While in Albuquerque for the balloon fiesta, we took the opportunity to head up to Sandia Crest (aka Sandia Peak), the imposing mountains you see when looking east from the city. At 10,678 feet high, the area in Cibola National Forest provides a stark contrast to the area far below.
We expected to have some great views, but we did not expect to see some of the best fall colors of the year we had seen. Patches of gold dotted the evergreens and provided lots of reasons to stop and take pictures. As we didn’t get up there till mid-morning the light was kind of harsh but next time we go back we will be sure to make it an early morning / late afternoon destination.
Interesting note… “Cibola” refers to the seven cities of gold that Coronado desperately sought is the 16th century when exploring the area.
