Albuquerque (Albuquirky to the locals) itself is deceptively small in appearance. It's downtown area is dwarfed by Phoenix, but it's a megatropolis compared to Santa Fe. Nob Hill - home to the University of New Mexico - is riddled with hip shops and pubs for sucking on a cold one. The city sprawls east and west, north and south along freeway corridors, coaxing the adventurous spirit still today further and further into the desert.

The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History is perhaps Albuquirky's best kept secret. It's the only museum created and funded by a congressional mandate, and inside there are miles (a slight exaggeration) of nuclear trivia to explore. Just don't come expecting to get the low-down on Three Mile Island. Not a word one about that. But lots of other facts and info and the exhibits are a veritable who's who of nuclear hobsnobbery.

The best part of the museum is its backyard. There we found several acres crammed with cold war relics - planes, guns, rockets - just begging to be crawled on. Of course, if that's not your game, there's always a festival going on in Old Town (or so it seemed).