April 17, 2021
We are still in Albuquerque enjoying the trails and the Route 66 areas and of course the breweries and wineries!
We took a day off after our mad dash back to Southeast Texas, but got back on the trail as soon as we recovered (It really is hell getting old).
We took the Travertine Falls trail via the Crest Trail in the Sandia Mountains because it was short, only 1.3 miles round trip. Also, I am a huge fan of waterfalls, so win-win. It also started off with a mini labyrinth. This was really gonna be relaxing.
We took off and both of us started having a pretty hard time catching our breath. We realized we are no longer at 25 feet above sea level. We were just above 6500 feet above sea level. We only had an elevation climb of 243 feet, but it was really getting the best of us. We stopped a few times just to try to catch our breath. These trails are fairly well marked, but we got to what appeared like the end of the line and some caves. We were hoping the bears were still in hibernation, but I looked over and saw a small trickle of water coming from the right of the caves. I guess during the rainy season that would have been my waterfall. LOL.
The Travertine Falls - Wow!!!
The bear caves
The view from the crest was really pretty spectacular. These photos do not do it justice.
We really were not feeling like hiking the next day even though we had already picked out a trail, so we decided to take the scenic Tourquoise Trail drive between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The trail is about 52 miles and follows Route 14. There are some great views along the way, but also some very sketchy looking towns.
On the way back into Albuquerque we decided to find a brewery or winery. We found a real gem of a winery in the Rancho del Albuquerque area, Casa Rodeňa Winery. All of their wines were very good! They did flights with a unique holder. The grounds were stunning and I could have stayed there all day. I felt like we were back in Napa Valley.
We tried taking pictures with the building behind us, but t
he sun was so bright I couldn't open my eyes. We tried several times - It was brutal.
We finally went to the shaded area in front of the place and got one.
This is the carousel they serve the flights on. So cool.
We did eventually find several cool breweries around the historic Route 66 area. The first one we went to, The Red Door, had a very inviting sign on the patio area. 'The state will aggresively enforce the mandatory face covering requirement for all residents in public places.' They are just so welcoming here.
We did not have beer there, but they had a very tasty Kombucha drink with Lavender Vodka and Cranberry and it was amazing as well as beautiful. The staff was great and we would have stayed had the young college girls not started buying drugs from the weird looking dude with the dogs. It really made me uncomfortable, too many years at the District Attorney's Office I suppose. So we took out in search of a different brewery.
We found another one with a much better outdoor area, but it was crowded. The Sidetracks Brewery. The server allowed us to use their de-commissioned smoking area until there was seating available outside. It was a beautiful evening and I was determined to sit outside, so we sat there behind a wall with the air conditioner and CO2 cylinders until a spot opened up. They served wine from a local vineyard that was delicious too. It wasnt long before we were out in the open and enjoying the patio.
Our friends from Port Arthur Yacht Club, Greg and Ruth Lynd, came out on their way to Colorado for the season. We were so excited to see them, even though we just saw them in Port Arthur last week. LOL. We had booked a trip on the Sandia Peak Tram for the day they were arriving, but it was cancelled due to high winds. So we would have to go the next day. They were also able to get tickets! Our tickets were for between 3:00PM and 8:00PM so we could catch the sunset from the mountain top. That left Ruth and I with some spare time that morning. We went out in search of a fine tatoo parlor. She had a tatoo she wanted to add color too and I had found something cool I wanted on my wrist. the first two places we checked on were not going to be able to help us. The first one was The Route 66 Fine Line Tatoo Parlor. I thought it would be neat to have a tatoo from a place with Route 66 in the name! And it was really on Route 66! But it was not meant to be.
Finally we found a place that had even more stars and great reviews, True Grit Tatoo. The place was amazing with fine antique furniture, statues, they even had a framed prostitute license in the bathroom.
Before and during, you can see the stars are just a blue outline.
After. Purple fading to white on the two stars and the smaller one is all purple.
My turn.
We celebrated with a happy photo!
The boys were gonna take care of themselves for lunch so we went in search of Ruth some Curry. We went to three different places for Thai food and they were all closed or take out only. Finally, we settled for som Vietnamese and found really tasty place, but I have no idea what the name was.
Now we got home and grabbed the guys and drove on up to the Cibola National Forest and Sandia Peak. We didn't have to wait very long to get aboard a tram, but I am so glad their website was wrong and they were letting 19 people on each one rather than the 3 they said they were allowing. We would have never made it.
The tramway was completed in May of 1966 and took 2 years to build. The trip is 2.7 miles and the cars travel at approximately 13 MPH. There are only 2 towers holding these 2 tram cars as they cruise high above the canyons. Tower one is positioned at 7,010 feet elevation and it 232 feet tall. This tower accually leans at an 18 degree angle in order to keep the cables even between the two towers. Tower two is located at 8,750 feet elevation and is 80 feet tall. Due to the rugged terrain, tower two had to be built and materials brought in by helicopter.
We boarded our Tram and met our operator, Dallas. He shared some interesting facts, like at our highest point above the ground the Eiffel Tower could fit below our tram as we traveled and we were as high as the Empire State Building observation deck! He also pointed out some wreckage below in one canyon. It totally looked like it could be one of these trams. I was so stunned I didn't even think about my camera. But alas, it was the wreckage of a 1955 TWA Flight 260. Thirteen passengers and three crew perished in this flight that was later determined to be a failure of the navigational equipment. There is now a trail to the wreckage and a plaque has been placed there with the names and home towns of the souls who lost their lives in the accident. There were some beautifull views on the way up!
We wanted to take a hike while we were on the mountain, we just had to make sure we made it back to the tram before 8:00PM or we might have been left there for the night. To our surprise, there was snow everywhere up here. I expected it to be cold and we were pretty layered up, but my hands were so cold.
We made it to the top
Greg leading on the trail
Finally, the sun is setting
Even though we got down from the mountain at near 9:00pm we wanted a drink and a snack. Dennis and I had been to the Boxing Bear Brewery down the street, but didn't think they had food, so we turned to our friend Google and found a place open, Mykinos Cafe and Taverna. We knew by the name that it served drinks and food. This place was really neat. We sat in the bar area and they had live music. Shane Wallin was a solo musician and he was great. He shut down shortly after we got there unfortunately, but we tipped the guy and bought his self produced album. We really enjoyed him. The food was also pretty spectacular Greek food. Another gem we found, this one located between a Dairy Queen and a Subway in a strip mall. What????
Greg and Ruth headed out this morning on their way to Colorado. We are so glad they came, we had a blast while they were here. While I pulled out the compter and started working on this blog it began to snow! Ruth said they hit some pretty nasty snow and rain about 60 miles from their destination. Dang weather!
Next stop Gallup, NM and then off to stand on the corner in Winslow, AZ.
Peace out!
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