Trip up to Sandia Crest

So this was the weekend before hubby's birthday, and so he got to choose what we were doing.

He decided we should drive up to Sandia Crest, which is the top of the Sandia Mountains which we see each and everyday here in Albuquerque.

So I started packing Saturday morning for the day out. Wanted to make some egg sandwiches but realized I was out of mayo! So we decided we would stop and get some Vietnamese Sandwiches first and take the southern way up via Interstate-40 instead instead (part of the Turquoise Trail up to Santa Fe)

And thankfully we did! (you would understand more in the story below)

Anyways it was out first time going that far east on Interstate 40. We had never ventured to that area before. To our surprise it was very green and lush, unlike where we live, which is basically the desert (imagine images from Lone Ranger, etc). The higher we climbed through the mountain, we started seeing pine trees, the temperature got cooler, the air was nice and clean. Ahhh!!! It was nice. Hubby and I were commenting how it reminded us of the drive up to Tahoe.
We made a stop at the Tinkertown Museum, which is right before the Cibola National Park, where Cedar Crest is. It was a fun museum for the kids, and even for the adults. I liked all the different sayings posted every where, and they had some interesting stuff.

Get more information here:
http://www.tinkertown.com/

From the website:
It took Ross Ward over 40 years to carve, collect, and lovingly construct what is now Tinkertown Museum. His miniature wood-carved figures were first part of a traveling exhibit, driven to county fairs and carnivals in the 1960s and '70s. Today over 50,000 glass bottles form rambling walls that surround a 22-room museum. Wagon wheels, old fashioned store fronts, and wacky western memorabilia make Tinkertown's exterior as much as a museum as the wonders within. Inside, the magic of animation takes over. The inhabitants of a raucous little western town animate to hilarious life. Under the big top, diminutive circus performers challenge tigers and defy gravity while the Fat Lady fans herself and a polar bear teeters and totters. Throughout, eccentric collections of Americana (wedding cake couples, antique tools, bullet pencils and much, much more) fill Tinkertown's winding hallways. Otto the one-man-band and Esmerelda, the Fortune Teller, need only a quarter to play a tune or predict your future. Through a doorway and across a ramp waits a big-sized surprise: a 35' antique wooden sailboat that braved a 10 year voyage around the world.

After the stop, we stopped at one of the picnic areas in the Cibola National Park to have lunch. We had our first Banh Mi's since we arrived here in Albuquerque, and we got to say it was pretty decent. Banh Mi's are Vietnamese Sandwiches made with French Loafs, filled with grilled meats, pickled carrots, pickled turnips, cilantro and spread inside with Mayo and fish sauce. Yummy! We also got some durian and coconut flavored waffles, and also an order of Vietnamese Chee Cheong Fun (Banh Khuon). Quite delicious too :-)

With our tummies full, we drove up to Sandia Crest. The view was amazing! We could see all of Albuquerque, the Rio Grande river and the nearby cities of Rio Rancho, Placitas, Corrales, and Bernalilo, to the western side of the mountain. And to the east, we see this gorgeous view of far off mountains.

Then it was time to go back home. We decided to take another route down the mountain, per our GPS instructions. This time to go north and then west back onto Interstate 25 to our home. To our surprise, it was almost 10 miles of unpaved road. Aiyaiyai!!! It was an experience in deed. Hubby was imagining he was driving the jeep he also wanted. Thank goodness our Honda Pilot was a 4-wheel drive.

In all, it was a very nice day out :-)

Lunch - Picnic at Cibola National Park

At Tinkertown museum