January 16th: Albuquerque and The Sandia Peak

Old Town Plaza with the San Felipe de Neri Church
in the background

January 16th: Albuquerque 

Our visit started the evening of the 15th ~ we arrived late in Albuquerque to a fabulous dinner prepared by Diana and Roger ~ A wonderful welcome after the long gorgeous drive through the Rockies.  The next morning we toured the Old Town and I have to say that it was not as unique as I had remembered. It was very commercial, but I was able to find some 'gems' in the otherwise touristy area.

"Old Town is a historic district in Albuquerque, New Mexico, dating back to the founding of the city by the Spanish in 1706 and comprises about ten blocks of historic adobe buildings grouped around a central plaza (a common feature of Spanish colonial towns)...Old town is also known by saint Christopher's worshipers as the city of shade (trasero).  

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Town_Albuquerque

Navajo Indian Horse Hair Pottery found
in Old Town
seen at Galleria AZUL in Old Town

My favorite pottery included Red.

"San Felipe de Neri Church is a historiCatholic church located on the north side of Old Town Plaza in Albuquerque,New Mexico. Built in 1793, it is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city....The original building was completed in 1719. The original church building collapsed in 1792 after a heavy rain and was replaced by the current structure the following year. The towers were added in 1861, a parish school was constructed in 1878, and a        convent for the Sisters of Charity was built o the west side of the church in 1881"
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Town_Albuquerque

A Traditional Ristra

Fermin Hernandez Gallery
Old Town Albuquerque.
Who would have thought I would see
such a lovely painting of a sailboat like this

Pretty Alleyway

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Afternoon of January 16th: Sandia Peak Tram Ride

with Diana Stauffer and Roger Durall

The Sandia Peak Tramway is an aerial tramway located adjacent to Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. It stretches from the northeast edge of the city to the crestline of the Sandia Mountains and has the world's third longest single span. It is North America's longest aerial tram.  Bell Engineering of Lucerne, Switzerland, constructed the tramway in what they considered their most difficult tramway construction project, primarily because of the steep and rocky terrain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandia_Peak_Tramway

View of Albuquerque and the mountains from the tram

Shadow of Tram

View of Santa Fe from the top of the Sandia Mountain Range

Ski to Santa Fe

Johns Fear of Heights expression!

Beautiful Diana

Beautiful Diana 

John &I with Diana atop
The Santia Peak

Roger!!!

Tram View on the way down 

On our way down~ Albuquerque view

Roger and John at the bottom
~
Tram cable above

Setting Sun in Albuquerque

Sun setting on Sandia Peak

Later that evening we visited my second cousin Debbie Hall and her husband, Dr. Lane Leckman. I have only seen Debbie twice since we were 10 years old ~ once about 20 years ago when I was visiting a jeweler in Albuquerque and then again last summer in Connecticut ~ It was such a wonderful surprise to see her at the Chase Family Party. 

After a very delicious dinner, Debbie and I sifted through lots of old photographs that her mother had saved and we were abe to identified many of them.  It was so much fun to see such old photographs of family members.