A Fine Place
I’ve hiked to the edge of the South Rim in Big Bend National Park, and the top of Guadalupe Peak in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, but yesterday, I took an equally satisfying ride in a gondola to the top of Sandia Mountain in the Cibola National Forest just outside Albuquerque, New Mexico. We went for the views and watch the sunset, and I got both cases. It was especially impressive being so close to the mountain as the gondola climbed. It was the easiest peak I've ever done.
To start our day we went to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center to see the exhibits, and eat brunch at their kitchen. It was the best waffle I’ve had in a long while, and the exhibits were moving and entertaining. We watched a native dance, and contributed to the local economy by buying jewelry and pottery. My contribution was a nice mug, because I like mugs and this was a good one.
In the middle of the day we popped over to old town to see the square and walk the shops. Local folks were parading their cars, low riders, with vintage wheels that made me yearn for the days when you could actually work on a car engine without needing a degree in computer science. But that was then and this is now, and we are where we are. And where I am in New Mexico, and it’s a pretty fine place, and I imagine I’ll come again on another day.