There are plenty of signs unique to New Mexico that suggest the holiday season is upon us. Catching a glimpse of the Bugg light display in Belen. Getting a whiff of biscochitos baking in an oven. Watching (or participating in) an assembly line of endless tamale making.
Another unusual cue? That massive tumbleweed snowman that pops up along Interstate 40 in Albuquerque sometime after Thanksgiving.
Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority/Facebook For 25 years now, the snowman has been a seasonal fixture for New Mexicans driving through the city, and he has grown over the years.
The tradition first began in 1995 at the playful suggestion of reutilizing a few of the many tumbleweeds collected from the city’s arroyos and other areas of town.
Bri/Flickr
Since then, this tumbleweed Frosty has seen several variations, but a few things remain the same: he stands up to 14 feet tall, he has a blue hat made from a 55-gallon drum, and he is made each year by members of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority.
MIke Kline/Flickr
Early in the holiday season, employees choose three massive tumbleweeds picked up from arroyos, then stack and paint them white for a jolly snowman.
Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority/Facebook
On Tumbleweed Tuesday—what the flood control authority calls the Tuesday after Thanksgiving—the snowman is placed on a pallet and driven to his winter home.
Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority/Facebook
Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority/Facebook
The tumbleweed snowman sits just north of the westbound lanes along Interstate 40, between Carlisle and University boulevards. It is typically visible between the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and early January.
Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority/Facebook
Hoping to build your own snowman made of, well, snow? While you may be hard-pressed to find enough snow in Albuquerque to do so, you can easily make a day trip to a frozen landscape like Angel Fire. In addition to building a snowman, this location is also the perfect spot for snow tubing. Read more in The Longest Snow Tubing Run In New Mexico Can Be Found At Angel Fire Resort.
Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority/Facebook
For 25 years now, the snowman has been a seasonal fixture for New Mexicans driving through the city, and he has grown over the years.
Bri/Flickr
MIke Kline/Flickr
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Address: Albuquerque, NM, USA
