Northern New Mexico in Early February - Part 2
Since we were thwarted twice in our attempts to visit Tent Rocks we ended up back in Albuquerque a bit earlier than planned, but it worked out well. We arrived in time to take a trip to the top of Sandia Peak via the Tram. It was an experience of a lifetime and one I never need to repeat, LOL! This tram has the longest unsupported stretch in the US and the third longest in the world (if you look very closely in this photo you can see the 2nd support from the peak - notice the first support is not at all visible, let alone the station at the base!). I was so excited and thought I’d take some shots on the ride that we hopped on first and stood at the front of the car - big mistake! I was having some stomach upset and that did not help. Add to it the stories of plane crashes in the canyon below and I was not the most enthusiastic rider in the car! But the view at the top was spectacular!
The following day we headed out to the Petroglyph National Monument on the west side of Albuquerque. Despite our worn out legs from the Bandelier hike the day before (my mind boggles at what it would have been like had we actually gotten to hike Tent Rocks too) we hit all three trails at the Boca Negro Canyon site of the park.
Parts of this site of the park were undergoing improvements. I couldn’t help but take this shot as a tribute to Shel Silverstein…
After hiking all three trails at this site we headed into Old Town Albuquerque. They also have a Native American market around a plaza like Santa Fe. I was really impressed with the diversity of styles between the Santa Fe and Albuequerque markets. We again spent good sums of money with the Native American vendors and another jewelry store along the plaza. I will admit to only purchasing jewelry from the vendors, but the jewelry stores got a fair bit of my sister’s and mom’s money, fortunately for me the things I like in those stores were firmly beyond my budget :-)
While we waited for a jeweler to resize a ring for Amber I took some of the sites around the plaza…
I think we both had a great (if exhausting) time and would like to see northern New Mexico at a different time of year some time. But there are many other places on our travel wishlist to be visiting again too soon. Amber has hinted at the Duluth, MN area the next time I go home. I haven’t been since I was kid, but I have some fond memories of Gooseberry Falls State Park and the Split Rock Lighthouse!
