February 9
February 10-11
February 12
February 13
February 14-16
February 17-20
February 21
February 22
February 23-25
We slept in a bit, then ate at the hotel's breakfast. It was okay.
We packed some items for the day, then headed out. Our first stop was the Balloon Museum near the grounds for the International Balloon Fiesta. Very interesting and not very expensive. We spent a couple of hours there.
This photo shows Carl attempting to fly a hot air balloon at a demonstration kiosk at the Balloon Museum. It simulates the responsiveness (or lack thereof) of a hot air balloon with a light breeze. All you can control is the amount of burn time.
Then on to the Sandia Peak Tramway. We hadn't ridden that in years. We changed into our winter boots and added a couple of layers of clothing (in the parking lot), then headed for the ticket office. We didn't have a very long wait. Unfortunately, the car was pretty full, so we wound up in the middle of the car with no view at all.
We spent about three hours near the top of the ski area. I shot some photos there.
The photo on the left above shows the view over the ski trail that runs directly under the main ski lift, showing the surrounding New Mexico countryside. The photo in the center looks more directly down the ski run that runs directly under the ski lift. The photo on the right shows some of the skiers and snowboarders after they have exited the ski lift and are getting ready to descend.
The photo on the left above shows some experienced snowboarders taking off on one of the many trails at the Sandia Peak Ski Area. The photo on the right shows a father getting his young children ready for their descent. The little girl is raring to go!
We ate lunch at the top - split a barbecue beef sandwich. Not bad.
The photo on the left above shows the shadow cast by the gate to the tramway we had ridden to the top of Sandia Peak. It displays the logo for the tramway very nicely. The center photo shows the tram car waiting to be filled with passengers for its descent to the valley. The photo on the right shows Sandia Crest from the boarding area for the tramway.
Then back to the valley level, where we looked over the gift shop.
Then we drove to Winrock, one of the first shopping malls in Albuquerque. We got a couple of nightshirts for Carl (he forgot his again). There wasn't much else there - they seem to have closed the whole mall down.
So, back to the hotel to look up an IHOP for tomorrow morning's breakfast. There's one not far from here.
Then dinner at Sweet Tomatoes again (yum) and back to the hotel to rest for the night.