New Mexico Trip #38, Part 2: Albuquerque and Santa Fe

We spent three nights in Albuquerque upon arrival, and a fourth night on our way back home.  Wednesday was a hiking day, at the very top of the Sandia Mtns., which overlook the city and most of central New Mexico.  I had a minimum driving day, which was fantastic after 4 days of mostly driving.  We drove to the Sandia Tram and caught the first flight of the day to Sandia Peak.  I have been up five or six times, and each time is an adventure.   It is the world's 2nd longest passenger tram, and takes the passengers from high desert at around 6,000' of altitude to over 10,000' well up into the spruce and conifer zone.  The ride takes about 13 minutes and provides some of the most dramatic mountain views one could ever imagine.  Much of the western flank of the Sandia Mtns. is so wild that it is virtually impossible to explore.  However, some rugged trails do wind their way up.  But it is the forested eastern slopes that have most of the hiking trails.

 On the Sandia Tramway, heading up to Sandia Peak.  Our goal today was to reach an old cabin (tiny white dot on top of the highest peak), then continue along the crest trail to the highest point.

 Telephoto shot showing the cabin a tiny bit better than the previous photo.  We would hike to the cabin from the top of the tram, then continue on to the crest.

 The same mountain and scary looking cabin, but from our hike along the crest trail.  We're getting closer! 

We had two goals for today's hike.  Ultimately, we hoped to reach Sandia Crest, which is also accessible by car, by hiking uphill through the woods from Sandia Peak, where the tram stops.  We had only been at 5,000' for about 18 hours, so we were hardly used to the altitude.  Suddenly, first thing next morning, we were hiking uphill at over 10,000'.  That, dear reader, is what is known as a shock to the system.  With many stops to catch our breath and stop our hearts from leaping out of our chests, we slowly plodded along like the flatlanders we were.  It was a tortoise and the hare sort of thing, only with no hare.  We did eventually make it to the Crest, where a cafe and gift shop awaited us.

But before the crest came Kiwanis Cabin, which we had seen from the tram flight.  Inside, the cabin was open on four sides, but still cozy inside.  There were stone benches along the inside walls.  Previous manifestations of the cabin had been struck by lightning and burned down, and been blown away by high winds.  This one was solid stone, and hadn't gone anywhere.  Needless to say it is now disused, but makes a good shelter for hikers.

  Arrival at Kiwanis cabin.  We had the place to ourselves!

 

 Looking back from Kiwanis cabin to the top of the tram.  It had been a breathtaking hike (literally!) from there to here.  We were more than halfway to the Crest.

 Our hike began at lower right, and went on diagonally up to the "536" highway at Sandia Crest.  The lower red line shows our tram ride up and across the mountains.  Ski hills at bottom right, and the highway at upper right that leads to the Crest.

Today's hike was about 3.5 miles, and we walked along the crest of the Sandia Mtns. from 10,300' at the tram station to 10,630' at the Crest.  We enjoyed a break at the Crest, with views in all directions, and talked with the husband and wife rangers up there, as well as with the friendly young woman at the gift shop.  Deb had espresso and I had iced tea.  We sat outside on the  deck, over 5,000' above the city below us.

 Deb crosses a portion of Lothlorien on our way to Sandia Crest.

 Sandia Crest, cafe deck.  It was a splendid day!  Albuquerque lies a mile beneath me.

 The dark strip across the lower middle is the Rio Grande River valley.  Albuquerque and the river lies over a mile lower than us.

 Looking over the other side of the mountain.  In the middle ground are the Ortiz Mtns., and behind them are the Rockies, near Santa Fe.

 Our descent trail.  We returned to the tram and rode back down.  

The restaurant usually there was closed for rebuilding, 

and should reopen in the spring. 

 Pulling away from the upper terminal, looking like something from the PC game Riven!  Thunder was beginning to boom as we departed.  Heavy rain and storms were incoming. 

 The afternoon light showed us a different scene than our morning ride up!

 Bye bye Sandias! 

Afterwards, it was time for coffee, at Michael Thomas.  Our pour overs were great!

 Near the cafe was Kellys Brewpub, once a large Texaco station.  This was the only pub for me today, so I lingered and enjoyed my stay.  There were some interesting shops nearby, so Deb vanished for a while. 

 I enjoyed a six-times 4 oz. flight today.  I really enjoyed Kelly's Red Ale, Marble's Double White (a guest ale), and Tractor Brewing's Hard Cider (another guest).  A guy appeared with a Detroit Red Wings shirt, so I went over to his table for a few minutes to talk with him.  He was from Livonia, a Detroit suburb, here visiting a sick relative.  We went to the nearby Co-op and bought a dinner to go.  Again, it was virtually impossible to stay awake past 9 pm, especially with all that fresh mountain air still in our system.  Dreams were sweet....

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Thursday was Santa Fe day!  We had not been to this great little mountain city for a proper visit in a very long time.  I ended up driving even less miles today than yesterday, because we rode the Rail Runner up and back. We found a parking lot near the Albuquerque train station (downtown!) for $2 all day.  How does anyone make any money from that??  The Rail Runner is a commuter train that runs from south of Albuquerque to Santa Fe, climbing more than 2,000' to get there.  There are some slow times northbound as the train puffs its way up some serious hills, but the ride home is pretty fast!

The 9:35 awaits at Albuquerque Station.

 There are 8 or 9 stops before Santa Fe is reached, though on the way home we caught an express, with only 3 stops.  When the doors are about to close, one hears the "Beep Beep" of the Warner Brothers road runner, after which the train is named.  The real road runner is the state bird of NM.  We saw one this time, too.

Train window view of the Sandia Mtns.  It had been a very wet night, and the morning was cool and damp.

 The little station in Santa Fe doubles as a tourist info office.

 The main plaza in downtown Santa Fe is now car free!  It is quiet and welcoming.  The plaza is surrounded by shops, museums, and hotels. 

Santa Fe is like a large outdoor shopping outlet mall, with 90% of the shops selling fine art, jewellery, tourist trinkets, and clothing, all with a Southwest flavour.  There is still a daily Indian market on one side of the plaza.  I quickly settled in to Blue Corn Cafe and Brewery, while Deb took a little browse around some of the stores.  We didn't spend a lot of time in the central area, having visited before and not willing to spend thousands of dollars on art today.  We ended up walking back towards the train station, and settling in to 2nd St. Brewery and Cafe, where we had lunch (and I sampled a few ales--6 to be exact).  Next came coffee, at a lovely little cafe right across the street.  We finished up at a hard cider taproom, where I sampled 3 local ciders.  There was a Rhubarb version that did achieve perfection!

Santa Fe has a lot of Santa Fe style architecture.  Surprised?

 Deb checks out the Jean Cocteau Cinema and Coffee House, Santa Fe. 

Once back in Albuquerque, there was time for one more brewpub, which was right across from our hotel!  377 Brewery was a frenzied place after work, and the two guys pouring ales behind the bar were being run off their feet (not by me; I only had two 4 oz pours).  It was a beautiful sunset, and the moon was growing larger.  Tomorrow we were heading into the deep landscape, where three more hikes awaited, and hopefully some solitude.

Thursday evening sunset, walking to 377 Brewery.

 Waxing moon, walking home from 377 brewery.

Mapman Mike

New Mexico Trip #38, Part 1: Amherstburg to Grants, Another Epic Drive

This marks the first epic drive with our 2016 Tiguan.  Altogether, it was my 9th driving journey to NM, all in VWs!  In 1989 I drove with brother Steve and his first wife, Monique, though I ended up flying back after meeting up with Deb in Phoenix.  Beginning in August 2006 we made 5 round trips with our Touareg, followed by 2 round trips with our 2012 Tiguan.  Many of those trips followed vastly different routes west, but they all ended up in NM.  My drive this year took me on a route I had not done since 2010.  Unfortunately, it was all done on Interstate, though I gave myself an extra day to ease the stress of heavy truck traffic and all of those orange cones one encounters on epic drives.  Even so, it was mostly business, with no fun stops until after arriving at my evening destination.

I left on Sept. 15th, and it was hot and humid most of the way.  While it wasn't humid in Albuquerque four days later, it was hot.  The goal was to meet up with Deb at our usual airport hotel.  She was flying there on the 18th.  My first night I stopped in Terre Haute, IN, a city I am now pretty familiar with.  I spent the late afternoon at Terre Haute Brewing Company, making friends with a fun female bartender.  It was a Saturday night, and when I arrived there were only about 4 customers.  However, by the time I left 90 minutes later, the place was packing out.

My pub visit was followed by a long walk to the banks of the Wabash River, where the city has a lovely park, and then on to an Indian restaurant for dinner.

 New life has been brought to an old former brewery! 

Essentially a sports bar (someday I'll find a pub that shows ballet), Terre Haute B.C. is located near the center of downtown, just a bit south east.  There were 15 craft taps, 3 ciders, a bottle selection, and they offered flights.  5 of the taps were brewed in-house; the rest were guest ales.  The interior is a restored old brewery, with a large and open interior, a long bar, and live music.  I sampled 5 4oz servings on my visit.  My favourite was their Stiffy Green Unfiltered IPA, followed closely by De Claw Brewery's Sweet Baby Jesus porter!  There were a few vegan options on the menu, but I wanted Indian food, so I headed for a delicious meal at Taj Mahal.  FYI, their medium spice is quite hot!

 Terre Haute Brewing Company  

The Wabash River, along the beautiful riverfront park in Terre Haute, IN.  

The drive from Ontario involves passing through a portion of Michigan, Ohio, and much of Indiana.  I stopped at Wholefoods in Indianapolis for lunch and coffee.  The drive from Indy to Terre Haute (birthplace of Philip Jose Farmer!) is quite scenic, especially when the highway is occasionally split by dark woods.  That first day I drove 380 miles.

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 Next day the goal was Springfield, MO.  I made good time crossing Illinois, and gained an hour by the clock as I passed into the Central Time Zone.  This works really well driving west, essentially adding an hour to the day.  However, returning east it is not so helpful.  Once in St. Louis I found the main bridge over the Interstate closed!  I was saved by my GPS, but other drivers seemed not so fortunate.  After a time-consuming detour that took me right downtown (luckily it was a Sunday), I was soon back on the Interstate, heading southwest across the Ozark Plateau.

Many people mistake the Ozarks for mountains.  However, they are really an eroded high plateau.  The scenery quickly becomes breath-taking after leaving suburban St. Louis, as the road dips into steep valleys, then quickly climbs up the other side.  Forests are thick with trees, and it seems like a no-man's land.  We have spent time in the Ozarks south of St. Louis, including a visit to Taum Sauk, the highest point in Missouri.  That was many years ago, well before digital cameras, but it still lives long in memory.

I barrelled on through to Springfield, checking into my motel before heading out to sample the goods at three downtown brewpubs!  I parked the car and easily walked to all three, spacing things out so that I spent one hour at each pub.  I ate dinner at the last one, then finished up with a long walk through deserted Sunday night streets, before finally driving back to my motel.

 Lost Signal Brewing Company, Springfield MO 

Springfield, MO is about 3/4 the size of Windsor, but it is still pleasantly surprising that they have 3 brew pubs within walking distance of one another.  The vehicle stayed parked at Lost Signal, my first stop, until I was ready to drive back to the motel much later.  Lost Signal used to be a radio station, and the 200' tower still rises above the rather boring building.  At night the tower is lit with coloured lights that dance and sing to the night, making it an easy destination to find after dark.

Lost Signal taproom and BBQ has ten taps.  My flight consisted of four 5 oz pours, with the hilariously named "Atomic Wedgie" appearing on my flight card.  It was pretty good, and the description mentioned bread and strawberry pop tarts!  I also enjoyed the Smoked Porter and the Towerfest Octoberfest.  Their "Sir Andrews," a home version of English Mild, was less successful.  Being a BBQ joint, vegan food was a no no.

 Mothers Brewing Company, the former home of Butternut Bread!

 My beer flight at Mothers came with fresh flowers! 

A short stagger away was Mothers, with a warm interior and a vast garden with shaded picnic tables.  They had 13 taps and a cider, with flights consisting of four 4 oz pours.  I really enjoyed their Sunshine Chugsuckle, an IPA with heavy fruit and flower aromas, and very fruity flavours.  I wasn't so fond of their 3 Blind Mice Brown Ale, the Mr. Pumpkin (my first of the almost season), or the Nudie Suit Porter.  Still, I really liked the interior ambience, and they had an impressive swag shop.

 Springfield Brewing Company, Springfield, MO 

My third and final stop was also my third visit to this venerable downtown establishment, once the only game in town.  The interior is large and multi-storied, and includes a fabulous outdoor deck.  The bar is enormous and horseshoe-shaped.  I ate dinner here, and limited myself to an 8 oz glass of the house Hefe, which was quite spectacular.  I had a very fancy and delicious vegan salad, and still managed to spend a pleasant hour here.  It was pretty busy for a Sunday night, but hardly full.  It was an enjoyable visit, and by now my two days of driving were nearly forgotten.  Today's mileage was 400 miles.  Even after driving 780 miles, I was still in the Midwest!  No deserts or real mountains yet; not by a long shot.  However, things would begin to change tomorrow, especially by late in the day.

After dinner I walked around a nearly desolate downtown, just to make certain I was fit to drive when the time came.  I came across two points of interest.  The main downtown area is a circular road around a central (small) park.  There are no traffic lights.  A cafe was open, and I stopped in to purchase some espresso beans for Deb (Ethical Bean).  Also nearby was a (closed) art gallery, and I stopped to admire the tin sculptures.  After that, it was back to the vehicle, in a dark and forbidding parking lot at a closed Lost Signal pub.  It was about a 7 mile drive back to the motel, with very little traffic and no construction.  As I had done the previous night, I jotted down some notes regarding my busy day.  I was now halfway to Albuquerque!!

 Walking around downtown Springfield, MO.  The moon

was waxing.  Once it was full, we would be heading home.

Art gallery window, downtown Springfield, MO.  This work depicts me on my solo drive onward and upward towards the mountains and Albuquerque.

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On my third day I completed crossing the Ozark Plateau, and made it to the eastern edge of the Great Plains.  Driving from Springfield, MO involved dropping down off the Plateau into a very hot and sticky Tulsa, OK, which sits at about the same level as Amherstburg (600').  Had I really travelled anywhere different?  About 200 miles of today's driving was on turnpike, and I paid $9.50 for the privilege, up from $8 eight years ago.  By comparison, about 30 miles in Ontario costs about $50!

My first big daytime stopover that did not involve getting food was at Gardner Books in Tulsa.  I left happy with my medium-size box of books related to my exploration of the authors from the 1970s Avon/Equinox SF reprint project.  This was my second visit here, preceded by one many years ago with Deb and Amanda L.  Afterwards came lunch at the nearby Whole Foods, then back on the road.  Coming out of the bookstore the temp was 97 F, with lots of humidity!  In Oklahoma City not only was it rush hour, but it was rush hour with a maddening amount of road construction.  I emerged, but scathed.  My destination was a motel in Elk City, OK, which sits firmly upon the Great Plains.  I slept that night at 1900', still over 3,000' shy of Albuquerque.  The drive to Tulsa from Springfield, and then on towards OK City, is still very hilly, but things gradually level off.  The Plains begin just west of Oklahoma City, and the landscape gradually flattens, and the sky becomes bigger and bigger.

I travelled 421 miles today, with one epic drive remaining until I arrived at the mountains, and central NM.  There are as yet no craft beer bars in Elk City OK, so I remained indoors, writing notes about the day and drinking ale purchased near the Whole Foods in Tulsa.  I was reading a lengthy and very fascinating biography of Brahms the composer, and was in bed early after talking with Deb and then with my parents.  I had originally hoped to drive some of the old roadbed of Route 66 in Oklahoma, but the long stopover at the bookstore had put an end to those plans.  I was more than happy to have the books, though, and fell asleep with visions of SF bookshelves dancing before me....

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Day 4 would see me (hopefully!) link up with Deb, who was on her way to Albuquerque via Dallas from Detroit.  Ruth A., a very close friend, drove her to the van which would take her to Detroit Metro Airport from Windsor.  By the time I awoke today, Deb was already at the Detroit airport.  I left Elk City before she left Detroit, but she would still beat me to the hotel in Albuquerque by an hour!  

I stopped for gas in Shamrock, TX, and for a photo of the former Route 66 gas station, garage, and diner.  It is now home to the Chamber of Commerce in Shamrock, and they offer free coffee and tourist info, as well as a Route 66 swag shop.  The diner is fixed up as a museum.  Deb and I stopped by on our way eastbound, but today I simply took a photo and moved on.

Former Route 66 Conoco station in Shamrock, TX.  It is still a big tourist draw. 

Road construction in Amarillo really slowed me down.  At nearly 3500' high on the lonesome plains, this cattle town has grown a lot since our first bypass many years ago.  We have never really stopped off to visit, sometimes merely pausing for lunch.  Someday, perhaps.  Just west of Amarillo is Car Henge, but I just blasted by, finally free of single lane construction traffic.  Hundreds of windmills now dot the plain across the Texas Panhandle, a definite blight upon the landscape.

I stopped at the tourist info centre just inside the NM border, then blasted past Tucumcari and its iconic mountain; drove past Santa Rosa with its unique "blue hole," made a stop at Clines Corners to visit the "really large restrooms," and finally arrived in Albuquerque just in time for the 4:30 rush hour!  For the first time in memory there was no city road construction here.  I sailed through two freeways and made it to the hotel by 16:50, about an hour behind Deb.  She was on the balcony on lookout duty, and we were soon together and heading for Marble Brewery, downtown.  They have expanded their interior, and even have a big parking lot now!  It is still my favourite brewery in town, with a special nod going to their IPA.  The Cholo Stout was also pretty good, and their Pumpkin Noir was an instant hit!

We took a long walk around the nearly deserted downtown afterwards, stretching our legs in preparation for four upcoming hikes.  Dinner was at the all-vegan restaurant "Anapurna" on Yale Blvd., not too far from our hotel.  I had driven 438 miles today, and after some ale, a long walk, and dinner, I was ready to crawl into bed early.  I had gained another hour today when I entered Mountain Time after crossing into NM, and still lost the race into Albuquerque to Deb.  She is mighty fast!

Mapman Mike