Albuquerque part 2
Sandia Peak Tramway
Another iconic area of the city is the Sandia Peak Tramway, located inside the Cibola National Forest. You are required to buy the tickets online and be ready to go on an adventure in the high desert.
there is plenty of space to park your car there, they recommend not to take your pet, nevertheless, they do have some cages in case you didn't know about this, but I wouldn't feel comfortable up there while my pet is stressed waiting for me, it would definitively be a vibe killer.
the tram is very big and secure, and it also has preferential seats, but on every ride, there are at least 35 persons so the ones in the window are the privileged ones, the ride is about 15 mins up to the peak, and the whole ride it's amazing, you can appreciate the geographical forms, due to his altitude you can see the forest remains mostly pines that blend within the desert vegetation, and the rocky terrain, you can see the different layers in the reddish rock that in the influence of the sun make you realize why is it called the Sandia Peak.
During the tram ride, you can see from the top beautiful perspective of the remaining forest of coniferous (Pines, Aspens, spruce, and fir), and the vegetation around being mostly shrubs, cacti, and grasses from this type of ecosystem. It's stunning the contrast between the rocky mountain and the vegetation, you can feel the depth of the canyon here and how small we are in the landscape.
There is a guide on the tram, telling you stories about the construction and history of the forest, also mentioned that sometimes if you are lucky you can see some animals like foxes, deer, and turkeys passing by, I enjoyed the late afternoon ride from 5 to 7 pm which gave me an incredible sunset even to was super chilly, you get multiple views of the city and surroundings, and there is a board with binoculars and an explanation of the iconic places you can see from there, "Totally worthed".
During the winter you can also enjoy the sky area, some years isn't open due to the lack of snow, the place is been closed since 2021 and this year (2022) they already announce they are gonna be closed too, this is a clear effect on the global warming and how temperature is changing the course not just of nature dynamics but also human activities.
From the top of the tram peak, you can visualize different geographical places like:
- South Sandia Peak, part of the Cibola National Park, known as Manzano Mountains (apple mountains)
- Los Pinos mountains
- San Mateo Mountains
- Rio communities, Belen
- Las lunas, Magdalena Mountains
- kirtland air force base
- ladron peak
- National Museum of Nuclear Science
- Albuquerque International Airport
- Old town Albuquerque
- Elena Gallegos Picnic Area
Is honestly worthed to be there, filling up your eyes with these colors and contrasts, it makes sense when you hear the name, "Land of Enchantment", you can imagine how The native Nation was living here in a sacred relationship with The Earth.
Unfortunately this blog doesn't allow me to share links or pictures so I invite you to go to my original blog https://www.junglejournals.soniacamargo.com/
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