We are enjoying our stay here in Albuquerque… we stopped by here partly because it was time for me to go for my six month checkup after having a nasty skin cancer removed when we were in Jacksonville, Florida. The other reason we stopped here was for Sharon to visit with one of her best friends she first met when we lived in Austin, Texas in the early eighties.
We have been enjoying quite a few hikes while here and have found out that we have become quite the “flatlanders” as these hikes have been anything but flat! Combine the increase in elevation with the fact that we are apparently out of shape for climbing steep slopes we have been huffing and puffing trying to get in shape for the rest of our mountain states tour.
One really nice hike was one we took along the eastern slope of the Sandia Mountains called the Sulphur Canyon Trail. The trail meandered through some nice forested areas along a creek that was mostly dry this time of year. We saw lots of birds along this trail and I even spotted a nice male Summer Tanager which I haven’t seen in quite some time. But the coolest thing we saw on this trail was a Horned Lizard! I haven’t seen one of these in decades. When I was a young boy I saw them all the time and many of these poor creatures ended up as pets. This one however was only photographed by the trail paparazzi…
We spent Sunday visiting with our friend Vicki and her husband as she invited us over to their house for a celebration of her grandson’s first birthday! Ryan seemed to fully enjoy his time in the limelight making for happy photos taken by extended family and friends. It was fun to spend time catching up with Vicki's mom, children, grandkids and friends on this beautiful summer day.
We also checked out another brewery using a Groupon I found that included two flights of samples and two pints for $11. The Broken Bottle Brewery is in the west side of Albuquerque and is located in a strip center. As we entered the place we noticed it lacked any vibe but sat at the bar and ordered our flights of samples. We received 10 two ounce samples each but after trying the samples we had to agree that most of the beers were underwhelming. Sharon ordered a milk stout and I got an IPA but in retrospect I think the only beer worth drinking a pint of was the Grapefruit Hefenwiezen which was probably the star of the lot! They did have some big screen TV's so we enjoyed watching soccer on one and the Belmont Stakes on the other.
Oh well there is more to see and do here in Albuquerque and plenty of red and green chili yet to try…
Why would TCU pick the ugliest mascot known to mankind? Great pic. As far as hiking fatigue goes, maybe it is not a matter of shape but something else?
ReplyDeleteLove he lizard! I too enjoyed seeing one this spring and also my first tanenger. Nature is great. Keep huffing, it's good for you.
ReplyDeleteGlad that you said the hiking was making you "huff" too. I thought it was just me being out of shape.
ReplyDeleteWe know what you mean about hiking at elevations other than sea level. Having spent the winter in Florida, we are saying the same thing. We will be heading out west later this year and are trying through long bike rides to get our legs and lungs ready.
ReplyDelete