Nomad Life - Day 66

For some reason, I didn't sleep well last night and was awoken a few times.  Somehow, though, I was fully awake for good 0600 without an alarm.  After my usual morning routine (puzzles, reading), I was ready to climb the roof of Trish and Terry's home (0700) watch the balloon launch.  With perfect weather (50s, clear, no wind), I was not disappointed this time and dozens of the airships lifted off in plain view of my rooftop location.  I had to use my binoculars to improve the quality of the distance photos but I got some good ones.  Before long, there was a crowd of balloons hanging out at various locations between the Rio Grande Valley and 1000 feet above the ground.  They was so perfectly still, it seemed I was looking at a painting!  At 0745, I departed for the Sandia Tramway in order to follow the advice of the older (talkative and friendly) employee who'd suggested I try to join the "walk on" crowd that assembled without reservations every morning.  As I drove out of Trish and Terry's neighborhood, I passed many, many spectators who'd taken advantage of unbuilt land to get a view much like the one I'd seen from the rooftop.  After parking in the Tramway lot and reaching the entrance (0800), I found myself in a pretty significant line of people - I wasn't sure how many people could fit into the gondola so wondered how long the delay might be.  Fortunately, after following the crowd into the building, through the ticket purchase options (military discount) and entering the queue, I managed to get onboard "Flight #01", the first tram to the top of Sandia Peak!  By 0810, I had begun my ascent in the (quite full) tram - the ride took 15 minutes and carried us from over 6000 feet to above 10000 feet elevation.  There was lots of swinging and very little in the way of hand rails - it felt a little unnerving...  We reached to top and had exited the gondola by 0825.  On the Peak, it was rather windy and cool (low 50s?) - fortunately, I had a coat.  Otherwise, though, it was sunny with very good views.  Feeling a bit hungry, I made my way into a line for the summit restaurant ("TEN 3") before I realized they were only open for coffee and sack-lunch fare.  That was fine with me but the fact generated some major Karen behavior from some of the other guest, who harassed the harried barista by not following the rules and making lots of snide remarks (SMH).  When it was finally my turn in line (0845), I ordered a NM Hatch Green Chili burrito and ate it on a bench that looked down the east side of Sandia Peak.  After finishing my satisfying meal, I went walking on trails near the top and took lots of photos.  At 0900, I got back on the tram and headed towards the base of Sandia Peak.  On the way, I texted with Trish, telling her what I was doing, and she suggested I check in with the owners of the Coffee Shop at the base (because they were family friends of Bonnie's from the East Coast).  I followed through on this request at 0920 and met Jory, who was the spouse of one of the family's long time friends (he seemed happy to know me).  I looked around in the gift shop but then noticed that hordes of people had started to arrive by bus.  So, at 0935, I departed the area and took NM-556 in an effort to chase down some balloons I'd seen landing in the valley.  My instincts paid off and I found a few of them just east of the Sandia Resort and Casino.  That was interesting but I noticed even more were landing towards the north - I decided to get on I-25 to get closer to them.  I was finally able to get off the Interstate at Bernalillo (and earlier exit was blocked by the police) and used NM-168 to make my way through town.  Eventually, I found myself on NM-313, which took me across the Sandia Reservation.  During this time, I found many more balloons landing in the valley where the Sandia Acequia ran - I stopped to watch them and take photos at 1000 and 1010.  After I was finished with my balloon chase, I got on NM-556 (eastbound) and then took I-25 to reach I-40.  From there, it was about a 60 mile drive (west) towards the town of Grants, where I hoped to visit a few National Park Units and do some hiking on the Continental Divide Trail.  Along the way, there was a lot of truck traffic - fortunately, I kept up my speeds all the way to my destination.  Getting off the Interstate in Grants, I first stopped at the (closed) El Malpais National Monument Visitor Center (1125) and got a brochure.  The gate had some ideas for activities that were possible while the park was closed due to the government shutdown so I decided to try some of those.  To reach the main part of the park, I headed west (first on Old Route 66, through town) until I was able to get on NM-53.  From there, I headed south.  I had some trouble with my Subaru's CarPlay interface but was able to charge my phone via another method (whew).  Before long, I found the entrance (on a State Road, so it couldn't be closed) to El Malpais National Monument property (1155).  Continuing west, I arrived at the NPS Fire Operations Center and some clear indications of CDT routing (1204).  The gate, like most of the other ones I'd passed on the way, was closed and locked but there was a stile for the trail that crossed a barbed wire fence.  This seemed like my best chance to truly experience the National Monument so I took it - starting at 1215, I went for a hike (backpack and all) to the south of NM-53.  Temps were nice (60s) but it was very dry in the desert.  As I walked, I saw lots of birds but had no signal for my Merlin App.  Because the signage for the CDT was different (no blazes, only cairns and triangular signs that were oriented in the recommended direction of travel, I somehow lost my intended in the first mile.  However, I ended up continuing my walk on an old road until I reached a fence (about two miles from my car) for the NM boundary.  Feeling a bit foolish, I backtracked and then almost got lost again because I was clearly not on an established trail (although I kept seeing evidence of camping) and there were no signs to point me in the right direction.  It was a relief to reach the road and my car again!  All told, I logged about four miles total during about one hour and 45 minutes - sadly, only 0.5 miles of actual CDT due to missed clues.  Back in my car (1355), I next used NM-53 (west) to reach El Morro National Monument.  On the way, I ate my lunch (leftover Panera).  The road was supposedly also the CDT for several miles but I lost track of the trail again (no signs).  A bit later, I crossed the Continental Divide (7882 feet) and, by 1420, I'd reached the National Monument.  As expected, I found that it was also closed.  Surprisingly, though, there was a Ranger at the gate and he'd set up a NPS Passport Book stamp station and had brochures.  This gentleman was obviously dedicated to his work and was, meanwhile, protecting the historic markings on "Inscription Rock", a large sandstone mountain about five hundred yards away.  Since I had the opportunity, I talked with the ranger and learned a lot about the CDT - at one point, he made a comment that "no one hikes that section where I saw your car parked earlier".  Curious and curiouser...  From the gate of the closed park, I used my binoculars to try to inspect the prominent sandstone feature that gives the park it's name.  I believe I spotted some of the distinct writing!  Departing to the east at 1440, I drove back towards El Malpais National Monument on NM-53 and then explored on several gravel and dirt roads, trying to find evidence of the CDT (no signs found).  I ultimately located an intersection at Cibola County Road 42 and Plume Road (dirt) - I realized later that I'd found it once before (when I entered the area from the other direction) and Google Maps had suggested it.  However, the road was not passable.  Regardless, the map said I was on the CDT at that point and I gladly retraced my route towards the pavement.  The only really exciting things I saw during this time were some cinder cones and a lava field.  There is no doubt that NM has a lot of volcanic land!  Once I was back on blacktop, I followed NM-53 back to Grants and explored the town a bit more than I had in the morning.  I spent a good bit of time trying to find where the CDT transited the area and eventually figured out I'd missed a northbound turn earlier in the day; at that point, I'd been westbound on Old Route 66 (AKA Business 40) and passed the Pizza Hut that was right on the trail.  At this point in the day, though, I figured out that I had to follow McBride Road (which was Old Route 66) from Grants to the east to keep following the CDT towards the south.  I ended up driving more than 7 miles to reach I-40 and then started using my odometer to calculate the distance of the CDT that was following NM-117 - it turned out to be almost 15 more miles of walking on the pavement.  All I could think about was "the poor Thrus!"  Eventually, I arrived at the Acona-Zuni trailhead (the eastern end of the CDT hike through the El Malpais National Monument) at 1635.  While reading some signs, I ended up talking to a hiker who had just come off the trail - he gave me lots of CDT information, including the fact that no one follows an actual prescribed route through New Mexico, especially north of "Pie Town".  He also showed me a spaghetti-like map that roughly had the shape of a huge figure-8 (with lots of side trails) and hinted that the CDT is too young to have specific rules.  After my nice conversation, I drove a short distance south on NM-117 until I reached the parking lot for the La Ventana Natural Arch (1700).  The natural feature was almost as impressive as things I've seen at Arches National Park!  By that point, though, I was feeling ready to return to Albuquerque and took off my hiking gear.  As I was getting ready for my drive, I considered how I'd been finding a lot of new birds with my Merlin app when it worked - nice!  Next, I backtracked to the north on NM-117 until I got back to I-40.  While heading east towards Albuquerque, I had to deal with one stressor: my gas tank was getting really low.  Fortunately, the traffic was much better (fewer cars and trucks) than I'd seen during the morning drive.  I listened to audiobooks on the way.  Regarding the fuel concern, I used a landmark I'd seen while driving west: a Loves station with a good price.  Even with this location plugged into my phone, I barely made it...  After filling up my tank (1825), I then drove the rest of the way (via I-40 and I-25) back to Trish and Terry's home.  I arrived there at about 1900 which, unfortunately, meant that I didn't get to see the Sandia "pink / watermelon" effect that Merritt had told me about because the sun had dropped too low in the sky.  Instead, I spent the next few hours catching up on my blog (I'd really fallen behind).  At about 2000, the Balloon Fiesta organizers started firing off fireworks - I watched them from Trish and Terry's patio.  I didn't realize it at the time but I ended up skipping dinner and kept working on my computer until well after 2200.  I didn't go to bed finally until 2315 - much later than I'd hoped.  I definitely think I wrung out the most fun I could have in this part of New Mexico today!  Continental Divide Trail (CDT) Today = 29.70 / Grand Total CDT = 29.70 (* any Pre-2025 mileage not counted here)