I went to ABQ to visit my friend Elizabeth. She and her husband Paul (and her dogs and ponies) moved to a nice 10-acre spread east of the Sandia mountains near Albuquerque. E's been so busy getting the homestead in order (only woman I know with her own tractor), she hasn't had much time to explore. So my visit was an adventure for both of us.
I arrived on Thursday night, and on Friday we set off to explore our first hike, at the nearest trailhead. It has snowed on Wednesday (6 inches), and E's side of town is up at about 7,,000 ft, so the snow hung around. We hiked the Tunnel Canyon trail, and tromped through plenty of snow and mud! It was beautiful, though. Good thing I was just in Mammoth last week, getting my sea-level lungs used to altitude!
We stopped at the Ranger Station on the way back, and picked up a fabulous book on hiking in the Sandias. And E introduced me to Burger Boy's famous green chile cheeseburger. Oh my! A perfect sized cheeseburger smothered in green chile - heaven! I passed on the fries and milkshake - the hike wasn't THAT long....
My job, while E did 'the dog and pony show' (cleaned stalls, fed and exercised animals) that afternoon, was to find hikes for the rest of my visit. A job I loved!
E, Paul & I went out for dinner on Friday and hoped to catch some live music. Guess the altitude affected me somewhat, because after one beer and dinner, I was ready for bed (and I was not the only one).
Saturday morning we went to breakfast at the Cedar Point Grille - Huevos Rancheros smothered in green chile (noticing a theme here?)! E & I headed north on 'The Turquoise Trail' (aka Route 14).
We stopped in the little arts community of Madrid, a former mining town. There are some interesting galleries here - one of our favorites was Chumani, which had some awesome welded sculptures by William Wessel. E coveted a giant leaping frog and a great blue heron, but they were spendy. We both bought insects - hers a mayfly and mine a praying mantis (there used to be one living in my front garden in PA). We also liked Weasel & Fitz, where E found another item worthy of purchase and one to covet (a red crab with actual pliers for claws). And for a taste of the unconventional, we liked RockPaper.
We continued north, to Sante Fe. Elizabeth had signed up for a lecture on permaculture by an author she liked. After 10 years in Phoenix, she's excited to be somewhere that she can GROW things!
After the lecture, we did a drive-by of 'cute' Sante Fe, stuffed with tourists. I'm sure it's nice, but neither of us was much in the mood to fight crowds, so back to 'the ranch' we went. Dinner out again, this time at the Greenside Cafe. A veggie burrito covered with...wait for it...green chile!!
Sunday morning, time for more hiking! I had picked a sufficiently challenging trail with several loop options, depending how tough we were feeling. We hiked the Upper Faulty Trail / Faulty Trail loop. A good mix of dry, wet, sun, shade, snow, mud, cactus, fir and cedar. Enough 'up' to work our legs and lungs. Always a change around the bend, very stimulating both physically and mentally! Salad & spaghetti for dinner, and Paul made brownies for dessert. Yum!
Monday...another hike. I picked the Armijo Trail, again with several loop options, depending on how froggy we were feeling (and the trail conditions). This one had a good mix of terrain and flora again, though not as much altitude gain. We ate lunch in a sheltered, sunny spot, sitting on the forest floor cushioned with pine needles. Isn't it funny how PB&J tastes divine in such a setting? We were feeling fit, so we added a longer loop to our hike - which ended up taking us down an icy, steep, narrow path. Dangerous enough, but then we started making each other laugh about dragging the other's broken body down the trail should she fall. After surviving such an adventure, we deserved some real sustenance - something green.... So it was back to Burger Boy for another green chile cheeseburger!
Tuesday...my last day in ABQ. We had time for a short hike, so we made it a tough one. Straight up, and on the hot, dry side south side of the Sandias. We hiked parts of two trails, the Three Gun Trail and the HawkWatch Trail. Both unshaded and steep (1,750 ft of elevation gain in 2 miles). It was sunny and warm on Tuesday, though there was a cool breeze. This was desert hiking, more like Phoenix than the eastern trails we did on previous days. It was a cardiovascular challenge (read: we sucked wind), so we got our excercise in the time we had. We felt tough, until that 70 year old woman RAN past us. Gulp....
I arrived on Thursday night, and on Friday we set off to explore our first hike, at the nearest trailhead. It has snowed on Wednesday (6 inches), and E's side of town is up at about 7,,000 ft, so the snow hung around. We hiked the Tunnel Canyon trail, and tromped through plenty of snow and mud! It was beautiful, though. Good thing I was just in Mammoth last week, getting my sea-level lungs used to altitude!
We stopped at the Ranger Station on the way back, and picked up a fabulous book on hiking in the Sandias. And E introduced me to Burger Boy's famous green chile cheeseburger. Oh my! A perfect sized cheeseburger smothered in green chile - heaven! I passed on the fries and milkshake - the hike wasn't THAT long....
My job, while E did 'the dog and pony show' (cleaned stalls, fed and exercised animals) that afternoon, was to find hikes for the rest of my visit. A job I loved!
E, Paul & I went out for dinner on Friday and hoped to catch some live music. Guess the altitude affected me somewhat, because after one beer and dinner, I was ready for bed (and I was not the only one).
Saturday morning we went to breakfast at the Cedar Point Grille - Huevos Rancheros smothered in green chile (noticing a theme here?)! E & I headed north on 'The Turquoise Trail' (aka Route 14).
We stopped in the little arts community of Madrid, a former mining town. There are some interesting galleries here - one of our favorites was Chumani, which had some awesome welded sculptures by William Wessel. E coveted a giant leaping frog and a great blue heron, but they were spendy. We both bought insects - hers a mayfly and mine a praying mantis (there used to be one living in my front garden in PA). We also liked Weasel & Fitz, where E found another item worthy of purchase and one to covet (a red crab with actual pliers for claws). And for a taste of the unconventional, we liked RockPaper.
We continued north, to Sante Fe. Elizabeth had signed up for a lecture on permaculture by an author she liked. After 10 years in Phoenix, she's excited to be somewhere that she can GROW things!
After the lecture, we did a drive-by of 'cute' Sante Fe, stuffed with tourists. I'm sure it's nice, but neither of us was much in the mood to fight crowds, so back to 'the ranch' we went. Dinner out again, this time at the Greenside Cafe. A veggie burrito covered with...wait for it...green chile!!
Sunday morning, time for more hiking! I had picked a sufficiently challenging trail with several loop options, depending how tough we were feeling. We hiked the Upper Faulty Trail / Faulty Trail loop. A good mix of dry, wet, sun, shade, snow, mud, cactus, fir and cedar. Enough 'up' to work our legs and lungs. Always a change around the bend, very stimulating both physically and mentally! Salad & spaghetti for dinner, and Paul made brownies for dessert. Yum!
Monday...another hike. I picked the Armijo Trail, again with several loop options, depending on how froggy we were feeling (and the trail conditions). This one had a good mix of terrain and flora again, though not as much altitude gain. We ate lunch in a sheltered, sunny spot, sitting on the forest floor cushioned with pine needles. Isn't it funny how PB&J tastes divine in such a setting? We were feeling fit, so we added a longer loop to our hike - which ended up taking us down an icy, steep, narrow path. Dangerous enough, but then we started making each other laugh about dragging the other's broken body down the trail should she fall. After surviving such an adventure, we deserved some real sustenance - something green.... So it was back to Burger Boy for another green chile cheeseburger!
Tuesday...my last day in ABQ. We had time for a short hike, so we made it a tough one. Straight up, and on the hot, dry side south side of the Sandias. We hiked parts of two trails, the Three Gun Trail and the HawkWatch Trail. Both unshaded and steep (1,750 ft of elevation gain in 2 miles). It was sunny and warm on Tuesday, though there was a cool breeze. This was desert hiking, more like Phoenix than the eastern trails we did on previous days. It was a cardiovascular challenge (read: we sucked wind), so we got our excercise in the time we had. We felt tough, until that 70 year old woman RAN past us. Gulp....
OK, I'll admit it. Just one more green chile cheeseburger before I left - I can't get this in Ventura, you know. BurgerBoy was closed (gasp!) so we hit the famous Owl Cafe in Albuquerque itself on the way to the airport. One for the road, as it were....
Thanks for a great visit, Elizabeth! I didn't see much of the city of Albuquerque, but I loved the hiking mecca. I'll have to go back when the snow is gone - to hike up high and eat more green chile!
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