Tramway part 1

I'm calling this "part 1" because Stephen won't actually go on the tram with me.  We watched the tram go up the mountain, then we went for a hike on the Tramway Trail.  I'm hoping when my family visits in April I'll actually get to ride on the tram!
 
When we lived in the apartment, we would go home after church to have lunch and then go out for our hike.  But since church is sort of on the way to the tram from our new house, I packed a cooler and we ate our lunch in the parking lot at the trail head. 

The view from the car.

The tram building.

 We checked out the tram building for accessibility and I asked whether you can take a wheelchair right onto the tram (you can!) and we looked at the menu at the restaurant (vegan friendly!).  Then we watched a tram leave and go up the mountain.

 Stephen restated his resolve never to ride on the tram, and we set off on our hike.

 There are lots of places to stop and look out over the city.

The terrain is steep and rocky but the trail isn't difficult aside from some slippery loose sand or gravel.  It was actually easier to go uphill than downhill, at least while wearing sneakers.  I think a good pair of hiking boots would have made a difference.

 The really palatial ABQ houses are up here in the Northeast.  We could look down at some of them at different points on the trail.

 The views are amazing.  The forecast was for wind and clouds, but we didn't experience wind, and the sun was out the whole time we hiked.  In one direction, we looked out over the city.  In the other, we looked at the mountains.  Awesome.

 Once again, I overdressed.  The angle and intensity of the sun is such that it always feels warmer than the thermometer would suggest.  Plus, I haven't quite wrapped my brain around the fact that I don't need a jacket to hike in the mountains in early March.  First my jacket came off, then my scarf, then I pushed up my sleeves and I was still quite warm!