DAY 22: ALBUQUERQUE

I woke with the sun. Earlier than I wanted to be awake, but awake nonetheless. Portland came over and cuddled up in my first-ever sleeping bag on the couch. The green Coleman that I got in third grade, the one that now has holes that have been worn or burned through the fabric over time. Portland cuddled up in my spot after I let him out and I returned to the couch to proofread and add pictures to the blog.

A little later, Luke and Valentine were up, and we sipped water in a sleepy early morning laziness, even though I was showered and ready for the day. It was time for breakfast, which was elaborate and gourmet for my standards. It started with Luke's bone broth, which he pulled from a jelly in a Mason jar, heated on the stove, and poured into mugs for us to sip around the kitchen table before breakfast. It is good for your gut, collagen, and provides other nutrients that are beneficial. Luke makes it here at the house from beef knee joints or whatever they have in house, every week or so, and this batch is slightly spicy. It feels so nourishing to sip in the morning -- and I thought, but didn't ask about the fat content.

After the bone broth course, Luke was already making the sourdough waffles that he'd started prepping last night. Valentine was making us all coffee on the French Press, and I was again, unfortunately, helpless. We talked over coffees, and I was happy to be able to help make "soft peaks" of the egg white mixture that was going into our breakfast, by whisking away and remembering a particularly painful forearm exercise from, "this one time in yoga class."

Breakfast consisted of sourdough waffles with fresh blackberries and maple syrup, cheesy scrambled eggs, and a bit of wilted spinach for good measure, dusted with nutritional yeast. I've never seen anyone outside of Oregon use nutritional yeast. It was delicious.

The morning was lazy, just going on our own pace even though things felt like they were moving right along. It was already nearly eleven when we thought we'd formulated our hiking plan for the day, but then altering it at the last minute when I said that I would stay for an extra night and leave early on Monday. That way we'd get another full day of hiking -- all three of us. Today, Valentine had to work, so it was noon or a little later when Luke and I left, with Portland in the backseat and drove up into the Sandia Mountains in Cibola National Forest.

It was just out of town, past some post-election excitement, and it felt like we quickly reached the foothills covered in low desert shrubs and started to see more of the landscape and slight elevation gain. Luke remembered that we should've taken Route 66 to hear the "Singing Highway" and then found an exit and turned us back in that direction.

I had heard of the Singing Highway before, or other ones like it. It is where the rumble strips or grooves on the pavement have been designed to play the tune of a song as you drive across them, trying to keep a steady speed. We watched for the grooves at the right hand side of the lane, not stretching all the way across. You had to hit it just right. We U-turned when we saw the start of them and drove, "America the Beautiful" playing magically in the car. It was so cool!! We had to loop back and do it again, with the windows down. The patriotic song choice seemed very fitting since Joe Biden had just been announced as winner of the Presidential election.

On into the hills and starting to climb mountain roads, only a short ways out of town, we entered Cibola National Forest and followed the winding road towards the mountain tops. All along the way, there were different parking areas and trailheads, but we were looking for the 10k Trailhead, which seemed to be pretty high up in elevation. We parked, and got ready with our daypacks and Portland, and confirmed the direction we wanted to go on our GPS apps, since there were a few trail options spurring off from here.

The trail was wooded with pine and birch, more or less level in many parts, and spotted with short stretches of snow that remained from a week or two ago. Portland seemed to be very excited about this hike, and I was, too. The weather was a bit cool with a slight wind, but I was still comfortable with just a flannel shirt over a t-shirt. We were able to make good time and keep a good pace since the trail was not very challenging, save for the white rocks of different sizes that often jutted out of the trail and had to be navigated. We weren't sure what type of rock they were. The forest up here was so pretty and "wild," and although we didn't see any wildlife, I knew there were a lot of big animals like cougars, coyotes, and Luke mentioned prairie dogs(!) that made a home in these woods.

I had decided to let Portland off leash for a bit, and he is a great off leash hiking companion, staying just ahead of us and looking back often. He stayed on trail without veering off, and we had seen very few people, all closer to the trailhead. We had gone a pretty good way with him off leash, but I put him back on once we started to hear and see other people and dogs.

We continued on, Portland tethered to my hip, starting to make some elevation gain. Soon, the 10k Trail we were on met up with the North Crest Trail at a stunning overlook point where we took pictures and could see the expansive valley and other mountains in the distance. It was a cloudy day, with a bit more wind up here, but the sun was cutting through the clouds in little sunbeam spotlights that hit the ground far below. Luke pointed out different places of interest: the "cute butte," off to the right, taller buildings of downtown, the volcanos, and the large antenna towers that had been pointed out from the living room window this morning.

We hiked on, now along the North Crest Trail, following the mountaintop and getting occasional overlooks with stunning views. There were still wooded areas, and we each had an apple as we passed a big stretch of burnt trees from a past wildfire. We shared the rest of the mate bar I'd picked up yesterday, and the denseness of the bar with peanuts and chocolate made it a great trail snack. Along the way, Luke spotted many burls on trees that he thought might be chaga mushrooms, best harvested from birch. He took a small cutting from one to try to do more research at home, but as a foodie, he was very excited about it.

We eventually came right up to the towers we'd seen from the window, walking behind them along a tall metal gate, and into a drive up observation area. The Sandia Crest, 10,678 feet. Here, there were great views on either side, and a whole strip of mountains towards Santa Fe was highlighted by the sun. It was a bit windy on the overlooks, so we'd put on our windbreakers. I always marvel at how amazing windbreakers are for a fabric that is so thin.

We hiked on, checking our route on GPS, and eventually looped onto some mountain biking trails to make our way back to the car - Switchback and Challenge Trails, cut us through the forest and into a large field of golden grasses, lined with birch and pine trees on the boarder. It was beautiful in the late afternoon. It had been just over three and a half hours when we made it back to the car, and 7.13 miles hiked. It was definitely one of my favorite hikes so far on this trip, with great conversation, views, and company. So great to have another hiking enthusiast to hit the trails with.

We descended the mountain on the winding road, listening to an old Ben Harper CD from Luke's collection (it had been Jack Johnson on the way up), and talking about the plan for the evening. It was time for a victory beer before dinner. I was interested in going to La Cumbre Brewing Company, so we headed there and let Portland nap in the car. We hadn't had a real lunch, so we ordered snacks from the Kitsune food truck serving Asian inspired creative cuisine. The whole menu looked good. Luke ordered pork tacos and I got a kitsune chicken sando (half a sandwich), and we went inside the brewery.

We hadn't done it last night, but all restaurants here are now required to collect contact tracing information before you can be served. We found a spot in the corner by a large, beautiful mural of New Mexican art with sort of a sugar skull influence. We filled out the short tracing form and ordered beers, I got the Project Dank, which changes seasonally, and this was the autumn edition. It was fantastic, one I would have taken home if they'd had it in cans.

I picked our food up from the food truck window, and it was the perfect amount for an appetizer before dinner. The chopped fried chicken sandwich with cabbage slaw and special sauces, with togarashi spice was delicious and unique. I haven't had anything like it, but it almost reminded me of a Nashville chicken sandwich, if I had chosen to make it spicy.

We left La Cumbre after our beers were gone, and stopped around the block at Canteen Brewhouse for another quick beer in their huge outside beer garden, sitting in Adirondack chairs in a corner near a warm firepit. I had a Peach, Plum & Cardamom sour, which was tasty but seemed a little warmer than I thought it should be. The peach had been the part that I was least excited for, but it happened to be listed first in the name, so that's what flavor I picked up on most.

We were behind our "schedule," not that we really had such a thing. We had planned to head downtown for the evening after dinner, but with everything closing at 10pm, that shortened our window of opportunity. From Canteen, Luke drove us back to the house, where we made dinner and I was glad I was able to help make this New Mexican meal.

Luke cooked up marinated carne asada, and I cut zucchini, red onion and corn for Calabasitas - a traditional vegetable blend. I also got to mash up beans in bacon lard, making REAL refried beans in a cast iron skillet. I've never really known how they were really made, but it is so easy! The beans and carne asada went into warmed flour tortillas with grated Tillamook cheddar cheese. They were rolled and topped with red chile sauce that was more peppery than spicy, and topped with more cheese and then melted in the oven. Calabasitas on the side, and the dinner was perfect! Quick to prepare, too (with two people working on it).

We didn't have much time to spare, so we drove into town where many of the streets were blocked off, but we couldn't figure out if it was election related or otherwise. There didn't seem to be much going on other than a few people honking horns or holding signs out their windows, but that has been pretty typical this afternoon and evening.

Eventually, we parked outside Marble Brewery, with a huge outdoor area and large vibrant New Mexican art mural that glowed under lights. We answered the typical questions to get in and took the last available table on the patio. We both ordered the Saison Blanc, after looking at the online menu. It was a very funky saison, aged in sauvignon blanc barrels with Brett wild yeast. So many different directions in one beer, it was good, but very unique and took some getting used to. I thought there may have been some bitter, off flavors, but still enjoyed the weirdness of it. It was last call, already, and we ordered a final beer for the short night out. The Cholo Stout, slightly hoppy stout was one of the best stouts I've ever had. It was so good, smooth and rich for a dessert and nightcap all rolled into one. Unfortunately, it was not a beer to chug at 8% and as they played the cringeworthy "Closing Time," to all remaining brewery guests, I dumped the remaining third of my beer into the plastic cup I'd had water in. We took the end of our beers to go, sneaking out the gates and enjoying the rest of them in the parked car before driving home. This seemed like something our friend Beth might do, never one to let a little inconvenience stand in the way of a good time

Valentine met us at the house, home from work, and we sat around the kitchen table and filled her in about the hike and brewery adventures and the wonderful dinner. Luke whipped up some guacamole and we had that with chips and salsa for a late night snack. I'd decided to stay (without needing much convincing from my new friends), so that we could all hike together tomorrow, on Valentine's day off.

She‘s a New Mexican, and tried to explain the tradition of “throwing a cruise,” sort of slow joy riding with music, just for fun. It was an interesting conversation, but I still don’t think I quite understand. We talked and talked, and before we knew it, it was nearly 1am and I still had to blog!

I didn't get very far. More writing to finish in the morning. I'm really excited to have another day to hike and see more of Albuquerque.