Train Trip to Santa Fe

June 12, 2010.

We woke to slightly cooler temperatures today. It was a beautiful morning. We planned a trip to Sante Fe on a train. However, I was a bit under the weather with a nagging back and shoulder ache.

We left the gravel parking lot (Fam Camp) at 10:30 and I drove us all towards downtown Albuquerque to catch the New Mexico Rail Runner Express.

The hour and half ride from Albuquerque to Santa Fe only cost $8 per person round trip. Our train left downtown Albuquerque at 11:30.

Our train was a modern comfortable double deck passenger coach with forward and aft facing seats. 

The train made several stops in route picking up and dropping off passengers.

We arrived at the end of the rail at the Santa Fe Depot at 1:00.  The Depot is surrounded by shops. However, we did the total tourist thing and got on the free shuttle ride to "The Plaza" in down town Sante Fe's tourist shopping district. We walked the rows of Native Amerians peddling their beautiful silver, turquoise and copper jewelry on the covered walkways of state buildings.

All the jewelry and trinkets were beautiful. Of course the pieces that Joyce and I liked were close to $1K each. Too rich for our budget! The plaza is full of nice shoppes featuring jewelry and souvenir junkets. There's also a few churches and restaurants.

We ate lunch at the Sleeping Dog Tavern. Before long it was time to take a shuttle back to the Sante Fe Train Depot. The shuttles run every 15 minutes. There was a large crowd building to take the 4:30 train south. However, we got on without incident! I'm not much into the shopping and tourist thing, however, I enjoyed the train ride. I would have enjoyed it much more if my back and shoulder weren't throbbing all day!

We got back to Albuquerque at 6:08 and back home by about 6:30. It was time to walk the dogs and call it a day!

June 11th, 2010.

Another hot day at Kirtland A.F.B. in the Fam Camp that I’ve renamed the gravel parking lot.

After our morning ritual of walking the dogs, Joyce and I went for a another ride around the base on our tandem. Later, I took the car into Albuquerque to one of several Walmarts for an oil change and then I washed the car at a car wash.

That evening, my father and Karen went with us to Old Town Albuquerque. It would appear the Romero family was a prominent family in the era as the main drag through Old Town is Romero Street.

And The Romero House: Among the various architectural styles used in constructing the buildings of Albuquerque's Old Town is the Prairie and Mediterranean style of the Jesús Romero House next door to the Basket Shop.

This red tiled roof house was built in 1915 by a grocer who owned the  Romero Store at 121 Romero Street.  This was the last major home built on the plaza.

The building became a home for unwed mothers after Romero’s death and, according to the docent, perhaps tongue in cheek, was known as Casa Boo Boo. The second story of the building was added in 1961.

We ate at a local restaurant. Although steeped in history, the food in the restaurant wasn’t very good.

The majority of Old Town is tourist oriented with lots of shops peddling knicknacks. 

I had seen one too many by this point! 

We did enjoy the shops, people watching and walking around in Old Town Albuquerque. It was nice and cool by the time we got back home to the Fam Camp.

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.

Travel Day to Kirtland A.F.B.

June 7, 2010.

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We awoke to an overcast morning with temps in the upper 70's. I was out by 7:00 and preparing to leave Elephant Butte Lake State Park. My father and Karen were also preparing their rig to leave. I emptied the two 5 gallon diesel cans that I carry into my truck's tank before leaving as I only had a half tank.

After getting hooked up we rolled over to the dump station to empty our gray and black tanks. We took care of business and got on the highway at about 9:00. We enjoyed our stay at the park, but the conditions were a bit too hot with triple digit temperatures to make it enjoyable. In fact I noticed that I hadn't taken many pictures perhaps due to the fact we spent a lot of time inside!

We had a 3 hour drive to Albuquerque and the Fam Camp at Kirtland A.F.B. I-25 was surprisingly hilly between Truth or Consequences and Albuquerque with some steep down hills and climbs out of canyons.

We arrived at Kirtland A.F.B around noon and quickly set up in the pull through sites in the Fam Camp. 

It's not the type of park that Joyce and I like. Our section has no trees and no views except the mountains in the distance. It's basically a gravel parking lot with hook-ups

We paid $126 for the week. The park has 50 amp, water and sewer but no WiFI.

Once we got set up, we had to return to the gate and the visitor's center to get a pass for the base. As you may recall my father retired from the Air Force so we are able to use the Fam Camp because he and Karen are traveling along with us in their rig and we are their guest at the Fam Camp. However, the computers were down and we were only able to get a 24 hr. pass.

We stopped for lunch at the McDonald's on base and then headed back to the rigs. The temps were climbing into the high 90's and it was time to retreat inside again. By 6:00 p.m. we were able to go back outside. Unfortunately we get full sun on the door side in the afternoon. In the late afternoon, we had some clouds threatening rain in the mountains and a gust of wind nearly ripped off my awning before we could get it retracted. However, we didn't get any rain.

June 8th, 2010.

The next morning, was beautiful with temps in the 70's by 6:30. I walked the dogs and enjoyed the cooler morning temps. My father and I went to a truck accessory store in Albuquerque as I was looking for a tonneau cover to replace the one I have now. Mine uses snaps but it's a bit difficult to unsnap and roll up. After checking the prices, I decided to delay making a purchase!

When we got back, we took our trucks to the carwash on base only to discover it was broken. By now it was noon and hot! Did I mention it gets hot in New Mexico in June. I don't know what we were thinking planning this trip at this time of the year!

We retreated to the rigs the rest of the afternoon. Joyce and Karen had done laundry off base while my father and I were at the truck store. Joyce and I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the inside and vacuuming behind the furniture.  

Another exciting day!