"Better Call Saul" Filming Locations - Season 2

This post is the third of eight posts regarding "Better Call Saul" filming locations (last updated January 28, 2024).

This post focuses on Season 2 locations.

The Blog Sidebar contains links to Filming Location posts.  These include:

• Eight "Breaking Bad" filming location posts;
• Four additional posts regarding "Breaking Bad" related subjects;
• Eight "Better Call Saul" filming location posts;
• Two additional posts regarding "Better Call Saul" related subjects;
• One additional post regarding Surrealist artistic influences in "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul";
• One post regarding "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie";
• Three links to OldeSaultie's Google maps of "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" filming location sites. These are the best filming location maps on the Web! The KML files available at these addresses are particularly useful for importing locations into GPS-equipped devices.

Let me know if you have any problems or questions (E-Mail address: valdezmarc56@gmail.com).

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To avoid unnecessary friction, I have redacted the addresses of all single-family homes in these books. (These addresses are still available at Marc Valdez Weblog, however.)  The pictures in the print editions are black-and-white, in order to keep costs down. 

"A Guidebook To 'Breaking Bad' Filming Locations: Including 'Better Call Saul' - Albuquerque as Physical Setting and Indispensable Character" (Sixth Edition)

Purchase book at the link.                                                                                                                   This book outlines thirty-three circuits that the avid fan can travel in order to visit up to 679 different filming locations for "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" in the Albuquerque area.  Some background is provided for each site, including other movies that might have also used the site for filming.

"‘Breaking Bad’ Signs and Symbols: Reading Meaning into Sets, Props, and Filming Locations” (Second Edition)

Purchase book at the link.                                                                                                        “‘Breaking Bad’ Signs and Symbols,” aims to understand some of the symbolism embedded in the backgrounds of “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” in order to decode messages and stories Vince Gilligan and crew have hidden there.                                                                                                    A series of tables are used to isolate how certain (particularly architectural) features are used: Gentle Arches, Tin Ceilings, Five-Pointed Stars, Octagons, etc. Daylighting innovations that were either pioneered or promoted in Chicago are examined: Glass Block Windows, Luxfer Prismatic Tile Windows, and Plate Glass Windows.

Certain symbols advance the plot: foreshadowing symbols like Pueblo Deco Arches, or danger symbols like bell shapes and stagger symbols. Other features, like Glass Block Windows or Parallel Beams in the Ceiling, tell stories about the legacies and corruptions of modernity, particularly those best-displayed at Chicago’s “Century of Progress” (1933-34). 

In addition, a number of scenes in the show are modeled after Early Surrealist artworks. The traces of various artists can be tracked in both shows, including: Comte de Lautréamont, Giorgio De Chirico, Man Ray, Max Ernst, Leonora Carrington, René Magritte, Toyen, Yves Tanguy, Remedios Varo, Paul Klee, and in particular, Salvador Dalí.

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"Better Call Saul" Second Season Poster

Love this picture! It's something of a manufactured image. In reality, The Dog House should be out of view, directly behind Saul, not visible in the distance down Central Avenue. The Express Inn sign has been altered. And an inconvenient real estate office sign has been removed. The picture puts three Breaking Bad filming locations within convenient view. A building with Glass Block Windows is present at the crosswalk where Mike can be seen. (Plus, my childhood doctor used to have his office located towards where Saul is walking.) Love it!

Season 2 Mariachi Promo Video

To me, it looks like Leo's Bar, 1119 Candelaria Rd. NW, but I'm not sure:

Better Call Saul Season 2 Promo

 

[August 11, 2021] James Gelet recently announced progress regarding the "Better Call Saul" Season 2 Promo locations:

I FINALLY found the location from that Better Call Saul Season 2 commercial. (Or at least part of it.) I was right about it being in Lancaster. (34.762303, -118.184452).

James is talking just outside Lancaster, CA, as seen in Shot A. 

Shot B, looking the other way, is less certain. According to James:

Here’s Shot B looking the other way. (Not even 100% sure if this location is real. I know the close ups of Odenkirk were shot indoors.) But if it is real, it would surely also be in Lancaster.

I think things look very, very good for James on Shot A. My only complaint might be about the quality of the paving on the road Jimmy that stops at. It looks bad on Google Earth - worse than in the Season 2 promo. Perhaps it has deteriorated rapidly since 2015.

I'm thinking Shot B is real, but that the sagebrush looks different than the bushes in Shot A. There's some salt cedar in the distance, for example. I wondered whether it might be Barstow or Daggett instead, but there doesn't seem to be any creosote visible. Maybe not. Heck, the view could be from very far away - Reno, anyone? 

We'll find that Shot B view eventually! 

[UPDATE: July 9, 2022. James Gelet confirms that this is indeed the right spot.]

James says: Shot B definitely was indeed the right spot. I probably had my camera nearly half a mile from where the Esteem would have been. And you can see since the telephone poles aren't nearly as crammed together as they are in the original, my camera probably wasn't even half as far away as it needed to be. Sweet maria, that was a long shot!

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"Better Call Saul" - Season 2, episode 2, 'Cobbler'

I was deeply moved by Kim and Jimmy's fantasy of a future life in Corrales (Season 2, episode 2, 'Cobbler'). An open floor plan; decent acreage; get back in touch with nature; a life of freedom and horses; wine on the back patio at sunset; a smoker.

These photos are from 1960. My father built that house in Corrales "with no walls to disrupt his ch'i."

Of course, living in Corrales requires more resources than people realize. Walking around, you see horses suffering away on postage-sized plots of land, because, like Jimmy notes, it's expensive to keep horses. People try very hard to make the fantasy come true.

The producers are familiar with Corrales. Anna Gunn lived out there during "Breaking Bad". I'm hoping 'Cobbler' signals the plot will go there.

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"Better Call Saul" - Season 2, episode 3, 'Amarillo'

When I was in high school, circa 1973, I was a weekend janitor at the Lerners Shop in this building. What I remember best was the "Bin O' Panties".

These days, most panties for sale are sold individually, but in those days, as often as not, they were sold in bulk from bins. Inventory Day came, and I was given the job of counting all the panties in the "Bin O' Panties". At first it was fun, but after half an hour, I realized I had basically made no progress. So, I began counting handfuls of panties, grabbing about ten panties at a time.

Hours later, little progress. Panties compact small in a bin, so removing the weight of panties above just allows the panties below to expand into their place. No one had any earthly idea how many panties were in the bin. And no one would ever learn that number. I never finished. No one ever successfully counted all the panties.

[UPDATE: Late in 2016, sometime around Christmas, someone defaced the mural with graffiti. Nevertheless, it looks like the mural has been cleaned, or patched.]
...

It also looked like Stacey is suffering PTSD from her husband's murder. I've also been awakened from a restless sleep by imaginary noises after a frightening episode (Sacramento, 1995).

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"Better Call Saul" - Season 2, episode 6, 'Bali Ha'i'

From the movie of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific":



A few impressions....

I was impressed with the helados shop (called El Griego Guiñador, actually Paletería Michoacana de Paquimé, 6500 Zuni Road SE, with its stunning mural of Paquimé, the largest of the Indian ruins at Casas Grandes, in northern Chihuahua).

There is a mystical unity between Paquimé and the New Mexico Ancestral Puebloan ruins of Chaco Canyon and Aztec. All three ruins span a distance of 400 miles, but are located within half a mile straight north-south of each other (and nearly includes some of the Mimbres ruins in the Gila watershed), an axis which an archaeologist named Stephen Lekson has dubbed the Chaco Meridian. Lekson has forcefully argued since the 1990s that the Meridian can't possibly be an accident, but required great effort and very careful design. The Chaco Meridian reflects religious impulses that live on amongst today's Pueblo Indians. Lekson argues severe drought dislodged the ruling elite from Chaco Canyon in the 12th Century, and forced them to move first to Aztec, then later, for reasons unclear, to Paquimé. The debate among archaeologists continues.

Since 1840, New Mexico has looked east-west for inspiration, to the East and West coasts, symbolized by the great railroads, but the north-south axis not only predates the east-west axis, but was formalized by the Ancestral Puebloans 700 years ago, and due to the lay of the mountains and the Rio Grande River, is actually baked into the landscape. Since the rise of illegal immigration in the early 80’s (driven by Mexico’s high birth rate in the 60’s), the collapse of Mexico’s Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) in 1989, and the rise of the drug cartels since then, the north-south axis is reemerging as a primal fact in New Mexican life, a point that was driven home by the appearance of the Cousins in last night's episode.

Bali Ha’i is sung in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” by the fiercely-entrepreneurial Bloody Mary. Quoting from Wikipedia, author James Michener “used the tranquil, hazy image of the smoothly sloping island on the horizon to represent a not-so-distant but always unattainable place of innocence and happiness.” In New Mexico terms, in that respect, not that much different than Corrales.


Photos by Nancy Lucía López:

Owner. (Photo by Nancy Lucía López)

Crew. (Photo by Nancy Lucía López)

Artwork signature. (Photo by Nancy Lucía López)

Nancy Lucía López with the mural. (Photo by the owner, with Nancy Lucía Lopez's camera)

The mural. (Photo by Nancy Lucía López)

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"Better Call Saul" - Season 2, episode 9, 'Nailed'

Season 2, episode 9, 'Nailed' opens with a distant view of the escarpment of a volcanic plateau along a remote road heading south to the border. That escarpment belongs to La Bajada Hill, famous in National Old Trails Road and Route 66 lore, and the most important administrative boundary in Spanish colonial New Mexico, between Río Arriba and the Río Abajo. It was a significant impediment to travel and commerce for many years.

Vince Gilligan's Albuquerque is like a funhouse mirror image of the real Albuquerque, and it's no surprise that trouble lurks at the edges.

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"Better Call Saul" - Season 2, episode 10, 'Klick'

Desert area #1 looks like near the studio, near Tijeras Arroyo. Desert Area #2 was essentially the same desert area as "Hola, DEA": south of San Ysidro. Desert area #3 is different: likely the same general area as #2, since those are sedimentary rocks, and I think I see the edge of the Sandias. Home!

Those of us who follow filming locations are very grateful to the expansive capabilities of Google Earth, which allows us to search and locate often-obscure places, but this is perhaps the first time Google Earth imagery (date November 1, 2015) captured the filming location, apparently DURING filming. Here's the house! (35.508833°, -106.820806°) With the Salamanca vehicles! Parked in the right place! And support vehicles parked just out of the scene! You can see the crew milling around behind the house!

More thoughts:

Desert area #2: Near 'Hola, DEA' site, at about (35.497716°, -106.819236°), with the target set up on the road to the south.

Desert area #3: Mike parks near (35.506735°, -106.815202°) and sets up his sniper nest (35.50688°, -106.81821°). And here's the Salamanca house, as previously mentioned (35.508833°, -106.820806°)!

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My Hero!

(Image: Ursula Coyote/AMC)

I love Chuck! Even though he dresses like a Chipotle burrito, he's the only character with integrity on the show.

(I think Vince Gilligan, et al., made Chuck so unlikable in order to remind people what integrity looks like.)

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New Season 2 Filming Locations


Northeast Heights (E. of Wyoming, W. of Juan Tabo, S. of Osuna)

Mike's daughter-in-law Stacey's new home, 8613 La Sala Del Centro NE (Season 2, episode 7, 'Inflatable'). Exterior previously seen in "Breaking Bad" ("Breaking Bad", Season 3, episode 13, 'Full Measure'). The interior is at another site, however.

I had an opportunity to listen to the commentary on the recently-released "Better Call Saul" Season 2 DVD. Commentary on the DVD (Season 2, episode 7, 'Inflatable') says the interior site is nearby the exterior site. I'm thinking 8623 La Sala del Norte NE might work.

Stacey's House.

Upper Northeast Heights (E. of Juan Tabo, S. of Osuna)

(no new locations offered with this update)


Northeast Heights (N. Of Osuna)

(no new locations offered with this update)


Lower Northeast Heights (W. of Wyoming), & Lomas Blvd. Corridor

Daniel Wormald's House, said to be at 124 Bellingham Court, 87116. Located at 7729 Robin Ave. NE (Season 2, episode 1, 'Switch'). Stolen baseball card collection, and a story that doesn't quite make sense. Nacho pays a visit (Season 3, episode 7, 'Expenses').

Bar/Restaurant, Louie's Pub and Grill, 5603 Menaul Blvd. NE (Season 2, episode 9, 'Nailed'). Mike buys a round for the house. (Mike's favorite bar was previously-seen in "Breaking Bad").

Sharing a beer with Tim Oberle and Kelly Tow.

Louie's Pub.

(Season 2, episode 9, 'Nailed'). Mike buys a round for the house.

(Season 4, episode, 8, 'Coushatta'). Mike and Werner have a drink.

Downtown

Parking Garage, Albuquerque Convention Center Parking Garage. A part of the structure with a clear view of the Sandia Mountains was used for time lapse - segment 3 (Season 2, episode 5, 'Rebecca'). (35.085735ø, -106.647167ø)

Hotel Blue, 717 Central Ave. NW (Season 2, episode 5, 'Rebecca'). Stacey's on vacation with Kaylee. Hotel Blue was also used for: Time lapse - segment 2.

The Cousins wave hello from the adjacent structure of Firestone Complete Auto Care, 701 Central Ave. NW (Season 2, episode 6, 'Bali Ha'i').

James Gelet visited the site!

Firestone Complete Auto Care, 701 Central Ave. NW.

Looking southeast from Hotel Blue, towards downtown, from nearly the same place used for the time lapse - segment 2 (Season 2, episode 5, 'Rebecca').

Hotel Blue pool.

Hotel Blue's pool area.

I like Hotel Blue a lot - most of the time, anyway. Staying at the Hotel Blue can be taxing at times, though. Like when the low riders take over Central on Sunday evenings. Nice crowd, but lots of noise then. Or when there are Germans at the hotel. Early one Saturday morning, for example, I was awakened from a sound sleep by partying Germans in the hotel room next door. Loud, young, smoking-up-a-storm Germans. I hissed at them and thought about The War. And now, I'm sure, I'm no longer welcome at their parties. Damned Germans....

The homeless folks along Central Avenue are fun to talk to. They tend to get stranded there in month-long increments, until a check arrives and they can finally move on.

I was watching the Albuquerque Cruise from a Central Avenue sidewalk on Sunday night, July 20, 2014. I listened to a homeless woman named J. tell stories. She described an automobile accident when she was child. She was being driven by a military man at 127 mph in Pahrump, NV, when an accident occurred that put a dagger of glass into her skull, and caused problems one way or the other for the rest of her life. She was from Las Cruces, but stranded in Albuquerque until the first of the month, when her disability check would arrive. She described herself as being of the "Jewish persuasion", which basically meant she wasn't Jewish by birth, but found herself in close agreement with its tenets. She reminded me of the crypto-Jews I knew in Salt Lake City: lapsed Mormons of Russian inheritance who sensed that they had to have been Jews at some level, whatever the real circumstances of their births.

J. told an amusing story about her sleeping spot in the alley directly behind Hotel Blue. A couple of mornings before, she was awakened by a light tapping on her shoulder. "Who is this person touching me in such an inappropriate manner?" she thought. Prepared to do battle, she peered out from under her blanket and found herself face-to-face with a curious bird. She described it as a tweeting sugarbird - probably a sparrow. Curiosity satisfied, the bird hopped upon her shoulder and flew away.

Hotel Blue, at night.

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 619 Copper Ave. NW. Also, St. Mary's Catholic School, with its notable Bell Tower.

St. Mary's School, 224 7th St NW, (Season 2, episode 9, 'Nailed'). TV ad, with flag.

St. Mary's School playground.

The crosswalk on Tijeras Ave. NW.

Saul is dead.

Structure having rooftop parking adjacent to the Simms Building, 400 Gold Ave. SW (Season 2, episode 7, 'Inflatable'). W & M business card.

Parking garage adjacent to the Simms Building.

(Season 2, episode 7, 'Inflatable'). W & M business card.

(Season 4, episode 9, 'Wiedersehen'). Location returns as the place where Jimmy lashes out at Kim.

Cupola at the Federal Courthouse across the street.

Simms Building.

Simms Building, plus slant.

Andrea Nowak and James Gelet  stage Kim's scene with the business card.

Andrea Nowak stages Kim's scene with the business card.

Forque Kitchen and Bar, Hyatt Regency Hotel, 330 Tijeras Ave. NW (Season 2, episode 6, 'Bali Ha'i'). Kim sets up a scam....

Kim and Howard have a tiff (Season 3, episode 8, 'Slip').

Kim tells Jimmy about S&C's job offer (Season 4, episode 6, 'Piñata').

Forque Restaurant.

Forque Restaurant.

Kim's place at the Forque bar.

Kim's place at the Forque bar.

With Donnakay Ohmburger and James Gelet.

Light fixtures, Forque Restaurant.

Light fixtures, Forque Restaurant.

Schweikart and Cokely, Bank of America, 303 Roma Ave. NW. Sandpiper attorneys (Season 1, episode 8, 'Rico'). Kim's job interview (Season 2, episode 7, 'Inflatable'). Kim joins Schweikart and Cokely (Season 4, episode 6, 'Piñata'). Kim and Jimmy attend a party (Season 4, episode 7, 'Something Stupid').

Valliant Printing, 615 Gold Ave. SW (Season 2, episode 8, 'Fifi'; episode 9, 'Nailed'). Jimmy plays dyslexia with documents. Chuck falls.

Valliant Printing, 615 Gold Ave. SW (Season 2, episode 8, 'Fifi'; episode 9, 'Nailed'). Jimmy plays dyslexia with documents. Chuck falls.

February 2019.

Valliant Printing, 615 Gold Ave. SW (Season 2, episode 8, 'Fifi'; episode 9, 'Nailed'). Jimmy plays dyslexia with documents. Chuck falls.

Very sadly, Valliant Printing closed its doors at the end of 2016.

U.S. Eagle Federal Credit Union, 616 Gold Ave. SW (Season 2, episode 8, 'Fifi'; episode 9, 'Nailed'). Where Jimmy observes Chuck, across the street from Valliant Printing.

Glass Block Window, U.S. Eagle Credit Union.

Downtown West and Old Town

The Dog House, 1216 Central Ave. SW.

Kim and Jimmy make plans at The Dog House (“Better Call Saul”, Season 2, episode 8, ‘Fifi').

Jimmy sells 'burners' (“Better Call Saul”, Season 4, episode 5, ‘Quite a Ride').

Kim's Apartment Exterior, The Mix at Sawmill Village Apartments, 1751 Bellamah Ave. NW (Season 2, episode 2, 'Cobbler'; episode 6, 'Bali Ha'i'). Modern urban Bauhaus style. (35.101153ø, -106.663742ø)

BCS2 - Sawmill

Jimmy's Corporate Apartment, Agave Luxury Condos, 1900 Central Avenue SW ("Better Call Saul", Season 2, episode 3, 'Amarillo', and episode 6, 'Bali Ha'i'). Bowl of balls (SE corner of complex).

Jimmy's closet is probably in Jimmy's Corporate Apartment ("Better Call Saul", Season 2, episode 7, 'Inflatable').

Agave Luxury Condos.

Since there are no exterior views, I had no idea where this location might be, but then this 360 degree panorama was generated by someone in the "Better Call Saul" universe. The panorama allows for much for complete views of the interior of the condo. There aren't many luxury condos in Albuquerque, and a vanishing number with these windows. In addition, Jimmy's bedroom has windows on three walls. Very, very unusual feature; perhaps unique in the entire city. There is only one condo that has that feature at Agave, and this is it.

Jimmy's Corporate Apartment, Agave Luxury Condos, 1900 Central Avenue SW ("Better Call Saul", Season 2, episode 3, 'Amarillo', and episode 6, 'Bali Ha'i').

Jimmy's Corporate Apartment, Agave Luxury Condos, 1900 Central Avenue SW ("Better Call Saul", Season 2, episode 3, 'Amarillo', and episode 6, 'Bali Ha'i'). SE corner (Jimmy's place).

Jimmy's Corporate Apartment, Agave Luxury Condos, 1900 Central Avenue SW ("Better Call Saul", Season 2, episode 3, 'Amarillo', and episode 6, 'Bali Ha'i'). Jimmy's place, west side.

"Better Call Saul" bench and pillars, Washington Park, 10th and Park Ave SW (Season 1, episode 5, 'Alpine Shepherd Boy'; and Season 2, episode 5, 'Rebecca'). Opening credits. Seen before in "Breaking Bad" (Season 2, episode 8, 'Better Call Saul').

(Cross-listed in Huning Castle & ABQ Country Club neighborhood.)

Huning Castle & ABQ Country Club

"Better Call Saul" bench and pillars, Washington Park, 10th and Park Ave SW, opening credits, cross-listed with Downtown West and Old Town neighborhood (Season 2, episode 5, 'Rebecca').


Barelas

A notable building towards the northwest corner of the Railyards.

Caboose in the Railyards.

This wooden building has been used as Mike and Nacho's meeting place in "Better Call Saul", Season 2 (episode 3, 'Amarillo'; episode 4, 'Gloves Off'; episode 9, 'Nailed').

Huning Highlands/ Martineztown Locations

Davis and Main Law Offices in Santa Fe, Special Collections Library, NM History and Archives, 423 Central Ave. NE, at the intersection of Edith and Central NE (Season 2, episode 1, 'Switch'; episode 2, 'Cobbler'; episode 3, 'Amarillo'; episode 4 'Gloves Off'). Just one block from Mike Ehrmantraut's House. I used to visit the Hispanic Genealogical Research Center (HGRC) there (but apparently it recently moved to the main library downtown). Until the mid-1970's it was the headquarters of the Albuquerque Public Library.

I haven't been here since 2010. They remodeled the place in 2011 to accord much more closely to the library's original design (which worked out perfectly for "Better Call Saul". I spent many hours here, back in the day. Damn, it looks good here!

The name 'Davis and Main' honors a Richmond, Virginia restaurant. (Photo by James Gelet)

Davis and Main.

Davis and Main.

Davis and Main.

Davis and Main.

Davis and Main.

Davis and Main.

Davis and Main.

Davis and Main.

Davis and Main.

View of downtown, Lomas Blvd. & Locust St. NE, I-25 Frontage Rd. S. (Season 2, episode 5, 'Rebecca'). Time lapse - segment 1.


University Area & Near Presbyterian Hospital

(no new locations offered with this update)


Nob Hill

Elaine's Fine Dining, 3503 Central Ave. NE (Season 2, episode 8, 'Fifi'). Kim makes her Mesa Verde pitch.

Young Jimmy would have eagerly embraced some of the early, Cartesian-grid-based video games of the 70s, such as “Breakout” (1976) and “Space Invaders” (1978). Perhaps we will have a chance to see Young Jimmy at play.

Still, to my surprise, it’s Kim who appears to be wearing a ‘Space Invaders’ grid-like blouse when she pitches her services to Kevin and Paige at Elaine’s restaurant (“Better Call Saul,” Season 2, episode 8, ‘Fifi’).

Texas Mural, Near Silver Ave. & Madison St. SE, Uneek Findings, 4700 Central Ave. SE (Season 2, episode 3, 'Amarillo'). Jimmy meets potential clients from Sandpiper.

On or about Christmas Day, 2016, a preening graffiti artist defaced the Texas Flag mural. It's been cleaned up, but its future is still in some doubt.

Texas Mural.

The mural was "stressed" so as to appear old, even when freshly-painted.

Texas Mural.

Texas flag mural, February 8, 2018.

Texas flag mural, February 2020. Building owner using paint to try to deal with taggers.

Loyola's Family Restaurant, 4500 Central Avenue SE. Mike's favorite diner.

Loyola's is first seen in the premier episode of "Better Call Saul".

Loyola's:

(Season 1, episode 1, 'Uno'). Jimmy meets the Kettlemans.
(Season 1, episode 5, 'Alpine Shepherd Boy')
(Season 1, episode 7, 'Bingo').
(Season 2, episode 5, 'Rebecca'). Mike meets Hector Salamanca.
(Season 2, episode 9, 'Nailed').
(Season 3, episode 4, 'Sabrosito'). Mike turns over photos of Chuck's House.
(Season 4, episode 3, 'Something Beautiful'). Jimmy asks Mike to steal Mr. Neff's valuable Hummel figurine. Mike refuses.

On my February 24, 2022 visit, the mural is long gone.

South Valley (West of River), Southwest Albuquerque and Pajarito Mesa

El Michoacano Restaurant, 2511 Isleta Blvd. SW (Season 2, episode 4, 'Gloves Off'). The restaurant is now known as El Moreno.

(Season 3, episode 6, 'Off Brand'). Nacho resents Hector & prepares.

(Season 3, episode 8, 'Slip'). Nacho takes a bold risk.

(Season 4, episode 8, 'Coushatta'). Nacho gets displaced by Lalo.

This location is near Alberto's Tire Pros. Near the intersection of Blake Rd. & Isleta Blvd. SW. Tuco meets Krazy-8 - and Mike.

Where the A/C unit would be.

Behind El Michoacano (El Moreno) Restaurant. The air conditioning unit is visible (Season 3, episode 8, 'Slip'). Nacho takes a bold risk. (Photo by Ron Leonard.)

San Jose Neighborhood and South Valley (East of River)

(no new locations offered with this update)


Southeast Heights

Birdie's Homestyle Buffet, Copper Canyon Café‚ 5455 Gibson Blvd SE (Season 2, episode 3, 'Amarillo'). Favorite Sandpiper destination.

El Griego Guiñador, Paletería Michoacana de Paquimé, 6500 Zuni Road SE (Season 2, episode 6, 'Bali Ha'i'; episode 7, 'Inflatable'; episode 8, 'Fifi'; episode 9, 'Nailed'). Stunning mural of Paquimé, largest ruin at Casas Grandes, Chihuahua.

Paletería Michoacana de Paquimé.

Paletería Michoacana de Paquimé.

Paletería Michoacana de Paquimé.

Paletería Michoacana de Paquimé.

Paletería Michoacana de Paquimé.

Paletería Michoacana de Paquimé.

Paletería Michoacana de Paquimé.

Paletería Michoacana de Paquimé.

Paletería Michoacana de Paquimé.

Nacho Varga's family's Upholstery Shop, Walt's Top Shop, 6611 Zuni Rd. SE (Season 2, episode 2, 'Cobbler').

(Season 3, episode 6, 'Off Brand'). Nacho is distracted.

(Season 3, episode 8, 'Slip'). Nacho takes a bold risk.

(Season 3, episode 10, 'Lantern'). "Where's Poppy?"

Walt's Top Shop.

Koenig's Metalmorphosis, 6505 Zuni Rd. SE (Season 2, episode 7, 'Inflatable'; episode 8, 'Fifi'; episode 9, 'Nailed'; Season 3, episode 4, 'Sabrosito'). Mike observes El Griego Guiñador.

I'm very pleased "Better Call Saul" is using Koenig's Metal Yard, across from El Griego Guiñador. It's the most-interesting looking metal yard in all of Albuquerque. I've been hoping for years they'd figure out a reason to go there.

Koenig's Metalmorphosis.

Koenig's Metalmorphosis.

Koenig's Metalmorphosis.

Koenig's Metalmorphosis.

Koenig's Metalmorphosis.

Koenig's Metalmorphosis.

Koenig's Metalmorphosis.

Via the Heisenberg Chronicles comes this brilliant analysis from FilmVideoArts:

In Better Call Saul, season 2, episode 8, titled ‘Fifi,’ Mike is staking out Hector ‘Tio’ Salamanca’s ice cream shop. The name of the shop is a reference to Don Eladio Vuente, Tio’s boss, and leader of the Ciudad Juarez Cartel.

The name Eladio is a Spanish name, of Greek origin, meaning ‘Greek, ‘he who came from Greece,’ or ‘of Greece.’ A variant spelling is Heladio, which makes the shop’s business a play on words, because ‘helado’ is ice-cream (or frozen) in Spanish. Likewise, a male Greek person is a ‘Griego,’ and the word ‘Guiñador’ means winking, as in an eye wink. The one eye is a reference to the ‘All Seeing Eye’ rosary that Don Eladio wears for protection. As for the use of the eye, in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, as a symbol of judgement, there are too many references in the shows, as well as too many religious connotations to list in a blog post.

(And recalling Jeff Pettis' essay in "Masculinity in Breaking Bad", where he notes that who can see whom determines who can control whom.)

Kristoff Pawn Shop, Classic Jewelry and Loan, 7715 Central Ave. NE (Season 2, episode 7, 'Inflatable'). Bagpipes.

Watching the Inflatable, Trumbull Ave. and Louisiana Blvd. SE (Season 2, episode 7, 'Inflatable'). 1970's music interlude.

'Inflatable' - Trumbull Ave. and Louisiana Blvd. SE.

'Inflatable' - Trumbull Ave. and Louisiana Blvd. SE.

An Inflatable on Lomas Blvd. NE.

Near "Q" Studios

Refrigerated Truck Stop, Bobby Foster Rd. SE (Season 2, episode 8, 'Fifi'). De nuestra familia a la suya.

Jimmy drives his Mercedes to Albuquerque, first part of drive (Season 2, episode 7, 'Inflatable'). Photo is from a bike lane adjacent to southbound University Blvd. SE (35.003522°, -106.622041°).

Desert area #1. In the proximity of: (35.008098°, -106.597491°) and the gate off Dragway Rd. SE ("Better Call Saul," Season 2, episode 10, 'Klick'). The gate appears dressed up to some extent (That big 4-winged saltbush seen on TV isn't there in real life).

"Q" Studios

Bathroom. A studio construction also used in Season 1. Described as such in a Fail Scouts podcast and also on DVD commentary (Season 2, episode 5, 'Rebecca').

Davis and Main Law Offices (Season 2, episode 1, 'Switch'). The room of desks, and Jimmy's and Cliff's offices, are identified as a set in Season 2 DVD commentary.

Kim Wexler's Apartment (2) after Season 1 has been identified as a set (Season 2, episode 6, 'Bali Ha'i').

Chuck's HHM Office has been identified as a set (Season 2, episode 5, 'Rebecca'). View of city outside of windows is a view of LA from 'Madmen'.

Urinal has been identified as a set (Season 1, episode 9, 'Pimento'; Season 2, episode 9, 'Nailed').

HHM Doc Review has been identified as a set (Season 2, episode 4, 'Gloves Off').

Motel Room has been identified as a set (Season 2, episode 4, 'Gloves Off').


I-25 Corridor, North

The Hamlin Law Offices, Sun Healthcare Group, 1531 Masthead St. NE, with Lobby. Parking garage, in the rain, ground floor (Season 2, episode 5, 'Rebecca').

The Hamlin Law Offices, Sun Healthcare Group, 1531 Masthead NE, with Lobby. Parking garage, in the rain, ground floor (Season 2, episode 5, 'Rebecca').

Regalo Helado Warehouse Garage, Girard Blvd. and Aztec Rd. NE (Season 2, episode 8, 'Fifi'). Dark doings.

Mike's observation point (Season 2, episode 8, 'Fifi'). They must have moved the fence? (35.121265ø, -106.613051ø)

Regalo Helado Warehouse Garage (Season 3, episode 10, 'Lantern'). Hector Salamanca suffers a sudden collapse.

(Season 4, episode 1, 'Smoke') Gus looks skeptical.

(Season 4, episode 2, 'Breathe) Gus summons Nacho to a meeting.

New Mexico State Banking Board, Carpenters Union Training Center, 3900 Pan American Freeway NE (Season 2, episode 9, 'Nailed'). Dyslexia has a cost.

Kim makes a disclosure to Mesa Verde (Season 3, episode 5, 'Chicanery').

I'm amused that the photos at this link misidentify the building as being in Ontario, California.

North Valley

(no new locations offered with this update)


Northwest Albuquerque

In addition to Cinnabon at Cottonwood Mall, we also see the Horn Toad Emporium, Next to Sears, 10000 Coors Bypass NW (Season 2, episode 1, 'Switch').

The Cinnabon dumpster room is not located in Cottonwood Mall, but rather in the Algodones Power Plant. (See Santa Ana Pueblo sites, "Better Call Saul" - Season 1.) Tracking the graffiti in "Better Call Saul".


Rio Rancho

(no new locations offered with this update)


Corrales

(no new locations offered with this update)


West Mesa (except Pajarito Mesa)

Kim and Jimmy's new law office, Wexler-McGill (formerly DiNicola Insurance Agency, now Realty One), 6311 Montaño Rd. NW. Mirror-imaged building with a copper ceiling (Season 2, episode 8, 'Fifi'; episode 9, 'Nailed'; episode 10, 'Klick').

Jimmy and Kim's new office.

Wexler-McGill law firm.

Wexler-McGill law firm.

Wexler-McGill law firm.

Wexler-McGill law firm.

Wexler-McGill law firm.

Wexler-McGill law firm.

Wexler-McGill law firm.

Wexler-McGill law firm.

Wexler-McGill law firm.

Judging from the large sign out in front of their new Wexler-McGill law office, Jimmy and Kim do business with Kleinfeld Commercial Brokerage, which happens to be a real business in Albuquerque owned by a fellow named David Kleinfeld (“Better Call Saul,” Season 2, episode 8, ‘Fifi’).

Nevertheless, as first pointed out to me by Eabha Conal at a UK-based Facebook group called “The Vince Gilligan Appreciation Society - Albuquerque and Beyond...” (someone from outside Albuquerque, because Burqueños are too close to see it clearly), Kleinfeld is a reference to “Carlito’s Way,” a 1993 Brian de Palma gangster film starring Sean Penn as sleazy lawyer David Kleinfeld.

Another example of Vince Gilligan and company hiding a gem in plain sight!

Border Crossing, Double Eagle Airport (Season 2, episode 8, 'Fifi'). Extended continuous scene.

B-29 named "Fifi", Double Eagle Airport (Season 2, episode 8, 'Fifi'). Air Force Base.

Distant view of the Border Crossing facilities at Double Eagle Airport.

Distant view of the Border Crossing facilities at Double Eagle Airport.

Sandia And Manzano Mountains

(no new locations offered with this update)


To'hajiilee

(no new locations offered in this update)


Zia Pueblo, San Ysidro, and Cabezon

Those of us who follow filming locations are very grateful to the expansive capabilities of Google Earth, which allows us to search and locate often-obscure places, but this is perhaps the first time Google Earth imagery (date November 1, 2015) captured the filming location, apparently DURING filming. Here's the house! (35.508833°, -106.820806°) With the Salamanca vehicles! Parked in the right place! And support vehicles parked just out of the scene! You can see the crew milling around behind the house!

More thoughts:

Desert area #2: Near 'Hola, DEA' site, at about (35.497716°, -106.819236°), with the target set up on the road to the south.

Desert area #3: Mike parks near (35.506735°, -106.815202°) and sets up his sniper nest (35.50688°, -106.81821°). And here's the Salamanca house, as previously mentioned (35.508833°, -106.820806°)!

Santa Ana Pueblo & Algodones

Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa
1300 Tuyuna Trail
Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, USA, 87004

(Season 2, episode 1, 'Switch').

The meandering swimming pool where Jimmy experiences his mid-life crisis. (And also the night scene after conning Ken Wins).

Brianna Danfelser's Instagram page. God bless New Mexico.

Nick adds:

Hello Marc! I loved the first episode last night, and saw your comments somewhere on FB about Tamaya being the shooting location. I just wanted to add a few things I have learned from a colleague who was there at Tamaya with his family during filming. The crew erected large walls to block off the "Lazy River" pool on the far north end so that fans could not see anything. Also, all the poolside ornamentations (tables, palms, etc.) were brought in for filming, as that pool area is normally rather spartan. My colleague knows someone in management there, and got the inside scoop as to *what* was being filmed there last July, because it was all rather hush-hush. He has pics from the outside (e.g., semis, etc.).

Tamaya Resort.

Amazing blooming agave at the Tamaya Resort.

Oxbow Pool at the Tamaya Resort.

I've had bad luck with the Hyatt Tamaya Resort in the past. Security is fairly-tight. It's a place for the 1%'ers - the Koch Brothers commandeered this place a couple of years ago for a huge planning session for the 2016 elections, after all - but on my visit this time, I had a bit of luck. Resort staff picked me up in the parking lot and ferried me to the front door - can't let Masters of the Universe get uncomfortable on a very hot day - and I arrived in a pack of guests. I guess I look like an eccentric millionaire, so I acted the part, thinking bullish Trumplike thoughts about my vast and inscrutable empire of wealth (I'm in plastics). I dodged around, taking photos of lots of things, and managed to enter the locked swimming pool area when someone else left the area. I finally worked my way to the Oxbow Pool, which was featured on "Better Call Saul" (Season 2, episode 1, 'Switch') for some photos.

Diorama of Old Tamaya Pueblo at the Tamaya Resort.

Old Tamaya Pueblo was located in the Jemez Valley, not far from Zia Pueblo.

The staff at Coronado National Monument had to explain to me that Tamaya is the Native American name for what is now known as Santa Ana Pueblo. Being born in Albuquerque, and having lived there until 1980, it had somehow escaped my attention that Santa Ana is a Spanish name. I feel like an idiot.

Bernalillo and Placitas

View of the freeway through the Mercedes emblem, Jimmy drives his Mercedes to Santa Fe (Season 2, episode 2, 'Cobbler'). Near Sandia Pueblo on I-25 at (35.256435ø, -106.564966ø).

Santo Domingo, Cochiti, and La Bajada Hill

Jimmy drives his Mercedes to Santa Fe (Season 2, episode 2, 'Cobbler'). The road sign they used is located on La Bajada Hill northbound at (-35.5205309,-106.2119917), but the actual filming location is about (35.522308, -106.164896).

Bend in I-25, and a clear view towards the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, on the drive to Santa Fe.

Oasis Motor Court Sign, Tetilla Peak Road, La Bajada, NM (35.571913ø, -106.250978ø).

(Season 2, episode 9, 'Nailed'). Sawzall to the tires

(Season 3, episode 8, 'Slip'). Mike attends to the Good Samaritan.

(Season 4, episode 3, 'Something Beautiful'). Nacho suffers through a staged hit.

Looking for the Regalo Helado truck.

Looking for the Regalo Helado truck.

View of the Sandia Mountains from Tetilla Peak Road.

Looking for the Regalo Helado truck.

Sacred Datura.

Tetilla Peak, rising above La Bajada.

La Bajada.

Jimmy drives his Mercedes to Albuquerque, second part of drive (Season 2, episode 7, 'Inflatable'). The road sign they used is located on La Bajada Hill northbound at (35.409894ø, -106.418690ø), but the actual filming location is about (35.513661ø, -106.231117ø).

View of Jimmy's Mercedes heading to Albuquerque.

View of Jimmy's Mercedes heading to Albuquerque.

The music accompanying the driver on his Regalo Helado journey is "Mi Cucu" by "La Sonora Dinamita", the Columbian band that has been so successful over the last several decades spreading love of cumbias throughout Latin America, and the rest of the world.





Cumbias are a favorite music used in Zumba. This is my favorite Zumba song, "El Viejo del Sombreron", also by "La Sonora Dinamita":




"Mi Cucu" is a cross-genre cover of "My Toot Toot", long-famous in Cajun Zydeco music circles:

Santa Fe & Lamy

(no new locations offered with this update)


Near Los Lunas and Belen

(no new locations offered with this update)


More Distant Locations

(no new locations offered with this update)