We were up early and headed straight over to the Petroglyphs National Monument. It was great driving over, as there was loads to see en-route. I love the fact that even the road flyovers are coloured turquoise and coral to match the landscape.
We found the visitors centre and got directions to the easy trail. The first trail was a "30 minute walk round a partly paved path". HA! The first trail was an uphill rock scramble with the occasional patch of paving! I was wearing sensible footwear at least, but did have a handbag as I didn't really want to leave it in the car. The views from the top were worth it. And the Petroglyphs were fascinating...although I had to admit I didn't notice too many on the scramble back down!! I had to laugh at the sign that said "No Running"...How?? I was barely managing walking!!! I was bending down to take a photo of a petroglyph when Stephen called back "Are you taking a photo of a rattlesnake?". "Honey, if there was a rattlesnake I wouldn't be taking a photo. I'd be ignore the no running sign and hurdling over the rocks on my way back to the car!"
We spent the rest of the morning on Old Town Albuquerque which was so pretty. We were disappointed that the Atomic Museum was closed down, but we made up for that by having lunch on the patio the Church Street Cafe. Great food, even if the waiter was definitely NOT a multi-tasker!!
Our afternoon activity was a drive along Route 66. Or should I say "We got our kicks, on Route 66". We did stop by Zachary's for a quick peruse (okay I'll admit it...and purchase...) of their fantastic turquoise jewellery.
Around 4pm we headed over to Sandia Peak Tramway for the ride to the top. It takes 15 minutes to the top by cable car. What a view on the way up! What a view from the top! We'd asked the guy at the bottom what temperature it was at the top so we could judge how many jackets to take. His sage advice was that it would be 20 degrees colder at the top, so as it was in the 70's at the bottom it'd be in the 50's at the top. We went with jackets (not coats) and I took a scarf.....He was WRONG! There was snow on the ground at the top, and when the sun went down it was totally freakin' freezing!! Although it was worth freezing half to death for the fantastic sunset photos we got. Usually when we're capturing sunsets we're suffering with mosquitoes and rum based drinks - thi was a new experience, but it was worth it!!!
I did have a moment when we were up there...I went to the restroom in the restaurant. The floor seemed to slope away towards the back, and they seemed to have compensated for this by building a shelf on which the toilet sat. The shelf did not extend forward enough that you could stand on it though! This may be fine for someone who's over 5'6"...for someone who's 5'0" it presents something of a challenge!! I had to throw myself upwards and backwards in a kind of fosbery flop manoeuvre in order to make the seat. Its just as well I was where I was, because I was peeing myself laughing at this point!!
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