After returning home Saturday morning I was back on a plane Sunday evening headed to Albuquerque and the National Conference on Urban Pests 2016. This year the conference was in Albuquerque. By the end of this year I will have taken 5 trips to Albuquerque. I guess I should go see my in-laws some time when I'm there.
Monday evening our company entertained a large group of researchers who do work for us during the year. I was tasked with finding a restaurant and activity for this group. We ended up with a reservation for 25 people at Sandiago's at the base of the Sandia Tram.
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| On the Tram. Gary Branness, Coby Schall, Roger Gold, Dong-Hwang Choe, Mark Coffelt |
I arranged for a shuttle bus to pick us up at the hotel and take us to the restaurant. We had to leave right after the meeting and it was like herding cats to get everyone on the bus and off to the restaurant. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and then went to take the tram to the top of Sandia Peak.
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| South Albuquerque from Sandia Peak |
The tram takes you to the summit of Sandia Peak at 10,300 ft. The sun was just setting and the views were stunning. The tram can only take 35 people at a time so while we all made it up on one car it took nearly an hour to get everyone back down.
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| Looking north from Sandia Peak towards Santa Fe and Taos |
I was in the first group down and we had to wait quite a while for everyone else to make it on the tram and back to the bus.
Tuesday evening the conference was going to the Albuquerque museum for light refreshments and a tour. As Donald Trump was going to be at the convention center next to the museum I opted not to go. Watching the news that evening I was glad I had skipped as it was quite a spectacle. The conference was good this year. I gave a presentation on our mouse control work at the Purdue Hog Farm in Lafayette, IN. We also hosted a seminar on residential mosquito control. Sadly this may be my last Urban Entomology conference. I have really enjoyed these meetings over the years.
