Visiting Albuquerque
We're just about to end our stay in Albuquerque at the American RV Park and head north to cooler (we hope) locations. It's been hot here, high 90s the last few days and so we've had to curtail our exploring since many of the sites are outdoors. We've had fun visiting some of our favorite places, and after Silver City, the quantity and quality of restaurants has been a welcome change. There's nothing like a huge, sloppy burger from Red Robin or the smoked duck at County Line, and this is one of the few locations where I can find real New Mexico green enchiladas -stacked like pancakes with a fried egg on top. Old Town Albuquerque is one of our favorite shopping areas, and a place I used to visit each time I was here on business to fetch Brenda a "trinket". During the summer months, mariachis and other types of groups play each night on the gazebo; it's a neat place but it was just too hot to spend much time there. We took a day trip to Santa Fe and the Plaza, but quickly realized that this time of year the area was overrun by tourists - no parking, huge crowds, and miserable traffic. We cut our visit short and instead explored the Pecos river valley, where we saw this spooky tree.
On another day, we drove up to Sandia Peak, high above the city at 10, 678' , where the views are spectacular and the temperature was in the low 70s. We drove rather than take the tramway, a truly scary ride that at one point is over 600' above the ground. Brenda started screaming just looking at it. The tram ends at a restaurant appropriately named the "High Finance", and it isn't named that because of the altitude. 
It's about a 1 1/2 mile hike to the restaurant if you don't take the tram, and all of the supplies and the staff are brought up by the tram each morning. Interestingly, there is no water on the mountain , so the tram has a 1000 gallon tank in the bottom that is used to supply the restaurant and acts as ballast if the passenger load is light. We've enjoyed our stay here, but are anxious to see the Chama area and meet our friends, Joe & Susan. Finally, I'll close with a picture of this baby Scott's Oriole that was pushed or fell from it's nest. Talk about a picture of someone having a bad day!
We're just about to end our stay in Albuquerque at the American RV Park and head north to cooler (we hope) locations. It's been hot here, high 90s the last few days and so we've had to curtail our exploring since many of the sites are outdoors. We've had fun visiting some of our favorite places, and after Silver City, the quantity and quality of restaurants has been a welcome change. There's nothing like a huge, sloppy burger from Red Robin or the smoked duck at County Line, and this is one of the few locations where I can find real New Mexico green enchiladas -stacked like pancakes with a fried egg on top. Old Town Albuquerque is one of our favorite shopping areas, and a place I used to visit each time I was here on business to fetch Brenda a "trinket". During the summer months, mariachis and other types of groups play each night on the gazebo; it's a neat place but it was just too hot to spend much time there. We took a day trip to Santa Fe and the Plaza, but quickly realized that this time of year the area was overrun by tourists - no parking, huge crowds, and miserable traffic. We cut our visit short and instead explored the Pecos river valley, where we saw this spooky tree.
On another day, we drove up to Sandia Peak, high above the city at 10, 678' , where the views are spectacular and the temperature was in the low 70s. We drove rather than take the tramway, a truly scary ride that at one point is over 600' above the ground. Brenda started screaming just looking at it. The tram ends at a restaurant appropriately named the "High Finance", and it isn't named that because of the altitude. 
It's about a 1 1/2 mile hike to the restaurant if you don't take the tram, and all of the supplies and the staff are brought up by the tram each morning. Interestingly, there is no water on the mountain , so the tram has a 1000 gallon tank in the bottom that is used to supply the restaurant and acts as ballast if the passenger load is light. We've enjoyed our stay here, but are anxious to see the Chama area and meet our friends, Joe & Susan. Finally, I'll close with a picture of this baby Scott's Oriole that was pushed or fell from it's nest. Talk about a picture of someone having a bad day!
