World United States New Mexico Albuquerque

RVING WITH SUE, JOHN, ARNIE AND ANNIE Summer 2012 - The Big Circle Tour

More Albuquerque Activities May 20, 2012

One of the great features of Albuquerque is its setting with Sandia Peak in the background. We have been to Sandia Peak in the past, but decided to take the Tram to the top again. It is the longest tram ride in the world and offers some excellent views of the mountain and canyons below.

On Friday we grabbed some Subway sandwiches before ascending and enjoyed lunch shortly after arriving at the peak. Sue decided to rest and enjoy the view while Jeff and I hiked the mile and a half crest trail to the Kiwanis Cabin which is higher up than the tram stop. We were surprised to come upon some surviving snow along the trail to the cabin.

The views from the mountain are terrific in all directions with Albuquerque to the west, Moriarity and the plateau to the east and the mountain ridges to the north and south. By the time we were ready to take the tram back down the wind was howling. The tram operator assured us that they had added water ballast to the tram to reduce swaying and that it was completely safe. I reluctantly accepted her assurance and we returned safely to the bottom.

Although Sue had dealt with a headache earlier in the day, it had cleared up by the time we were back down and we decided to go see the movie, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel." We enjoyed the old folks rom-com set in India and then wrapped up our day with dinner at O'Neils Restaurant.

Early on Saturday morning I drove to the aquarium which sits beside the Bosque Trail that parallels the Rio Grande River north of the aquarium. It was a completely blue sky with a bright, and increasingly hot, sun overhead. I jog/walked northward 8 miles and then returned to the aquarium parking lot. It was a decent run despite heavy bike and foot traffic on the trail and the warm weather.

Later in the day we decided to attend a concert at the Emanuel Presbyterian Church by the Quintessence Choral Artists of the Southwest called "A Family Thing". We enjoyed the concert and I was struck by the sharp contrast between these genteel concert goers and the somewhat rowdy diners at O'Neils the previous evening. Jeff knew some of the choir members so we attended a brief reception after at which we consumed too many sweets.

We wrapped up our Saturday with an Indian (as in India) dinner at the Rasoi Restaurant. The woman who waited on us was of Russian descent but had been born in India and married an Indian doctor with whom she had immigrated to the United States. Her story was interesting as was the food that came family style and with some serious spicy heat! Fortunately they provided a yogurt cream that cut the heat. It was a fun and tasty meal.

Today's activity was a ballgame at Isotopes Field, home of the Albuquerqe Isotopes of the AAA Pacific Coast League. An unusual difference was that Arnie joined us for the game. It was "Bark at the Park" day and there were about a hundred pooches in attendance at the game. An added attraction was that Manny Ramirez had just joined the visiting Sacramento team, but he did not make an appearance in the five innings for which we stayed.

We took our beach umbrella and food so it became a picnic event with protection from the very hot sun. We left with the game tied at 3-3 with hopes for the home team pulling it out. Sadly we have since learned that Sacramento, sans Manny, prevailed 5-4. When we returned to Enchanted Village we took the opportunity to photograph the 1947 Hudson and trailer that are on display here.

We plan to spend three more days here before heading for the Grand Canyon.