We drove to Albuquerque on Wednesday, August 31st. We stopped at Johnny and Judy Watkins' home, and saw them and Kaylene. The five of us went out to dinner at Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, where we were joined by Stephen and his friend Helene.
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| Kaylene, Shirleen, Paul, Judy, Johnny, Helene, Stephen |
The next morning we went out to breakfast with Johnny and Judy, here:
Then Shirleen & I drove to pick up Stephen, and take him to lunch (he chose the La Salita Restaurant -- for authentic New Mexican food). The three of us then went to the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. Stephen likes to get out hiking from time to time, and this is one of the places he enjoys.
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| Shirleen and Stephen |
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| Paul |
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| Shirleen and Stephen |
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| Shirleen and Stephen |
The three of us went back to Stephen's apartment complex, and were joined by Kaylene (who had attended a class earlier that day at the University of New Mexico). She then drove the four of us to the Sandia Peak Tramway base station, here:
We bought tickets, and the four of us (along with lot of other folks) boarded the tramway car shown below.
There are actually two tramcars in operation; one goes up the tramway while the other comes down. The views along the way are quite interesting (some close to rock outcroppings, canyon overlooks, and transiting two towers). One of the towers has no service roads going to it; it was built utilizing hundreds of helicopter flights to transport workers, equipment, cement, and the tower pieces. Stringing the cables must have been an interesting challenge also. The whole system is a fine piece of engineering.
Below are some photographs taken from the tramway car as we went up the mountain.
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| Just about to dock at the top! |
And here's a link to a webcam up on top: Tram Cam
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| View from the top, looking down on Albuquerque |
Sandia Peak is forested on top. In addition to the tramway there are ski lifts for the other (east) side of the mountain, and a restaurant.
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| Ski Lift Platform Stairs |
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| Ski Lift Platform (over Paul's shoulder) |
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| Shirleen Near the Ski Lift Platform |
And here's a link to a webcam for the ski lifts: Ski Cam
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| Stephen and Some 'Sighting' Tubes |
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Snack Time in the Restaurant!
Stephen, Kaylene, Shirleen, Paul |
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Kaylene, Shirleen, Paul, Stephen
On the Restaurant Deck |
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Paul
Shirleen
Stephen
Kaylene
On the Restaurant Deck |
And, we did a little hiking...
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| Stephen |
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| Paul |
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| Shirleen and Paul |
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| Mr. Selfie! |
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| Shirleen and Kaylene |
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| Stephen and Paul |
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| Paul and Stephen |
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| Another view from the top (notice the tramway cables) |
And here's a tram car, docked, and ready to take a load of folks back down the mountain:
And here are some views going back down the mountain:
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| From Inside the Car -- Looking at the Restaurant |
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| The End of the Ride is in Sight! |
That evening we went out to dinner with Kaylene and Johnny & Judy, here (where Kaylene works):
After dinner we went back to the Watkins' home, and played a few hands of "Meet It, Beat It, or Eat It".
We are grateful we were able to visit with Johnny, Judy, Stephen, Kaylene, and to meet Helene.
With Albuquerque in the rear-view mirror, we drove to Colorado on Friday. That evening we went with the Cardas to dinner in Golden, here:
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Craig, Sarah, Shirleen, Paul, Leo
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After dinner we walked around.
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| Craig |
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| Leo and Shirleen |
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Paul
Sarah |
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| Sculpture by a Sidewalk |
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| More Sculptures in Golden, CO |
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| Mr. Selfie (again!) |
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| The "M" is for the Colorado School of Mines |
We stayed in Wheat Ridge, here:
On Saturday we went back to Golden, this time to see/tour the railroad museum.
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| Re-created Telegraph Office |
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| Paul |
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| Mail Car |
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| Leo |
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| Paul, by a Snow-removal Car |
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| Craig |
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| Craig |
After the museum tour we went back into Golden to look around some more.
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| Looks Like He's Fishing! |
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| We Got Treats Here! |
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| One of a Number of Interesting Cars on the Street (first Saturday, each month, May-Oct) |
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| Commemorating a Gold or Silver Strike...? |
We went back to Sarah & Craig's apartment for a while, then back to the Comfort Inn.
On Sunday we went to Church with Craig & Leo. That afternoon we went with Craig on a walk near their apartment, and on a nearby farm we saw goats and a llama. Craig cooked dinner, and we all ate after Sarah got home from work. We then visited for a while, and played a few hands of Quidler.
Then, on Monday, the five of us drove up to Ft. Collins for a tour of the new temple there. Below are some photographs of our visit.
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| Shirleen and Paul |
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| Leo, Sarah, Craig |
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| Leo |
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| Craig, Sarah, Leo, Shirleen |
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| Shirleen and Paul |
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| Sarah and Shirleen |
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| Shirleen and Paul |
That evening Sarah made supper, we visited, played "Four Crowns" (a variation of Five Crowns), and said our goodbyes. It was good to visit with them.
Tuesday morning we drove to Morrison, CO for breakfast with Gary Butler, one of Paul's missionary companions when they served together in Forbes, New South Wales, Australia (in 1968).
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| Gary, Paul, Shirleen |
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| Gary and Paul at the Outside Back Wall of the Country Kitchen |
The above photograph shows a wall painting of John Denver. As it happens, Gary had met him some years ago while doing security work.
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| Paul and Gary |
It was time to move on, so we said our goodbyes. Shirleen & I then drove to Durango, CO, and then headed into New Mexico, where we spent the night in Farmington. Below are some photographs we got along the way.
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| Shirleen |
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| Paul |
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| That Selfie Guy (once again...) |
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| Not too Attractive, but Part of the Scenery... |
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| Scenic Overlook in the Mountains Before Reaching Pagosa Springs |
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| Paul and Shirleen at the Scenic Overlook |
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| Paul at the Scenic Overlook |
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| Scenic Overlook |
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| Paul and Shirleen |
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| Shirleen and Paul |
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| Shirleen |
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| Shirleen and Paul |
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| Flower -- Near the Road, Next to the Path Leading to Treasure Falls |
We drove on to Durango, CO, then into New Mexico. Some time before arriving at a Comfort Inn in Farmington we encountered a beautiful glowing sunset.
On Wednesday we drove home to Mesa. We went by way of Shiprock, NM. So, it was only natural that the actual "Shiprock" be photographed!
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| Shiprock |
For more pictures of the Shiprock formation, click here.
Overall, our AZ-to-NM-to-CO-to-NM-to-AZ road trip was an enjoyable time to visit with family and friends -- the scenery along the way making it all the more interesting!
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