Enchanted Land

I was in town for four nights and was able to see a lot of the local area; dinner the first night was at a local brewery next door to the campground, and the entertainment was provided by two enchanting belly-dancers--definitely a photo-opportunity!! The first full day included a ride on the Sandia Peak Aerial Tram; it was a 2.7 mile ride, ascending 3,819' to a peak altitude of 10,378'. At the highest point above the ground our tram guide mentioned that we were "950' above the terrain--or 7.8 seconds"; she received quite a laugh. Also visible from the tram are a few of the last remains of a TWA flight which crashed into the mountain in 1955 due to a compass error.

Later in the day we visited the Rattlesnake Museum which, while rather small, houses more type of rattlers than the combined collection of the Bronx, Philadelphia, National, Denver and San Francisco zoos; the five foot Eastern Diamondback was very impressive.

On day two, the first event was a visit was to the nearby National Petroglyph Monument; the visit was to a very small portion of the 7,236 acre park and was adjacent to urban housing. Walking over three groomed trails, we were able to easily observe some fifty petroglyphs--some is good shape and others somewhat damaged/aged. A common theme were animals, and lots of the examples included birds and snakes along with mountains, clouds, compass, etc. (Just a guess on some of those.) Later in the day we visited the International Balloon Museum; the city of Albuquerque is known for its Fall balloon festival, and the Museum is a very nice complement. One of the many displays included the Double Eagle V which successfully completed a 1981 trans-Pacific flight from Japan to California--5.768 miles in 84:31 hours.

On day three events included a visit to the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History; because the Museum is located in the vicinity of Los Alamos and the Trinity nuclear test site, it is a perfect fit. The facility has numerous displays profiling nuclear power, its history, weaponization, and peaceful uses. It also has in the entryway the world's largest display of the chemical Periodic Table in large floor tiles. And, what visit to a new city would be complete without a trip to one of the local casinos--turning $10 into $29. (Don't alert the IRS.)