You Can't Get Lost

 Albuquerque is located along a fault line that is upthrusted on the east and downthrusted under the city to create the Rio Grande Valley.  The Sandia range towers about 5000 ft over the city.  Sandia Peak is on the north side of the range and has been a landmark for thousands of years.   A tramway goes up the west side of the peak for both observation at the top and to help service a ski area on the east side.  I've wanted to go up the tram since I first saw it years ago, and today was the day.   We were able to buy tickets on-line at the bottom of the hill.  We only waited about 10 minutes for the gondola to come down and up we went.  The elevation of the lower terminal is 6559 ft and the elevation at the top is 10, 378, or a climb of 3878 ft (or 3/4 of a mile).  Albuquerque itself is 5,312 ft so from top to bottom, the tram is 5066 ft, or essentially a mile above the city.   This seems to be taking a long time to write ...

The big event of the day is Liz flying from Portland.  Her flight came in at 2:20 and I drove to the Sunport International Airport by myself to pick her up.  It was fun and sooo good to see her walking toward the truck.   Starting this Saturday, next week is Albuquerque's Balloon Festival.  There will be hundreds of hot air balloons and crowds all over.  Since this was Tuesday, we weren't sure what the impact would be on local eateries.   Jaye had a doctor's appointment on the north side of town at 3:30, very close to the Balloon Park and close to the El Pinto restaurant.  We set up reservations at El Pinto for 4:30 which worked out well.  Liz had not eaten since the morning and we wanted to avoid any potential early ballooners.   Dinner came after a pitcher of Margaritas and an appetizer platter. It was a fun meal and everyone left happy and satisfied.  (However, I see where maybe the shorts had not been a good inves...

 As I did my walk-around before I left Springer, I noticed that one of my tires was a little flatter than it had been when I left Laramie, where I knew it had 80 psi pressure.  Note to self: be sure to check in ALBQ. The drive was smooth as can be on the quality of the road.  It's time to resurface the distance from Albuquerque to Sante Fe.  It gets really heavy traffic and the surface deterioration is significant.  And I got a smattering of rain east of Sante Fe, not much more than cleaning the windshield.   I got to the Talbott's about 4:30 and as I was showing them the trailer, Lyndon noticed the tire and it was down quite a bit from the morning, so it must be a nail.  We got the wheel off, found the nail and drove over to Discount Tire.  They said it would be ready by 6:00, so we headed over to Walmart.  Being a warmer climate, figured they would have more in the way of summerish clothing.  Not much.  I got two shirts and t...

 I started telling you about the clothes selections that I made.  After I unhitched the truck at Colorado Springs, I drove over to Walmart to look for short-sleeved shirts and shorts.  I didn't need anything fancy, so Wally World was fine.  Except.... the end of September is not a great time to be looking for summer clothes, even there.  I found one pair of shorts my size, in black, not a favorite for me.  But they were only $7.00, so no complaints (other than what I'm writing here, I guess).  And there were No short sleeve shirts at all!  There were some long-sleeved shirts on sale (probably holdovers from last year!) and I got two.   After having some difficulties maneuvering the trailer into the parking lot at Smiling Toad, I was able to pull right out.  Three turns and I was on I-25 heading south.  This is all familiar territory for me.  We've driven from Conroe to Colorado Springs since high school.   The on...

 Yep, a new trip.  This is going to be kind of a quick down and back.  Jaye has asked me to come down for a visit and Liz had decided she wanted to have a quick visit also, so I decided to go crash the party!  Only having a few days between getting back from Yellowstone and heading down here, I'm pretty much driving straight down for five days and then back and visiting along the way.  Unfortunately, I'll be just missing the Albuquerque Balloon Festive.   On the way back, I'm going to try and see college friend Bill Russell, who I saw on the Southwest trip last spring.  Next, I'll see my first graduate student, Jeff Groom, in Gunnison.  Then swinging past Jay and Kathy Puckett before getting home.  Getting home in time to fly to Boston.  I didn't think I'd been that bad, but there doesn't seem to be any rest for the wicked.   I had a busy week after getting home from Cody, including trying to keep the blog going.  To ...

 Oh, Mortals! I can feel your pain. Because you haven't had a day like I have had today.  I feel like one of the most privileged people  on earth.  I've spent the day with Pete Simpson, one on one, almost all day long.  The only regrets are that Lynn and Sally weren't with us.  Lynn had to be in Cheyenne today, being the wonderful mother that she is.   Pete is 92 and Lynn is younger than that (I don't know exactly, and I wouldn't tell you if I did.  I'm not "that" kind of guy.)  As Pete says, "at this point, we aren't apart from each other very much."  And Lynn is very good about looking out for him.  So, when she heard that I could make time to be with Pete this weekend to visit the ranch (at our breakfast together last Monday), she jumped all over that we should do that, and almost set up the arrangements to make sure it was going to be all day long.  You gotta love a wife like that!  Believe me, I was a very willin...

 Chief Joseph Highway and Beartooth Highway.  Pictures are in reverse order of travel, but are in sequence, so this is my trip driving in reverse.   The Beartooth Highway has been called the "Most Beautiful Drive in America" by Charles Kuralt. I'm not sure "most beautiful", but it is up there and it is spectacular.  It is US 212 and goes from Red Lodge, MT to Silver Gate (or Cooke City) to the west.  .  Wyoming 296 is the Chief Joseph Highway and starts 17 miles north of Cody and meets up with the Beartooth about seventeen miles from Cooke City.  (The time and distance box is over the Chief Joseph Highway.)   I drove the loop clockwise, but the pictures loaded up backward, so I'll start just to the east of Red Lodge.  This is the back of the mountain that the Beartooth highway goes over.  It doesn't look that formidable.  The drive starts in Red Lodge, MT at an elevation of 5568 ft. This is at Vista Point.  It is abou...