Towneplace Suites By Marriott Albuquerque Airport

... did those many years ago (well, maybe a couple of pounds heavier!). So now I'm sitting here at the President's club relaxing as much as one can with a group of New Yokas having a screaming conversation a few feet away.

Not traveling business class so I'll miss the pampering and good food. Hope I can get a few hours of sleep so as to be ready to hit the ground running upon arrival. We shall see.

As I drove toward Albuquerque, I had the memory of Bugs Bunny. This is where he would have always taken a wrong turn... in Albuquerque.
The "truth is stranger then fiction" part of this entry begins with my car's engine light coming on. If you've payed attention, this issue came up back in July; when I was entering Canada and took my car to a service place in Quebec city. The issue was never resolved and I knew ...

... little was open by thus time. Checked out of the hotel and headed out of town aruond 9:45.

We got into Albuquerque around 10:45 but went straight to the Sandia Peak tramway since it was a little north of town. We took the tram to the top- this was an awesome ride to the 10,400 peak aand 1.5 mile suspended ride after the 2nd tower to the top. We got some great pics and video here and took advantage of Mick's ...

... Unfortunately we were 3 days too late. The majority of the birds, thousands, had already taken off. There were a few still there and the sunrise was beautiful.
We then drove southwest to Silver City for a few days of exploring.

... is essentially a volcano that blew its top many thousands of years ago, leaving a large basin surrounded by rough peaks. This makes for some beautiful country, with many peaks and canyons, and very interesting mineral and rock formations. Natural hot springs also are typical of a caldera area (parts of Yellowstone also exist in a caldera). We stopped at a place called Soda Rock just outside of the town of Jemez on the way up the mountains. This ...

I was in Times square in NY taking photos about the crowd crossing the street then i went straight to the airport, get a flight to Albuquerque, there, i picked up a rental car and drove 8 hours to Monument Valley in Arizona, so, exactly 24 hours after time square i was standing in a desert, with for only company a lost dog...actually i appreciated the difference.

I get to the airport in Albuquerque at 4.30pm. my flight is at 6:30pm..I quickly hit the mens room
and eat 8 gelatin capsules of dried, powdered ( fine), peyote. within an hour of consumption
I'm through security and sitting with my laptop and the peyote kicks in."...Woah Mescalito !!!!
..please let me maintain and not have a major freakout here in the airport....just let me maintain and get me on the plane!!!!".....once on board it's smooth sailing...lol

... charity treks" in Nepal and Peru, some of which are service-based and some are just adventure-based, but all of which support philanthropic programs in these countries. If trek itineraries are not yet posted on the site, keep checking back! Tell your friends! Thank you for reading my blog this fall and for your kind remarks and wonderful support during my travels. Keep in touch, and come to Peru or Nepal with me! Happy New Year! Love, Ann

Here I am heading down another scenic byway. This time it's the Turquoise Trail which follows the ridge of Sandia Mountains. There were a couple of cute little towns but I decided not to stop. I headed over to the Sandia Tramway, the longest tramway in the world at 2.7 miles, taking one up about 4000 feet. I am not one for touristy destinations but the view of Albuquerque was worth the price of looking like a ...