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Albuquerque Aquarium
By Melissa Corley
Click to enlarge
For ABQjournal
Since I am from Maryland, a state practically cut in half by the Chesepeake Bay, New Mexico takes a lot of getting used to.
I miss having only a two-hour drive for a glimpse of the ocean. (OK, three hours if you're anywhere near the speed limit.) I miss how every neighborhood has a creek branching off from the bay. I miss being able to eat reasonably-priced crabs whenever I want them. And does anyone one around here know where to get good saltwater taffy?
At least some of my wishes were fulfilled by visiting the Albuquerque Biological Park's aquarium. There, anyone longing for the sight of the ocean but unwilling to drive a day or two to get there can see all the fish, crustaceans and driftwood they want. It is especially refreshing to walk in the building on a 100-degree day.
Both the aquarium and biological garden portions of the park can be seen for a cost of $4.50 for adults and $2.50 for children and seniors. The park is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends this summer.
My tour of the aquarium began with a nine-minute film, "One River, Many Voices," featuring glimpses of wildlife and civilization along the Rio Grande. Narrated by Gene Hackman and highlighted by lively music, the film gives a humorous account of the importance of the river to this area.
After exiting the theater with the tune "Take Me to the River" playing through my head (as it would for the rest of the day) I got my first glimpses of the sea creatures I miss so much.
This part of the aquarium provides samples of Rio Grande sea life from its beginning in Colorado. As you continue on throughout the exhibits, you are carried further on down the river to where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico.
After viewing several smaller tanks of assorted fish and crustaceans found in the Upper Rio, I reached the closest thing I've seen to a shoreline in a while, complete with sand, real birds and driftwood.
The water that laps against this shore is full of fish and small stingrays and sharks. I viewed these through windows at the deeper end of the "ocean" where the stingrays congregated and seemed to smile at me through the glass.
The next exhibit is a floor-to-ceiling tank containing an example of a Gulf of Mexico coral reef, complete with several species of saltwater fish, coral and other creatures.
In addition to observing the wide array of sea life, I also got to witness the spectacle of a wetsuit-clad aquarium employee simultaneously cleaning the walls of the tank and trying to avoid being nipped by a sea turtle.
I actually felt like I was underwater as I continued through the next tank, which extended up from both sides and over my head, producing an oceanic hallway. I walked, completely dry, through this tunnel as fish swam above my head — a very surreal experience — and moray eels warily poked out of holes in the coral like menacing prairie dogs.
"A shark!" yelled one little kid as he approached the final exhibit of the aquarium. Sure enough, after walking through an actual shark cage used by divers to study the predators, I was faced with the largest tank yet, containing teeth-baring sharks, large stingrays, several varieties of fish and another even larger sea turtle.
This tank also can be viewed from the aquarium's restaurant — the San Esteban, which along with the park's other eatery and gift shops, can be accessed without a ticket.
Pat Westbrook, assistant director of the park, estimated more than 400,000 people have visited the facility between its December opening and the end of May.
Although visitors cannot re-enter the aquarium without buying another ticket, they can enter and re-enter the botanical gardens with their ticket at any time throughout the day.
The gardens' two glass pavilions feature plant life native to the Southwest and other regions, including the Mediterranean, South Africa, Australia and Chile. I chose to visit these exhibits on another, hopefully cooler day.