Rio Grande Botanical Gardens, Albuquerque, NM

We recently escaped the oppressive rain in Portland and headed to Albuquerque and Santa Fe for a new days of sun.  On Saturday, Rick went to the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, and I headed to The Rio Grande Botanic garden.  I think I got the better deal!

At the entrance of the garden, there's an eye-catching display of metal bird and insect sculptures. One of the most amazing things in the garden is this incredible mosaic; many hands went into it's design and completion.  It's truly stunning with the pond, dragonflies and and flowers.

My absolute favorite section of the gardens was the model train display!  Model trains are a secret passion of mine, and I've longed to have my own garden display.  I already have some track and a few cars that we used to put out every Christmas to entertain the cats!

All the ten year year old's and I were having a blast, inspecting the little towns and miniature gardens, with Pygmy Bamboo, miniature sedums, trestle bridges.  Best part was the fact that the display is interactive.

Lots of  'Conductors' were on hand to keep these engineering marvels on track!

There were also a Butterfly Pavilion, Japanese Garden, and Spanish-Moorish Courtyard, but it was all about the trains for me!

It was a beautiful April day and who wouldn't want to bask in the sun!