Pork and Brew Championship and Sandia Peak Tram

Spectacular day here in New Mexico. Drove to Rio Ranchos to the Pork and Brew Championship. Fun day with great BBQ, music, chain saw carving, mechanical bull riding, and of course, Pig Racing.

Those little piggys are fast!

Drove through the countryside and took in the landscape.

Strange speed limits here.

We are staying at the foot of the Sandia Mountains which are beautiful. The Sandia Peak Tram is the worlds longest aerial tramway.

From the base to the top of the 10, 378 foot Sandia Peak has a variety of landscapes from rugged rocks,

to evergreen trees,

to snow the snow capped peak.

The tram has 2.7 miles of travel to the top which takes about 15 minutes to ascend to the peak. When at the peak you have a panoramic view of 11,000 square miles. Amazing! The ski season was extended this year because of the new 14 inches of snow they received 2 weeks ago and today is the last day of the season. It was 75 when we parked the car and it was 25 at the top. The terrain on one side of the mountain was massive rocks while on the other side was tree lined. It felt like you were at two different places depending which side of the mountain you were at.

Now I don’t have words to describe the view from the tram and up on the peak. Pictures cannot do justice to what the eye can capture and take in. We are awestruck with the sights we have seen in our country and this is only in the 1st two weeks of our trip!!!