My Impressions... (Albuquerque, Taos, Chama: restaurants, safe, rail)

[TruckerDavidJohn]

I have been back for a couple weeks now. Bear in mind, my visit was a lot shorter than I had wanted but made the best of my 7 days stay.

I went on the popular tourist stops i.e., Petroglyph National Monument, Albuquerque BioPark, Rio Grande Nature Center.

Restaurants I ate at were Church Street Café. I ordered a meal with 2 Enchiladas, + 1 (an extra Enchilada) plus a small bowl of Red Chili Sauce. Yep, I smothered my Enchilada’s with the Chili Sauce (like there was no tomorrow) by the spoonful. The meal was very good and hot but tolerable and enjoyable. I think the hot chili’s are subjective for each person’s personal taste. What may be extremely hot for one person may not be as hot to another. I did also eat at Michael’s Kitchen in Taos. I Had an Omelet breakfast laced with Green Chili Peppers at Michaels Kitchen. Everything has Chili’s included in New Mexico’s Restaurant Menu’s as you already know, even Omelets, Lol, and yes the Omelet was good. I also ate at Stella’s Italian Restaurant in Taos which had great pizza I thought. I Took the 15 mile drive up to Ski Valley-Taos, glad I did.

I did the Sandia Peak Tramway. I do recommend to go early to avoid long lines for folks who plan on going for the first time. The young man who was our cable car guide said that line was already about 90 minutes long upon our return, I lucked out, I only had to wait about 10 – 15 minutes.

Traffic was not as bad as I was expecting after reading post on this forum. I did accidently end up on I-25 NB, South of Old Town, big mistake as traffic was at a crawl. I thought the main arteries while congested during late afternoon rush hour, at least moved. To be fair, I can not speak for all the main arteries, just the ones I traveled on, maybe I lucked out, don't know.

The people who I met or came across were the most courteous I have met, coming from the mid-west.

I did enjoy the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Rail excursion. A scenic drive to Chama from Taos was rewarding in itself.

[SunGrins]

Looks like you had a good and safe trip. Thanks for the report. For visitors new to the state, the food often stands out. I'm surprised that the tram was so busy...were you here during the Balloon Fiesta? I haven't ridden up on the tram for 5 or 6 years.

[TruckerDavidJohn]

I arrived a week after the Balloon Festival and missed out on the Balloon Festival up in Taos by a week. Yes, the food really does stand out and I had wonderful time. The weekend prior to my visit our Cable Car Guide told our group there was a 3 hour wait, that's seems a bit extreme but who am I to question, it was my first visit.