Sandia Peak, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2006-07

Mary Lou and I have taken the tram up to the top of Sandia Peak at least three times. It a great view from the top. There is a great restaurant with a panoramic view of the valley nearly 4000 feet below.

The Sandia Mountains consist mainly of uplifted granite with a thin topping of sedimentary rock. "Sandia," Spanish for watermelon, was named so because the rock took a reddish glow in the late afternoon sun. The trees along the ridge reminded the early Spanish settlers of watermelon rind.

The 2.7 mile tram is the longest in the world. The tram rises over 3800 feet. If you come down after sunset, the lights of Albuquerque are a beautiful view. On the down side of that, the stronger evening breezes make for a "rocking" good time on the way down in the dark.

Great view of the valley and Albuquerque. The Rio Grande River, which runs right through Albuqerque, can be seen in the far background.
Found these two deer up at the top during one of our visits.
Another view of the tram.
More scenery from 10, 678 feet.

Down at the base of tram in the valley it's about 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer, on average, than on top of Sandia Peak. Even in the heat of summer, smart folk bring a sweater or jacket if they plan on staying up on top until sunset. Cactus is very where down there.

New Mexico Scenic Train Ride - June, 2007

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railway travels between Chama, New Mexico to Antonito, Colorado. During the trip the train crosses the Continental Divide and has an incredible view of the mountains and valleys in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. The train uses a true coal-fired steam engine with restored passenger cars from the late 1800's. Mary Lou and I truly love the ride and have done it twice, with the photos below from our June 2007 trip.

We left in the morning about 9:00 am.

For much of the trip I stood between the first passenger car and the train (coal and water car was directly in front of me)
Looking back at the cars in tow and the valley

We got to see some beautiful "Marlboro Country" including the cattle grazing down by the river.

Lots of mountains

Saw some wildlife like the elk in this photo

We stopped to take on water for the steam boiler.


We needed another steam engine to help us over the Continental Divide. They may use authentic coal-fired steam engines, but the conductors and engineers used wireless communicators.

Yeah, the coal wasn't exactly environmentally clean as you can see from the smoke from our assist engine. I picked up a few coal cinder burns from riding so close to the engine. You smell a little like smoke when you are done. (Don't wear light-colored clothes if you ever take this trip!)

Looking back at a trestle bridge we crossed in the valley.

Grand Canyon, North Rim, NP 2007 & 2009

Mary Lou and I have gone to the Grand Canyon, North Rim twice since I retired. We prefer it to the South Rim because the South Rim was too crowded on an earlier visit. On our 2007 trip we came through the Navajo Reservation and the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument.We spent two days on the North Rim that year. In 2009 we spent three days.

A mesa on the Navajo Indian Reservation

In the Vermilion Cliffs NM you see, well... vermilion cliffs

Navajo homes on the reservation
Morning view from the North Rim


An interesting prominent rock ledge to walk out on to, which I did.


We were greeted with a forest fire on our first day at the Grand Canyon in 2009.


By the third day, much of the fire was out. Note the scorch marks on the upper left portion of the rim.
I drove out to the section of the Grand Canyon North Rim where the fire had occurred. I included a little bit of the damage in this photo, but I should mention that the fire was still smoldering in other spots that I passed.

A little haze from the fire was visible on the second day of our visit.

I tried to make the best of the forest fire haze when the sun broke through out on Imperial Point.


A nice view on the third day, though you might see some of the fire damage if you look closely at far left edge of the rim in the larger version of this photo.
The North Rim Lodge has a spectacular view of the canyon. We spent plenty of time out on the balcony in the mornings and it was as empty as it appears in this photo.The "high-end" restaurant inside the lodge was as good as its view.

The Great (American) Plains

Most people dread driving across the Great Plains states because they seem boring. Monotonous scenery, a lulling, drab, sameness of flat plains. Since I choose to drive instead of fly to my ultimate destinations, I decided to find enjoyable aspects of the Great Plains. Here are some pictures from Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, and part of Colorado. (click on photos to see larger image.)

This is sorghum, a common feed crop seen throughout the plains

Ahh, more sorghum

Yeah, there are miles and miles of not much

But the high plains on the Wyoming - Nebraska border offer a glimpse of the mountains to come
Wyoming has some high plains suitable for cattle grazing.
The thistles in the foreground provide a little color break in this plains photo.

And every so often you are rewarded with some delicate wildflowers in a harsh environment. These are primroses that were flourishing at temperatures that bordered on freezing.

This blazing star only opens up in the evening

Fenced in prairie land in the panhandle of Nebraska used for cattle grazing.
No shot of Nebraska (and northeastern Colorado) would be complete without a photo of corn fields (with wildflowers in the foreground.)
This massive field (1000's of acres) of sunflowers is in Kansas, though I saw similar fields in South Dakota.
Here are some South Dakota sunflowers

Russell Kansas is truly a dreary small town in the middle of nowhere. It has two grain elevators and a water tower in the picture which makes it bigger than many of it's counterparts in the western region of Kansas. The motel room was one of the worst I've stayed in during my travels, yet this little town produced two native sons who became long-tenured US Senators, one of whom ran for president (Bob Dole and Arlen Spector)
An abandoned homestead in Kansas. A somber sight, and ironic since the home is of well-hewn stone. Please click on the photo so you can see the modern wind turbine on the horizon midway in the photo (to the right of the traditional wind mill) that is trying to use the most basic and predominant resource of the plains, wind.

Antietam (Sharpsburg) National Battlefield, Spring 2008

I have had an interest in Civil War history for some time. The battle at Antietam was the bloodiest in American history with approximately 23,000 casualties in one day. A lot of those casualties happened at the bridge below over the Antietam Creek. Confederate troops used the hill ridge on the left to concentrate fire on the Union troops who stormed the bridge.

Lots of memorials to the dead. The above one honors New York soldiers and is prominently located near the Visitor's Center.

Maryland is mostly low rolling hills around Antietam. The battlefield allowed artillery to cause much of the causalities of the battle.

This fine monument honors Philadelphia, PA troops


Plenty of wildflowers at this time of year at Antietam.
Not sure what kind of flower this is, but there were plenty of them in the fields.

Cape Cod, Spring 2008

It rained two of the three days we were at Cape Cod. It was too early in the spring season for most tourists, so we had most of the beach to our selves.

A view from our motel on the beach.

Storm clouds to the west.

The seagulls were our only companions on this rainy day in April.

Storm clouds lingered over Cape Cod for a couple of days.

Great sunrise for just us and the shore birds

One of the many rock jetties to minimize beach erosion.

Millions of small reddish sea shells.

Took the above photo from the tower in Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod

One of the many lighthouses on Cape Cod.