Day 26: Sandia Peak

Jan invited Vera and I to go jewelry shopping at her favorite place The Utility Shack (which is a terribly misleading name for a native american jewelry store). The prices for the smaller pieces was actually pretty reasonable but the showier stuff was quite expensive. We all ended up taking something home. The store was celebrating the owner's mother's 96th(!) birthday with lots of free food so we stayed there for lunch. I had some tasty tamales and pasole.

Next I took the Sandia Tramway up the mountains to Sandia Peak (elevation approx. 10,300 feet). I would not recommend it for those afraid of heights. All of my tram pictures are sepia tinted because of the coated windows.


I think I heard somewhere you can see out 60 miles in every direction from the top but I couldn't find a good spot to look north. Although I wasn't willing to hike very far because the elevation made my legs feel like lead.
The hike I did take was surprisingly narrow and precipitous. But the views were worth it. I wish I had thought to bring a city map with me so I could match up what I was looking at. You could see the entire city of Albuquerque from up there.



After heading back to the ranch Vera and I went out to Papa Filipe's Mexican Restaurant for Navajo Tacos. Don't tell Vera I posted this photo, she didn't want me to take any pictures of her. The meal was great and came with sopes (fried dough pillows with honey) for dessert which I had actually never seen before. Can't go wrong with fried dough...

Tomorrow: Santa Fe!

Post Script for Jessica:

"I ain't getting any younger
and before my dying day
I want space not just air
Let them laugh in my face
I don't care
Sante Fe
I'll be there"

Day 25: Old Town Albuquerque

Had a chance to hose off the and dry the tent this morning; I was glad to have that done before my next camping adventure. I got meet Vera's bridge buddies right before I left for Old Town.


I spotted this sweet 'cuda near where I parked. You're welcome Dad.


Old Town was not, as I assumed, an extension of downtown but rather a self contained area filled with mostly art galleries, restaurants and souvenir shops. It is also adjacent to many of the Museums in town. It was fun looking at the art and jewelry but mostly out of my price range. One artist's work that really caught my eye was Anne Legge. It turns out she's also an animator for Futurama and The Simpsons. The piece I wanted was $140 so I passed.


This is the plaza, the center of old town. The tan building in the background is the 200-300 year old catholic church.


Part of a series of statues outside the Art and History museum.

Vera and I went over to Jan and Jack's for dinner, which they do every Friday or Saturday. It was a lovely meal and Jan's garden was fantastic. They have an agave plant that was just starting to bloom, something that only happens once in the plant's lifetime. The plants you see in the front yard are an abbreviated version of what is in the back. Once we got back home I got to tire Vera out by showing here all of my photos from my trip so far. It's funny how far away some of it seems already...

Tomorrow: Sandia Peak Tramway, Jan's favorite jewelry store, and some SW cuisine.

Day 24: Flagstaff to Albuquerque

I slept like a baby at the Grand Canyon Hostel in Flagstaff. I got a private room, which was anti-social of me, but I'm glad I did. I really only spent about 20 minutes in Flagstaff outside my time in the hostel which was too bad. It looked like a quirky place worth exploring.


The view down the street from the hostel. It snowed as I arrived into town as you can still see in the hills.


Before leaving I yelped a place in Winslow, AZ called The Turquoise Room which was fancy culinary oasis in the middle of nowhere. I had the carnitas with red and green chile sauce. I enjoyed it a lot. The internet is so useful!

It is located inside the La Posada Inn which was/is? owned by Fred Harvey and designed by the same woman that did most of the Grand Canyon lodges. Her deal was incorporating traditional native american architecture into the buildings for white people. Harvey is a big deal in the SW, he was the first person (back in the early 1900s) to offer swanky dining and lodging options for tourists traveling by train. The train still runs right up to inn, the back of which looks like it was originally the grand entrance from when people still traveled by train.


Once you cross the border from Arizona into New Mexico on I-40 you are immediately greeted by some fascinating looking pieces of geology. This one was a little further in but indicative of the landscape.


I detoured south from the main highway to go to El Morro National Monument. I got this photo from the road. Unfortunately by the time I got there the park entrance had closed. But from the signs I was informed that the rocks have thousands of years worth of graffiti from natives, spanish, and modern americans. There are also some stone house ruins located on top of the monument but I couldn't spot them. My original plan for the day included several other parks and tourist attractions but it keeps becoming clearer that I need 2-3X more time than I anticipated to do it all. So today turned out to be a mostly driving day. Arrived into Albuquerque (which I totally know how to spell) right on time except that I forgot about the time change. So really I was an hour late. Whoops.

Tomorrow: Taking a breather, maybe exploring old downtown Albuquerque.

Day 23: The Grand Canyon

I had a rough morning. My air mattress decided to spring a leak last night. And I awoke to this:


Yeah, that's snow. At 7:00 in the morning. It's pretty awful trying to pack up a tent in it. I'm still not sure when I'll get a chance to clean/dry it out. Once I was all packed up and just a little soggy, I drove to the GC Village to see the main event. This was the extent of the view:


It was at this point (tired, wet, hungry, and disappointed) that I proceeded to have a little meltdown. I decided the best thing for me to do was to go into a lodge and have a scone and tea and think about things. I also got a banana, which is really strange because I don't like bananas, but some part of me decided I needed one. Anyway, I decided I would wait out the fog and see the inside of the lodges in the meantime. The lodges were nice but a bit underwhelming compared to Timberline. It's cool they were designed by a woman in the the late 1800s though.

The fog finally seemed to be lifting around 11:30 so I took the scenic shuttle to the west of the main village. There were some good views but it was very cold, windy, and often hailing/snowing so you had to really want to see it.

I took this photo during one of the sunniest moments of the day. Once the clouds lifted enough that you could see the top of the canyon it definitely became a lot grander. I intended on taking a short hike into the canyon but by the time the shuttle got back it was getting late and had started really snowing again, so I just took off for the East Rim Drive down to Flagstaff.


The snow made part of drive prettier, other parts just plain treacherous.


The weather let up briefly while I stopped at Pipe Creek Vista (?) further on down Highway 64, which was my favorite view. My timing was perfect again, I got into Flagstaff right as it was getting dark. I'm especially glad it worked out that way because it was 33 degrees and snowing as I got into town. According to the staff at the Hostel this is not normal weather for this time of year. I think my lesson for the last couple of days is to work on making the best of disappointing situations. I'm glad I managed to see that canyon at all today. I was considering rearranging my schedule to go back tomorrow but it sounds like the weather will be more of the same so I think I'll just move on as planned. Hopefully New Mexico will be warmer!

Tomorrow: a number of monuments and parks (depending on time and weather) on the way to Albuquerque.

Day 22: Las Vegas to The Grand Canyon

This is a day late because I had no internet while camping.

Today was mostly just a driving day. I considered checking out the new Hoover Dam bypass highway on foot but am glad I didn't, I wouldn't have had enough daylight to set up camp in the evening.

I snapped a couple photos of the drive across Arizona on Highway 40, it was more varied than one would expect.
I took this photo without looking, just pressed the camera against the side window. It is from the drive up Highway 64 to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.


I managed to arrive with just enough time to set up my tent and heat up my dinner with the mini gas burner (the little blue canister). It was pretty windy so I had to use a bunch of junk to make a wind shield. But it worked out ok. Apparently you can drive to the campground without even catching a glimpse of the canyon, so I didn't actually see anything today.

Up Next: The Grand Canyon!

Day 21: More Las Vegas Strip

Started off the day having a nice chat with Lindsey the headed back to the strip for some gambling and more kitsch.


First was Excalibur because I was in the mood for some genuine cheesiness. I then proceeded to walk a large loop to the Tropicana, then MGM, and finally NY NY playing the slots all along the way.
The keepers were hanging out in the lion habitat, I thought this sleeping lioness had a funny look on its face. I didn't plan on doing much gambling at the MGM because I've never done well there before but I'm glad I did, I won $300!


I was planning on seeing the Beatles LOVE show and was excited to get a better seat with my new found wealth, but as has happened to me every single time I'm in Vegas, that show was unexpectedly dark that night. So I took Dave and Lindsey out to Canaletto, a fancy Italian place at the Venetian. It was a lovely meal, although they only had room at the bar.

After dinner I dragged them over the Wynn because they hadn't seen it yet and it has my favorite interiors of all the strip casinos. I especially love the giant lanterns. This photo is looking straight up at them from below.

The conservatory/indoor gardens were quite nice as well. I ended up staying on the strip and gambling into the wee hours (which is why I didn't post this that night). I managed to leave up money, but not by as much as I should have considering how much I won at the MGM. Anyway, I've definitely got that out of my system for a while.

Up Next: Las Vegas to Mather Campground at Grand Canyon

Day 20: City Center & The Cosmopolitan aka The New Kids on The Strip

Went to see a matinee of Bridesmaids with Dave and Lindsey in the morning. It was very funny and a bit more gross-out than I was expecting. Then we went to The Cosmopolitan Casino which is new since the last time I was in Vegas.

Apparently there is a secret pizza place hidden among the fancier dining options so we stopped for a slice. It's down a dark corridor that you would assume leads to a bathroom or staff only area. It was pretty good, although not terribly inviting.


I rather liked the look of this place, called The Chandelier Bar.


On the walk around City Center, which is a jumble of couture shopping, casinos, condos, and hotels, we stumbled upon a Chihuly glass gallery where everything you see is for sale. Although not all pieces were labeled with a price... The selection was limited but I felt like there was more to see there than at the Tacoma Museum of Glass.


I don't know what the story is on this sculpture made out of canoes, but it is between the Aria and Vdara hotels.
After a bit of unsuccessful gambling we headed over to Murphy's Law (a locals bar) for Sunday night Trivia with a couple of Dave and Lindsey's friends. We won first place! It was a lot of fun, and seemed much easier than the Portland trivia I've done. It made me feel smarter. There were also a trio of very drunk guys there that when they weren't being disruptive would says some entertainingly random stuff (e.g. "Why don't you hit on the blonde? You've been warming her up all night like a chicken pot pie."). Good times. Oh, and I also got some laundry done today- that was important.

Tomorrow: More sightseeing on the strip and a Cirque du Soleil show!