We might be considered unimaginative because we have pretty much exhausted our list of stuff we wanted to do here in Albuquerque. The Balloon Fiesta is still a non-event for us because we have been near the Fiesta grounds twice and still await our first sighting. In addition to some unfortunate weather the ascensions are mostly around 7:00 AM which is somewhat early for us.
We elected to go back up Sandia Crest (el. 10670′)and were rewarded with a drive that looked different than it did Saturday before last. The Aspen trees are changing color and the breezes on the sides of Sandia Peak wiggle the leaves resulting in a great show. Some of the Aspens are green, some yellow and the rest red. It is pretty neat. The views in all directions from the Peak are terrific, particularly with today’s balloon flight cancelling wind and clouds racing up the west face of the mountain. Got pix.
We descended after a while but instead of heading back down NM-14 to our trailer, we headed north towards Santa Fe for a while. There are some stunning views of wide-open New Mexico land with multiple ranges of mountains visible in the background. After a bit we turned east and south back toward Edgewood on I-40. We noted a Wal-Mart next to the highway and we needed some deli meat so we pulled in to do some light shopping.
The deli was closed for a mysterious reason that seemed to be unknown to other Wal-Mart personnel. Some who worked in adjacent sections responded “Oh, is it closed?” when queried about the lack of deli staff. We left still stumped.