Sandia Peak Aerial Tram

Friday morning our neighbours, Joe and Bonnie, asked us if we would like to join them on a tram ride up to Sandia Peak.  They had a rental car courtesy of the Ford dealer so we piled in for the drive.  The tram travels a distance of 2.7 miles up to the peak which is at an elevation of 10,378 ft.  Thats almost a 4,000 ft change in elevation from the city of Albuquerque.  On the opposite side of the mountain are ski trails and chair lifts which will be open this winter plus a multitude of hiking trails.  There is also a restaurant however it closed last week and they are in the process of demolishing and rebuilding it.  Will be interesting to see how they get construction equipment and materials up to the top of the mountain.  There is a road to the top but don’t think its well suited to large trucks.  We walked around taking in the views and a few of the short climbs had me huffing and puffing.  This was partially due to the elevation however we have been pretty sedentary the past few months so it will take some conditioning before we venture out on any long desert hikes.  

An old storage shed in the back of Enchanted Trails RV Park had a bunch of colourful old signs

They also had about 6 old cars and trailers.  The trailers could be rented out for overnight stays.  

I much prefer our 37' Montana than this old Winnibago

Great views from the top of Sandia Peak

The corner of the restaurant and the view 

One of the problems with these views over large cities is the haze which is pollution induced

The tram that took us to the top.  Can hold 55 people but that is packed like sardines and they prefer to keep it to 35.  On the way down one of the workers climbed on top of the tram for the ride down at the end of his work day.  He was harnessed in but still.......!

You can see for miles and miles.  should put that phrase to music.

The ski lifts on the back side of the mountain. 

At the top right a cabin built years ago.  Originally of wood but it blew down.  Rebuilt out of wood and blew down again.  Rebuilt out of stone.  No problems now.  Even a big bad wolf can't blow this one down. 

The pulleys and cables that take us up and down safely. 

Next stop Sun Valley, Az. 

Old Town Albuquerque

We arrived in Albuquerque on Wednesday and as I pulled into the park a warning message came up on the dash.  “Check Coolant Additive”.  What now!  Turns out the anti-freeze needed to be changed and I got it into a Ford dealer on Friday and $250. later problems solved.  Took them about 2 hours and they charged $113. labour.  Think they saw me coming.  While I was waiting I took a look at the new trucks in the lot.  A new F350, Platinum trim level lists at $80,000.  Not that I was planning to trade my beast in anytime soon and that sticker confirmed it.  

We got some groceries and supplies on Wednesday after setting up and when we came back we had new neighbours.  They were only staying overnight and hadn’t unhooked from their truck.  The next morning we noticed a tow truck next door and they were loading his 2013 F350 on a flat bed.  Uh oh!   Turns out he had his coolant message come on as well as an check oil message.  Basically they are rebuilding his engine and they are now going to be here at least a week.  Good thing his truck is still under warranty. 
One of our other neighbours was backing up and looking over his right shoulder and as he was turning his wheel his drivers side mirror clipped a big Oak tree.  I’m not feeling so bad about my A/C shroud incident.  One thing about this lifestyle is you have to be flexible and accept the fact that, as a famous philosopher once said, Shit happens. 

Thursday we went to Old Town Albuquerque.  Its an historic district dating back to 1706 filled with lots of little shops and restaurants.  We went back on Saturday and had lunch at one of the sidewalk cafe’s.  Its a very quant and colourful area and well worth a visit. 

Church is over 200 years old. Wedding took place on Saturday.  The husband was a Marine and in full uniform.

A very colourful courtyard hidden down an alley off the street

The clusters of peppers hanging in front of buildings is quite popular.  We now have a cluster about 1 ft long to hang in our new kitchen.  If you want to spice up a meal just cut off a pepper.

More peppers

  

Lots of colours make these small Adobe style shops stand out.

Lori exiting the Tourist Visitors Centre

Thats Old Town.  A great place to browse the afternoon away.

Tucumcari, NM here we come.

 During our stay in Guthrie we experienced some apprehension as the result of a news report.  On Sunday evening we were watching TV when one of those News crawlers started moving across the bottom of the TV screen.  There was a reported shooting of 2 police officers in a neighbouring county about 30 miles from us. The police were warning everyone to stay inside and keep their doors locked.  As the evening went on and into the next day more information became available.  Turns out some wacko went on a shooting rampage with an assault rifle.  Fortunately neither officers were seriously injured however the perpetrator stole the Cops truck and went to his Aunt & Uncles house.  Killed the uncle with his rifle and stabbed his aunt to death.  Then tried to decapitate his uncle.  In the next report he had car jacked a vehicle in a mobile home park and shot a lady in the leg.  On Monday it was reported he had tried to car jack an RV in a Flying J parking lot.  Turns out it was the same Flying J we stopped at the next day.  All the time he is driving around the country side and posting a video on Facebook showing his gun and a gun shot wound in his shoulder inflicted by the cops.  Absolutely ranting nonsensical stuff.  At last report he was still at large.  Lori hasn't slept much the past few nights and is glad to be out of Oklahoma.  You just can't make this stuff up.

Tuesday we were off to Tucumcari, NM.  It is located just inside the NM / Texas border on I40 and situated right on Route 66.  We stayed at the Cactus RV park as it accepts my Passport America membership which provides a 50% discount.  After the discount it was still $23.75 and given the lack of amenities that seemed a bit pricey.  The town, at least the part we saw on Route 66 was pretty run down.  When Route 66 was replaced by the Interstate much of the economy seemed to bypass Tucumcari.  


This was the original motel built on this site to accommodate the traffic from Route 66.  Now its closed and derelict.  Newer hotels now exits on the Interstate bypass.


             
The hotel property has now been converted to an RV Park with additional sites in a lot to the rear of the hotel.  How to gain access?  Simply demolish one motel unit to allow for a drive thru.

We had plenty of room to pull in. The Balloon Festival is a major event in Albuquerque in early OCT and I suspect most of these sites are full for that event.

An old style gas station complete with old gas pumps

Wednesday we were off to Albuquerque and spend a few days exploring the sights.