Friday, 9/30/11: The Rally kicked off this morning with a day trip aboard buses with tour guides. The first stop was Sandia Crest, which provides a magnificent panoramic view of Albuquerque and 11,000 square miles from its summit at 10,378 feet. To get to the peak, you take the Sandia Peak Tramway, the longest overhead tramway in the world. Its horizontal length is 2.7 miles and the vertical rise is 3,819 feet. It is a double reversible jigback tramway and each of its two gondolas carry 50 passengers for the 15 ride to the top or back down again. Originally built in 1964-66 to take skiers up from the Albuquerque low snow side of the mountain to ski the other side, which receives approx. 110” of show each winter. It has now become a year round attraction carrying over 400,000 passengers per year.
The view from atop Sandia Crest, looking down on Albuquerque. If you look just above the center to the right, you will see a long green strip. The is the balloon launch field, the size of 82 football fields.
Next, we were dropped off at a local neighborhood store, the Fruit Basket, which specialized in chilies, both red and green. Outside, beside the store, we got to watch green chilies being roasted. Inside, in addition to fruit and produce, they sold everything chili: chilies, chili powder, chili jellies, chili peanut brittle, etc.For lunch we were treated to a Mexican buffet at the city’s largest restaurant, El Pinto, which seats over 900 people. The owner of this restaurant grows chilies and operates a chili processing plant.
Following lunch, we departed to Old Town Plaza, the heart of the city’s heritage. Settled in 1706, this village was formed in the traditional Spanish pattern of a central plaza surrounded by a church, government buildings and homes. Today it is home to more than 100 shops, boutiques and restaurants.
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