Sandia Peak and Old Town Albuquerque

We started our time in Albuquerque by taking the tram up to Sandia Peak-which is a 15 minute ride. Everyone stands on the tram and you kind of feel like a sardine the way you're packed in there. Interesting ride up the side of a mountain with the guide pointing out some things along the way. One of the things he pointed out was a cabin built for the caretakers of the tram and other personnel. It is built on the top of an outcropping and the current version is the 3rd cabin built there. The first 2 were made of wood and were both stuck by lightning and burned down, so this last time they built it out of stone. There also a couple of dips during the ride that make it more interesting, in an roller coaster type of way. Very cool up on the top, about 60 degrees as compared to around 90 at the bottom. Spectacular views of all of Albuquerque below on one side and some nice views of the mountain on the other sides. Got some rain while we were on top, then headed down in the sardine tram. Some people saw hang gliders on the way down, but I missed them. After the tram, we walked around Old Town Albuquerque, which is pretty cool. We ate at Church Street Cafe, which had pretty good "New Mexican" food. We then walked around a bit more, got some gelato and ate that while people (and puppy) watching in the plaza. We were pretty drained by the end of the day and went back to the hotel to cool off and call it a night.