Elena Gallegos Open Space Ride

I invited a few riding companions to ride with me at Elena Gallegos Open Space in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, just at the eastern edge of Albuquerque.

Unfortunately, I forgot my Canon camera, so I had to use my cell phone camera, which is not as good quality nor size, but at least I had a camera!

The trailer parking area at Elena Gallegos.

Wonderful trails with views of the city towards the west. You feel close, but far away from the hustle and bustle. It's amazing how quiet it is on the trails within sight of a metropolitan city.

A bit breezy this day, but it helped keep us cool.

Lots of cool boulders alongside the trail.

Even though I was technically leading, or guiding this ride, Apache and I rode far in the back because our riding companion's horses were much faster...and because I prefer to mosy and enjoy the scenery and take photos, instead of racing along the trails.

I love the sections that travel through groves of trees and large boulders.

And there was always breathtaking vistas of the Sandia Mountains!

I managed to get my riding companions to stop long enough to take a few photos with the Sandia Mountains as our backdrop. Pretty incredible!

Apache seems to be thinking, "Let's stop taking photos and explore this trail!"

 

The foothills are misleading if you look at them from far away. They appear to be mostly flat, but there are lots of fun hills to ride up and down. I get bored riding flat trails. Bring on the hills and mountains!

Here I am checking one of the trail signs to make sure we were going in the right direction.

Check out those Sandia Mountains!!

We stopped for a lunch break in a grove of trees with views of the gorgeous mountains.

Just me relaxing against a boulder during lunch.

 

The vistas of the Sandia Mountains is even more amazing through the ears of my awesome Apache mare!

Enjoying such a beautiful day.

Looking west towards the city.

I enjoyed riding through this deep, rugged canyon.

The trail went through this lovely rock garden area.

But to enter in the rock garden, your horse must climb over those boulders in the middle of this photo. I took this photo after we had ridden over those boulders.

Sometimes the Sandias peek through the trees.

 

And then spread out before you in their full glory!

Up on the top of the Sandias, if you look closely, you can see the radio towers on the left, kiwanis cabin in the middle, and the Sandia Peak Tram on the right.

Such a gorgeous place to ride!

I never tire of this view!!!

The Sandia Mountain vistas are always changing depending on the movement of the clouds.

Something funny happened when I returned to my trailer at the end of the ride.
I discovered that, when I had hooked up Apache's reins after lunch, I had somehow clipped both reins to the same side, her right side. And I had ridden like that for over an hour!
It's not wonder Apache was a bit difficult to turn! Poor girl was probably confused. I felt so bad. But I was thankful that Apache was so incredibly patient. I love my girl!

After the ride, we gathered together for some celebratory beers. What a great view!

My rig and my horse and those gorgeous Sandia Mountains!!