We moved north to Cochiti Lake Army Corp. of Engineer Park on July 8 for a two week stay. The well- run, quiet Buffalo Grove Unit is just 25 miles west of Santa Fe. The added bonus is a camping fee of only $10 a night for seniors for a 50 amp site.
During the week the park tended to be less than 50% full. Most arrived on Friday afternoon for the weekend.
View of the park from the Lookout.
The sun was setting over the mountains while we explored the campground.
In the morning, hummingbird moths were busy gathering nectar from the wildflowers.
We decided to take the Turquoise Trail Scenic Byway. We passed through the town of Golden, Cerrillos, Madrid, and over the top of Sandia Crest. After taking a washed-out dirt road down to I-25 we completed the loop. Madrid still had the original Maggies Diner, which is the only remaining set from the movie Wild Hogs filmed here in 2006.
Tinkertown Museum is at the turnoff for Sandia Crest. It looked cute and we thought it was worth the entrance fee. It took Ross Ward over 40 years to carve, collect and construct this wacky museum.
Many of the displays were animated.
The level of detail was amazing.
Under the Big Top at Tinkertown
More than 50,000 glass bottles were used to construct the walls.
Our next stop was Sandia Crest
We could see for miles from this 10,678-foot-high perch.
Can you see the Sandia Peak Tramway car?
There it is. We took this tram years ago but opted for driving to the top and hiking this time.
Albuquerque is spread out below.
Back at our Cochiti Lake Ranch
2 comments:
I wanted to go to Tinkertown when we were there in February but unfortunately, they had about 2 feet of snow in the parking lot and were closed for the winter. I’m glad you got to see it!
Sounds cold coming here in February.
Post a Comment