DDOG

After spending a whole night searching I felt that I had some very good scenic routes to drive while in NM third week of May. Today I went to plot it out and found that I had not bookmarked the info and I can not for the life of me find it again.
I sure would appreciate any help on planning a Sunday drive north out of Albuqurqure to see scenery throughout the north central and north east areas.
The Santa Fe Scenic byway and the Enchanted Circle were both part of the plan. Never having been to NM before I am looking for specific routes or maps

ElendilPickle

Are you only going to do this on Sunday, or are you planning a multi-day route?

Lee Ann

DDOG

My wife and I will be staying in Albuquerque from Sat morning thru Wed morning. I was planning on spending Sat in ABQ and spending Tues on the Turquoise Trail where we would probably do some shopping. This would leave two days for scenic drives.

I would like to spend at least several hours in Santa Fe at some point. I Chose Sunday as a driving day because it seems as though most business is closed on Sunday. I did have some sort of plan that took us North and then East and back down to ABQ but I do not recall the details.

Oh! The Sandia Tram ride was part of my scheme but I was not sure about a day.

Thank you for your response,
David

emalloy

Consider driving north on 25 to Bernalillo then taking 550 to route 4. 4 is very scenic, goes through Jemez, Los Alamos, past Valles caldera, and Bandelier NM, then over to Santa Fe. There is lodging in Los Alamos and of course Santa Fe, but I'm not sure about the rest. Bandelier is well worth a stop and is about an hour from SF.

If you use the search box for New Mexico you will find lots of information for your trip.

DebitNM

The Turquoise Trail will not taking anywhere near a day to do, unless you go to Sandia Peak and hike for hours. Even stopping at shops and having lunch at Mine Shaft won't take more than a couple of hours. You could add in the Tram ride, going down first and then back up, that would take up some time.

If you want a really nice drive, do the Enchanted Circle. It will take most of the day, but it is nice.

DDOG

Yes, thank you very much. Emalloy's post suggests spending the night in Los Alamos, I have already made arrangements for our lodging in ALB. Would it be practical to make the drives suggested and still stay in ALB for all nights?

DebitNM informs me that the Turquoise Trail is not a days excursion, THANK YOU for this information it comes as a surprise. Reading about the T Trail led me to believe that a person could spend days on it. Also I am slighty confused about the Tram ride. DebitNM's post -

"you could add in the Tram ride, going down first and then back up, that would take up some time"

does this mean that there is an option as to the starting point of the tram ride? When reading the post it sounds as though there is the choice of going down first or up first, obviuosly one would have to begin the ride at opposite ends.

Thank you for the help, I can not tell you how much it means,
David

DDOG

Another concern - Should I be concerned that many business may be closed on Sunday? It would be convient for me to ride the Tram and go to the T Trail on Sunday but my DW would be dissapointed if many shops were closed. Thank you,
David

DebitNM

You can ride the Tram up first, from the western side of the mountain, go up to the top, walk around a bit and then take the tram back down to where you started. You can also take the tram from the top, go down to the bottom and then you would go back up immediately as there isn't anything at the bottom but a parking lot. Most visitors start at the bottom, go to the top, where there is a small visitor center, check out the views, make do a bit of a walk [can do some big hikes too, but it doesn't sound like that's of interest to you] and then head down. There isn't anything to stop you from starting at the top. The drive from SR 14 [the Turquoise Trail] up to the peak is pretty, so that is how I would do it. The drive to the parking lot at the bottom isn't much but regular city streets, although it does take you close to the mtn base.

Spend days on the Turquoise Trail?? I don't see how, it really is a nice ride between ABQ and SF, but I don't know what else you would do - there is Broken Saddles in Cerrillos, which has some nice trails to ride and you can rent horses there.

Staying in ABQ is fine, you can drive to Santa Fe in about an hour, to Taos in about 3 hours. You could even go to Chaco Canyon which is about 2.5 hours, or Tent Rocks which is about 45 minutes from ABQ. San Ysidro or Jemez is also nice.

Shops in Old Town in ABQ and on the Plaza should be open on Sunday.

The Zoo in ABQ and Botanical Gardens are great, as are the museums in both SF and ABQ.

Check these threads out, they have some great info and links:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-itinerary.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...r-santa-fe.cfm

ElendilPickle

I've only done the tram from the bottom up, but I'm pretty sure that if you wanted to start at the top and ride down you would have to park at Sandia Crest, then walk close to a mile to get to the tram. At 10,000 feet in elevation, that's a bit of a hike. Is that right, Deb?

Lee Ann

DebitNM

Hmmm, not sure how far a walk it is - I'll see if I can find out.

DDOG

You have all been so helpful! Where should I send the check? ;-)

DebitNM was right in guesing that we would not be doing much hiking, I do hike quite a bit here (MI) but my DW is not able to. If I get the urge I'll leave her to spend the payroll while I search for gold.

Speaking of my DW, she has asked about weather and without thinking I told her that it would be warm. Is a light jacket suitable for evening and morning temps?

David

ElendilPickle

That should be fine. It does cool off in the evenings here.

Lee Ann

sheri_lp

I spent last week in that area, and went to the Cochiti Pueblo which was so interesting, but do NOT take photos (according to the signs all over).

DebitNM

There is a proper etiquette that should be observed when visiting any pueblo:

http://www.indianpueblo.org/19pueblos/etiquette.html

I still haven't been able to get an answer about how far you would have to walk to get from parking lot at top of peak to the Tram. I just called and the Tram is closed today due to high winds. Will try again tomorrow.

DebitNM

The walk from the parking area to the tram is about 1.5 miles, with some ups and downs, so I am thinking that your wife won't be able to do it. So, if you want to do the tram, start at the bottom. You could just drive to the top and walk around, there are spectacular views and you don't have to go on tram to see them.