Coronado Campground - Bernalillo, NM - Oct 2005

After 10 days at the Balloon Fiesta, we still hadn't had our fill of Albuquerque, so we decided to hang around a few more days before heading off. Surfing the RV forums produced a possible place to stay in the town of Bernalillo. It was a small and quaint public campground just north of Albuquerque on the grounds of the Coronado State Monument. The monument was on Native American grounds and home to a small museum that had ongoing archeological digs for ruins and artifacts. Right next door, and seeming out of place, was a large, brightly lit casino and golf course.

The campground itself was a bit run down, but it's location and marvelous views more than made up for what it was lacking in amenities. Each campsite had an adobe-style covered patio whose walls were painted with brightly colored Native American symbols such as Kokopelli and The Zia.

The campground was situated on a bluff right next to and overlooking the Rio Grande River. Off to the east was an uninterrupted view of the magnificent Sandia Mountains. Once we saw that view, we were hooked and decided we would stay for a few days.

The very back row of the campground (with the sites that had the best view of the river and mountains) appeared to be a former group camping area, but were now being used for individual RVs. The sites were small, had no patio nor picnic table, the pads were uneven gravel and they did not have water hook-ups. Never the less, the views were awesome and for $90/week we wanted to stay in the back row! We got an end site and so had views off in two directions as well as a pretty good sized area for the dogs to play.

The campground had a blend of short-timers and permanent residents and it seemed to appeal to the whole spectrum of RVers — there was everything from a 30 year old, rusted-out, converted school bus complete with cardboard window covers to a brand new 40' Country Coach. The campground hosts lived in a pop-up tent trailer and had been hosting at that park for almost two years — even through the winter — pretty amazing — and I thought we lived in a tiny RV.

What struck us the most about the area were the dramatic colors of the sky during sunrises, sunsets and storms. Every day we were there was different and each was beautiful in it's own way. Most days the sky was a deep blue, but we had an occasional storm blow through and the sky turned charcoal gray. Then the clouds would part and they would create an even prettier sunset than on a clear day.

One afternoon a storm came through and the filtered sunlight turned the surrounding landscape into a golden hued tapestry. The trees had just started to change into their autumn hues and the two together made for a lovely display.



The storm lasted about an hour and the wind blew and the rain drenched us good, but then the black clouds parted and we were rewarded with a stunning rainbow. It arched all the way across the sky -- one end spilling onto the flat top of a nearby mesa and the other landing at the base of the Sandia Mountains. We marveled at it's beauty and got to enjoy it for almost an hour before it disappeared. The Rainbow Chasers score another hit!



During out stay, we went to the Albuquerque Zoo (see separate post) and took the aerial tram up to Sandia Peak. One day we went for a drive up to the mountains and enjoyed a picnic lunch after a very nice hike.

We ate out often and especially enjoyed two places in Bernalillo —Abuelitos and The Range Cafe. Both were recommended to us and we just wanted to pass on the tip to others who might visit the area. All in all, we really enjoyed Albuquerque and hope to return again someday.