Albuquerque Day #2

With no official wedding functions planned until later in the evening, Nel and I decided to check out the city a little bit.  We decided we’d start by getting a bird’s eye view of the city so we headed over to Sandia Peak.  The way to the top is via the Sandia Peak Tramway.

The Sandia Peak Tramway

Built in the 1960’s, it’s the longest passenger tramway in the world at 2.7 miles.  The elevation at the top is 10,378 feet.  It’s about a 14 minute ride each way, and we loved the trip up – not only for the views, but for the interesting and entertaining commentary from our tram operator.  He was great!  At one point he asked all the folks in the front of the tram to move to the back to raise the nose a little so we could clear some rocks we were approaching….and they DID IT!  He was hilarious.

Our tram operator made the ride up a BLAST!

We ate lunch on the peak at High Finance Restaurant and Tavern.  It’s the only option up there, and the views are spectacular.  The food was only so-so, but we enjoyed sitting at the window and gazing out over the valley and Albuquerque for a while.  The temperature atop the peak was in the 40s, about 20 degrees cooler than the base.  They have a ton of hiking trails, but it was a little drizzly so we stayed on the decks.

Our trip back down wasn’t as enjoyable as the one up because our tram operator was basically just there.  She didn’t seem interested in talking so we just enjoyed the view.

There's a pole in the middle of the tram.  Maybe they rent it out for bachelor parties.

At the base area we saw a sign for the New Mexico Ski Museum.  It turned out to be a room with an old gondola and some old skis along the walls.  I’m not sure how you qualify anything to officially be a ‘museum’, but I’m going to see if I have anything at home that I can claim when I get back.  Perhaps our game room can become the official “1/18 Scale Die Cast Car Museum of the Houston Bay Area”.

The New Mexico Ski Museum...all of it.

After we were done at Sandia Peak we headed south a few miles until we spotted a mini-golf course.  We have a hard time resisting mini-golf so we pulled in so I could throw Nel a beat down!  The place was the Hinkley Family Fun Center.  They had all kinds of stuff, but we stuck with mini-golf.  We played the Lakes Course first.  It wasn’t difficult, but it was well kept and there was nobody there so we had a great time.

Maybe if she took the golf a little more seriously, the outcome would be in doubt.

After a Slushie break for Nel we played the Streams Course.  It was similar to the Lakes Course, but had one unique feature I’ve never seen at a mini-golf facility.  On every other hole they had a wheel that you could spin that would affect how you played the hole somehow.  They called it “Mischief Golf”.  For example, you might have to hit your first shot with your foot, or you might get to place your opponents’ ball anywhere on the hole after they take their first shot.  On one hole I had to use the top of my club.  Nel had to roll her ball with her hands once.  It was kind of fun.

"The Mistief Golf Wheel" forcing me to get creative.

Taunting is a big part of my game.

After I finished up destroying Nel, we headed back to the hotel and then walked around Old Town for a few hours.  It’s primarily shopping, but very quant and fun.  We actually got rained on a little as we were making our way back.  That evening we attended a wedding function at the St. Clair Winery and Bistro across from the hotel.