Me! On a mountain.
aka Sandia Crest is really cold in the wintertime, yo.
Yesterday I went on a small day trip with the family to Sandia Crest, which is basically Sandia Peak except it’s higher, on different side of the mountain (I think?) and not as high-tech/tourist-y. It’s part of the Cibola National Forest, which means there’s bears and shit, and it’s really pretty and I think I actually like it better than the Sandia Peak part. For one thing, it’s cheaper. Parking passes are $3/day and you can use them anywhere inside the park! Huzzah!
Going up the mountain was both fascinating and horrible. I loved looking at the forest and watching the towns below get smaller and smaller, but corkscrewing upwards for half and hour or so made me carsick. Also, all the broken trees pointing downwards towards the road made me nervous. I kept myself occupied with drawing in my art journal and keeping an eye out for wild animals (didn’t see any. Boo.).
In the winter there’s apparently sledding and/or skiing available, and possible some other fun things to occupy yourself with, but we skipped all that and went up to the very top, where all the cool stuff was. At the top there’s a “cafe” (more on that later), a gift shop, bathrooms, and a viewing area thing were you can look down at Albuquerque and pretend you’re a giant. It was pretty busy for a Thursday afternoon, especially since today through Sunday you can park for free because of it being Veteran’s Day weekend and everything.
Besides nature, there’s also the “steel forest,” which I think I could hear buzzing. I thought it was slightly creepy, there being such a big amount of towers and satellite dishes and things right in the middle of a national forest, but I can understand it being there (better reception, right?).
Sandia Crest is the highest point of the Sandia mountains: 10,678 feet! That’s about two miles above sea level and about one mile above Albuquerque. Albuquerque looks teeny tiny from the crest.
Once you get to the top there’s not much to do but take pictures, shop, and eat overpriced junk food. The “cafe” is less like a Starbucks and more like a gas station convenience store, only even more expensive. For instance, a can of soda is $2. Woohoo! Not.
The gift shop is more interesting; it’s also really expensive but it’s got some cool stuff in it, including these stickers which I love and plan to use in an art thing somehow.
Albuquerque viewed from the crest.
Other things you should know:
- It’s really really cold up there in the winter. There’s snow! And ice and stuff! It’s about ten degrees colder than whatever the temperature is in Albuquerque, and I’d recommend bringing lots of sweaters, gloves, hats, etc. And wear shoes with decent grip on the bottom (because of the ice). Also bring some money, because you’ll probably want to splurge on some coffee or tea in the “cafe.”
- The bathrooms are camping bathrooms. As in, they’re basically outhouses. Bring hand sanitizer because there’s no sinks.
- I was serious when I said there are bears. I think (I hope) they’re all hibernating now, but if you go in warmer times be sure to follow the instructions posted around the park and don’t leave food out/feed the bears/try to get a bear to come closer to you so you can pet it/etc.
- There’s a pressed penny machine in the gift shop, so bring coins for that if you’re a collector (as I am).
If you like hiking, there are plenty of trails and things in the park you can do, and I’m pretty sure there’s activities or events or something in the summer. The best part, though, for me, was how the mountains looked once you got to the top of them. Beautiful!
On the way back we stopped in Cedar Crest, which is this completely adorable little town with an amazing cafe– more like a restuarant than a Starbucks, btw– where I bought creme brulee and a cup of coffee. That creme brulee? Was my first creme brulee ever! And it was so good! I sort of knew what to expect from having read about people eating creme brulee in books, but I didn’t know it’d taste like…what it tasted like. Yum.
