Greetings from our final full day in New Mexico. We had a great time! We enjoyed the sunshine, seeing all the interesting geological features, learning about New Mexican history and eating lots of great food!

Today we had a reservation for the Sandia Tramway. This is the third longest tramway in the world at 2.7 miles and reaches an elevation of 10,378 feet. It was only a short distance from our rental and we had tickets to go up anytime between 9 and 11 a.m. We arrived there about 9:30 a.m. and didn’t need to wait long to get on board. For my longtime readers you will remember that cable cars are not my favorite.

On the ride up they kept telling us how normally these tramways would have more towers but they couldn’t add more towers here because of the terrain. I did not need to know that sir. Throughout the ride the tramway car would slow down. At one point we were almost stationary above a huge canyon and the driver helpfully shared that this was the highest distance we would be from the ground at 1,000 feet.

The car was crowded and I was glad to be out of it. We both could feel the 10,000 feet elevation. It makes our legs feel heavy and the air is thinner. We had a short hike planned out to an overlook. It didn’t take us much time, but going up even short climbs is so much harder. We’ve experienced this before with other high altitude journeys and it always amazes me how the air feels thicker and heavier when you get back to lower elevations.

The views were pretty good.

We enjoyed lunch at the restaurant there with a fantastic view. I had a chicken wrap and Jacob had a mountain cheeseburger.

After lunch we were ready to head on. The clouds were rolling in and I did not want to get caught in a storm. Once we got back to Gertie, we were on our way back out north near where we were yesterday to visit the Bandelier National Monument.

From the National Park Service: Bandelier National Monument preserves over 33,000 acres of rugged canyon and mesa country in New Mexico, offering a glimpse into the lives of Ancestral Puebloans who inhabited the area over 11,000 years ago. It is renowned for its cliff dwellings carved into soft volcanic rock, ancient petroglyphs, and distinct geological formations.

It was amazing! I couldn’t stop taking pictures, so here are a bunch.

The monument includes several trails but we chose to take the main loop trail. It has 21 different points of interest along the way. You can even stop at some of the cliff dwellings and use ladders to climb inside and view them. We bumped into a nice family from Seattle while we were there.

We both commented on how nice it was to be there when it wasn’t crowded so we could take our time exploring. We were also lucky because the weather was holding out and we had a mix of sun and clouds. It was quite hot when we arrived, around 90 degrees. Luckily, a little cloud cover came in and helped keep us cool.

The unique, swiss cheese looking cliffs at Bandelier were formed over 1 million years ago when the nearby Valles Caldera (which we visited yesterday!) volcano erupted, burying the landscape in thick layers of volcanic ash. This ash cooled and compressed into a soft, porous rock called tuff, trapping escaping gas bubbles inside it. Over time, wind and water eroded the deep canyons, exposing these hollow gas pockets and creating the Swiss-cheese-like holes that the Ancestral Puebloans later carved into homes.

There are thousands of ancestral sites throughout here. Toward the beginning of the loop trail you see the remnants of a large building that was estimated to have over 400 rooms and would have housed over 100 people.

After the main attractions on the main loop trail you can walk another half-mile to the Alcove House. Along the way we saw man signs warning us about bears, but what they should have warned us about were rattlesnakes! No, I do not have a snake in my boot but rattlesnakes always make me think of Woody from Toy Story.

We were walking along, minding our own business and taking a water break. I handed Jacob the water bottle and I heard a rustle in the bushes behind me. I expected to see a little adorable chipmunk or a bird, I did NOT expect to see a rattlesnake. When we both noticed it the rattlesnake, rattled at us! We said, “hi rattlesnake, you do your thing, don’t mind us…” I was ready to walk a wide berth away and around it but Jacob was excited to take photos.

It was probably about four feet long or so, it was a biggie!

While Jacob was taking photos, the snake slowly slithered right into the middle of the trail. We warned two groups headed our way and then continued on our walk.

We were both sweaty messes by the time we arrived at the Alcove House but it was worth it. There is warning right before you get there that says its a 140 foot climb and if you have health conditions to not attempt it.

They were very steep ladders and narrow stairs!

At the top is this huge open cave structure with a kiva inside.

We explored the rooms and then sat and rested for a while before heading back down and walking the mile back to the visitor center. We were already beginning to hear rumbles of thunder in the distance. Along the way a family asked us if the trail was safe (they were next to the beware of bears sign). I said yes and there were plenty of people on the trail, although we did see a rattlesnake in the brush. What I wanted to say is maybe beware of the thunderclouds coming in?

Within minutes of us arriving back at the visitor center we were seeing flashed of lightning and rain drops began to fall. Before we even made it out of the park, Jacob had to pull over because it was raining and hailing so hard he couldn’t see.

Photos and videos can’t accurately describe the monsoon we drove through. I just kept thinking how glad I was to be in the van and not still walking around the park. Jacob did a great job like normal. We drove through the hard rain for 10-15 minutes before it started to lighten up. I was glad Gertie is a little higher up, she made some great waves driving through the large puddles.

We drove back to Santa Fe for lunch and ended up at The Burrito Company where I enjoyed my hard earned Sangria.

After dinner we walked through a few shops. I was surprised it wasn’t more busy on a Friday afternoon. After wandering for a bit, we were ready to head back. It is about an hour drive from Santa Fe to our place.

We are packing up for our flight tomorrow. We’ve had a great time!

Until the next adventure!