October 10 The Balloon Party is Over

View of Fiesta Park on our way to Sandia Peak

Up again at 7 and a quick breakfast and shower so we could leave at 8 for Sandia Peak. It was chilly out but not so bad. We got to see most of the balloons go up but again they all went directly south so I didn’t even bother getting the camera out. I wore jean capris, a t-shirt and took my hoodie. Well we were at the tram station by 8:15 and they opened at 9 and we still were not the first in line but only about 10 people back so we did get on the first tram up for the day. On the way there we could see the Fiesta Park and some of the balloons still on the ground but blown up and that was pretty nice. If we ever get back for this event we will go to the park one day and watch it from there.

Tram station on our way up



Yes, it was cold

The girls selling the tram tickets warned us at the lift that it was 28 degrees at the top and winds gusting to 30 mph. There are only 2 trams, each passing on the way up and down. It takes about 12 minutes each way and our guy on the way up was pretty funny. There’s a section that gets bad crosswinds but they weren’t so bad today. It’s 2.7 miles up and the top station is 10,378 ft. The view of all of Albuquerque on the way up was nice. It’s much bigger than I thought it was. It was REALLY cold up there and so windy. We didn’t stay outside long that is for sure. The east side of the mountain looks totally different than the west we came up. Our side was all rocky and you could see the change in vegetation from the desert floor to the alpine on top. The east slope was verdant. There was beautiful green grass and big fir trees. They have a ski lift as they have skiing and snow boarding there in the winter. There’s a small Forestry station where you get on and off the tram and there’s a restaurant. In addition to skiing there are many hiking trails and a stone cabin up on the very tip top built in the 1930’s from the rock there as a shelter for hikers. It really was cold and since we weren’t going to hike we took the next tram back down and boy, did it feel good to get back to 50 degrees. This tram is the largest in the US and third largest in the world.



Restaurant to the right

Back at the RV we prepared to close it up and head on up the road. Bill went and said his good byes to JC, the guy who we rented our space from. Bill videoed all the horses for today’s roping event. There were more horse trailers today than yesterday and horse poop everywhere. We were gone just after 11. There are 2 ways to get to Santa Fe, the interstate and what is called the Turquoise Trail which is on the east side of the Sandia mountains. It’s more scenic. We took the interstate since we can’t do a lot of stopping with the RV. The unscenic interstate has casino after casino. Just about every Indian pueblo has one. I didn’t do a good job on tonight’s campground. We’re 30 miles from Santa Fe. The only thing I can think of is I was trying to get up on the side we needed to be for leaving on our next leg. We’re in the Roadrunner RV Park on the Pojaque Indian Pueblo. The spaces are huge pull thrus with full hook up and nice and level, but there is no bathhouse and the WIFI sucks! We are right by the building and the signal is terrible. We did manage to get our Direct TV working, which is a great accomplishment for us.



Canyon view on the way up

I did 3 loads of laundry and then we went across the street to the grocery mainly to get bottled water. We get it by the gallon and I pour it into half gallons that I have specific spaces for under the sink. We had our leftover Mexican for dinner and I made salads and later we finished the peach cobbler. It was really warm this afternoon but as it goes in the desert, once the sun goes down, so does the temperature.



We watched Desperate Housewives and then Bill went to bed and I watched Brothers and Sisters and now it’s my turn to turn in!