Carolyn & Rob Adventures: April 2018 Albuquerque

Albuquerque April 2018

I had a great week in Albuquerque. I went on a hike at the base of the Sandia Mountain. I later drove to the top of the mountain (over 10,000 ft) and got some pics. There was still snow at the top of the mountain and it was in the 20s at 10 AM - Whew - that is cold in mid April (it was in the 50's at the same time in Albuquerque). Albuquerque is about 6,000 ft. above sea level, so it is an additional 4,000 ft. up to the top of the mountain. There is a tram ride to the top of the mountain, but it was closed for spring cleaning the week I was there, so I made the drive up instead. Here are some pictures from my hike.

I went on a day trip to Santa Fe driving up the Turquoise Trail (a beautiful drive). I passed a couple of small towns, including Madrid, which has a bar that was featured in the movie Wild Hogs, but I did not stop there (the town seems like a tourist trap). The state capitol building in Santa Fe was not impressive at all, just another building. I was briefly on the Old Santa Fe trail while in Santa Fe, it is now a road.

Another day I visited Historic Old Town Albuquerque. The old town square is surrounded by shops and a few bars and restaurants. It is very interesting and worth a visit while you are in Albuquerque.

I had lunch one day with the Vencore Director of the Albuquerque team at an authentic New Mexican restaurant, Tomasita's. It was great food and great company. Thanks for lunch, Brad!

I played golf twice on Arroyo del Oso and Tierra del Sol. The round at Arroyo was interesting. I was paired with 3 guys, one of them from Reston, Virginia (went to South Lakes High School and Va. Tech!), another was a retired judge in Albuquerque, and the third was a guy in between jobs. We had a good time. I played by myself at Tierra del Sol and did not play that well at either course. The scenery was gorgeous at both courses, especially Arroyo.

The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque was the destination for one of my many walks. Albuquerque has a very artistic vibe (similar to Austin, Texas).

I went on 2 short hikes to see Petroglyphs on rocks. Petroglyphs are images on rocks (not painted on) and they are believed to be hundreds of years old. Some have been found in Albuquerque and also in Tucson, AZ. I got some great close-ups with the zoom feature of my fancy new camera (thank you co-workers) that I received as a going away gift.

I also visited the New Mexico Natural History Museum and their current featured Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit. That was amazing. There was a detailed analysis of the Mona Lisa painting by a French engineer that was recently completed and lots of interesting things were discovered.