Finding America

Day 12

When we crossed into New Mexico we picked up some tourism info. One of the pamphlets that appealed to us marketed the world’s longest tramway/gondola ride to Sandia Peak overlooking Albuquerque. The first tram goes up at 9 so we got up early and drove to the mountain’s base only to find it was under maintenance until 5 pm. Ughhhh!

Ok plan B. We don’t have a plan be. Hmmm well let’s make one. Ok how about we go to the New Mexico Natural History Museum and Planetarium. On the way we stoppe din an REI store and picked up a backpack and a visor for Kamrin. We could have really done some damage in this store. REI basically ahs everything you would ever want to take on a hike, kayaking trip or climbing expedition. Then it was off to the museum.

Oh man was this a cool museum. There was so much to see. We started with a double feature at the IMAX theatre/planetarium to see one show about the universe from the Big Bang and from the furthest visions of space and the second film was about black holes. This is the first planetarium show I had seen since I was a child. To say the least the technological advances in these shows was jaw dropping. A little point of light moving across the screen as a child is now a multicolored multidimensional swirling amalgamation of light. Totally incredible!

We went for a bite of lunch at Monroe’s Mexican Restaurant in nearby Old Town after the shows and then returned to go through the rest of the museum. The natural history of New Mexico is so fascinating. There were life size replicas of dinosaurs, movies, placards, 3-d images and all sorts of things to touch and feel. See New Mexico used to be a tropical swamp of sorts, kind of an in-land see. With this ideal microclimate is was the perfect place to live for all sorts of creatures for millions of years. It was hard to grasp how long ago millions of years actually is but to see the fossils in person is even more mind boggling. Anyhow here is some video.

After the museum we went back to relax at Kodi, do some web updates and just chill until our 5pm appointment with the tram-ride to Sandia Peak.

We arrived at the Tram well before 5 and it was slammed. There was a long line for tickets and it appeared like quite a few people had the same idea we did. We waited about 45 minutes but the wait was worth it. We loaded up on the tram and took the 15 minute ride to the top via the longest tramway in the world. We walked around up top and took in the view and played in the snow a bit.

We had made reservations at the High Finance restaurant and after a little tour up top and were seated at out table overlooking the breathtaking view. The meal was surprisingly good seeing as how the only way to supply the place was via the tramway. We took our time and really enjoyed the atmosphere of the place. As the sun began to set we boarded the tram again and took in the amazing vistas of Albuquerque and the surrounding environs.

What a full but good day. On the way home we did a bit of grocery shopping and then pulled the shades. Zzzzzzzz.