Near the end of our trip and finally thru all of the states with not much to do or see, Dave and I were so excited to be able to do some outdoorsy stuff and experience things that we probably will never get the chance to again. My mom mentioned this cool lookout point to me she had visited years ago with her brother but I didn't even realize it was the same lookout that this tramway takes you to until after we had plans to go! It was pretty beautiful and I recommend going out of the way a bit for this experience if you ever are somewhat close to the Albuquerque area.
The website for the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway describes it well in this little blurb:
"A trip on the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway transports you above deep canyons and breathtaking terrain a distance of 2.7 miles. See some of nature’s more dramatic beauty unfold before you. At sunset the desert skies produce a spectacular array of color, and your vantage point from the observation deck atop 10,378 foot Sandia Peak in the Cibola National Forest affords an 11,000 square-mile panoramic view of the Rio Grande Valley and the Land of Enchantment. Located on the eastern edge of Albuquerque."
"A trip on the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway transports you above deep canyons and breathtaking terrain a distance of 2.7 miles. See some of nature’s more dramatic beauty unfold before you. At sunset the desert skies produce a spectacular array of color, and your vantage point from the observation deck atop 10,378 foot Sandia Peak in the Cibola National Forest affords an 11,000 square-mile panoramic view of the Rio Grande Valley and the Land of Enchantment. Located on the eastern edge of Albuquerque."
Dave and I heard there were trails to hike once you got to the top of the tramway ride but the trails were not marked. We had to walk down a random little road a while until we found our own trail head. It felt kind of cool, not really knowing where we were going the deeper we went into the woods and no one knowing where we were up on top of this mountain with such breathtaking beauty all around. We hiked thru such wooded areas and then randomly would leave the trail to go look over the edge of a cliff that allowed you to see over countless miles.
After our hike, we had a glass of red wine at the restaurant at the top of the hill before catching our tram ride back down in the rain at sunset. A perfect night that I hope to never forget during our 2 week road trip moving from the East Coast to the West.
With so much love,
Kate
