June 10, 2010.

Again we woke to a beautiful sunny morning. We slept in a little till 8:00. My father and Karen made breakfast for us at their rig.

Today we planned to visit Sandia Peak Ski and Tramway and take the tram to the summit. We left around noon and drove to the base of the mountains to the tramway. Joyce and Karen had already purchased our tickets on base with a small discount.

They call each trip a “flight” and when we checked in we were assigned boarding passes for flight 11.

The ride up and back takes about 15 minutes each way to cover the 2.7 miles.

There are very few seats along the walls of the tram so almost everyone stood on the trip up and back.

Once at the peak we posed for the obligatory pictures. It was pretty windy at the top with gusts of 20-25 mph. 

The temps at the top were in the 60’s while below it was in the 90’s.

At the top there is a restaurant with an appropriate name “High Finance”. It seemed to be in direct reference to the meal prices! We checked out the menu but decided to pass. There are also hiking trails at the top and bike trails. Apparently, you and your bike can travel up the other side of the mountain on ski lifts on certain days of the week and then of course ride the bike down.

The views from the top were spectacular. If you are afraid of heights, this may not be something you want to experience!

The trams seemed to disappear as they moved down the mountain on the cables. There are only two trams and they counterbalance each other along the pulley system. One arrives at the top at the same time the other arrives at the bottom.

After spending some time enjoying the cool temps and the vistas, we took the tram back. I'm happy to report that both trips were uneventful!

We stopped for a late lunch/ dinner at Taco Cabana on the way home. We enjoyed the excursion and it's worth the visit. The Tram's last uphill trip is at 9 pm and we were told the night trips are especially beautiful.