. I took a bunch of video walking over the site and trying to estimate distances. Paul says it is not in the middle of nowhere -- it is in the back of nowhere. So I took that as an indication that he liked it


There was not much else happening up near the building lot....it is very quiet. We drove around Bernalillo, the little town nearby, and then drove up into Placitas, a small village across the highway that was originally settled as a Spanish land grant but now is turning into expensive custom houses. We also scoped out the Rail Runner commuter train stop and it looks pretty handy and well used.

Bernalillo dates back to about 1716, more or less, and is an authentic New Mexico river/farming town, just starting to feel the impact of Albuquerque's growth. Bernalillo is about 15 miles north of Albuquerque and is directly in the path of urban growth as Albuquerque and Santa Fe grow together. Bernalillo is proud of their wine making history and is the site of the New Mexico State Wine Festival each year at Labor Day weekend.

We ate lunch at The Range Cafe in Bernalillo. The Range is a local landmark cafe which expanded to three locations but it started in an old adobe building in Bernalillo. The clientele was a broad mix of ranchers, workers, tourists and a few other artsy types. The food and beer (Alien Pale Ale) was OK.

We looked at a few houses and picked up some information and floor plans and talked to one of the builder reps about them building a house on my lot. That was a little encouraging to know that there were other builder options. I went in and talked to some people at an apartment complex close to my building site and I'll be able to get a one-bedroom apartment on a six-month lease with monthly extentions while the house is built.

We came back to the motel, stopping at Walmart to pick up some groceries. Since we had such a big lunch we were happy to have a light supper of focaccio bread, cheese, apple and some red wine. Coffee and cookies for dessert!