Balloons Galore

This year we decided to stop in Albuquerque for the spectacular International Balloon Fiesta.  Ron had never seen it and it had been years since I was willing to brave the morning launch traffic.  Luckily our friends Bob and Donna told us that the Escapee Boomers reserve 50 RV parking spots near the launch field and, since we are Escapees, for a mere $45 a night we could join them.  We called Judy who still had a couple of spaces and couldn't have been nicer to us last minute RVers.  I couldn't believe our luck which I think was because she had some cancellations.

This year the fiesta ran from October 1-9, but I checked the online schedule and we decided to arrive Tuesday and leave on Friday.  As I'm sure I've mentioned, I am not a morning person, but on Wednesday, we were up and on our way before dawn.  We started to walk to the field, which, although technically just across Alameda Boulevard, is actually about a mile away, but a very cheerful shuttle bus driver stopped to pick us up.

Wednesday morning is the Flight of the Nations Mass Ascension which begins with balloons from each participating country carrying their country's flag.

On Thursday and Friday, the special shapes balloons are showcased, but there were plenty to see during the mass ascension also.  I was amazed by this triple bird balloon.

I was calling this guy the Hamburglar, but I found out later that it's Conair.

This one just made me hungry.

I don't know if the cow is the largest since many of the special shapes are huge, but check out the size of her hoofs compared to the spectators.  It takes a long time to fill up.

But finally she took off.

Yoda and Darth Vader were more of a normal balloon size.

Being on the field with all the balloons is an amazing experience.

The phenomenon known as the Albuquerque Box was working perfectly that day.  The balloons take off and drift to the south.  Then they go up into a different air stream and head back north.  We saw the same balloons multiple times.

Some of the special shapes seemed to miss their window of opportunity and never did take off.  At first we wondered what this was.

But when we moved around, the astronaut was obvious.  He even has a reflection of the earth on his face shield.

The hugging bear and elephant were super sized also.

And who wouldn't love this sweet giraffe?

In the afternoon we visited Albuquerque's Old Town where we saw everything balloon related.

That evening, after enjoying a potluck with the Boomers, we admired the sunset on the Sandia Mountains out our front window.

We heard that sandia means watermelon in Spanish and the name comes from their color at sunset.

Tent Rocks

From our new spot at Cochiti Lake, another wonderful Corps of Engineers campground, we had to visit my favorite national monument.  Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks NM is just a perfect place (sorry, Carol.)  By the number of people who were there with us, I guess it's no longer a secret.

There's a perfect 3-mile round trip hike that takes you to the top of the mesa that Ron is inspecting.

Soon we were in among the cool rock formations,

And into a slot canyon.

After the slot canyon, we could see the rocks towering overhead.

But the best part is the climb among the aptly named 'tent rocks.'

Partway up, we stopped to look back.  (It had nothing to do with us being out of breath.)

We were so bad at taking a selfie, somebody took pity on us and took it for us.  I guess that means it's no longer a selfie.

We made it to the top.

It's interesting how you can see the tent rocks forming.

Here's the view out the other direction.  Maybe you can see the people at the end of the trail on the point in the upper right corner.

Like I said, one of my favorite places.

Back at the RV, I had to snap a picture of our view out the front window.  What a spot!

Love those Corps of Engineers parks.

Santa Fe

In an effort to catch up a bit, I’m going to consolidate our stay in Santa Fe into one post.  Never fear, though, since half of the time was taken up with mundane things like laundry and shopping.

From our parking spot at the Elks, we could see leaf color up in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains so we drove up to 9000 feet to take a hike among the tallest aspen trees I had ever seen.  But, sadly, they were still green. 

Sometime after my neck became sore from looking up, I noticed aspen leaves on the trail.

Hey! There are some colored leaves overhead!

But we knew we could do better.  So after our hike, we drove even higher.  I love yellow aspens, but ones with some red are even better. 

Then we rounded curve in the road and hit the jackpot!

And the top of the mountain was a nice patchwork color.

Another day we took the city trolley tour.  The guide talked knowledgeably about the town history and buildings, but spent a lot of time on Canyon Road where all the art dealers are located.  We saw lots of interesting pieces right from the bus.  I liked the way this sheep looked with the red Virginia creeper,

As well as this imposing Budda.

I thought this stately Native American looked appropriate next to the large cottonwood tree,

And I loved the recycled wolf,

And giant horse head.

After we got off the trolley, we stopped for lunch where Ron had pretty blue corn tacos and I had . . . well, I don’t remember because I didn’t take a picture of it.

Then we visited a few places that the tour guide had pointed out.  The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi was built between 1869 and 1886 around an older adobe church, which was then dismantled.  The two towers were planned to be topped with 160-foot steeples which were never built.

The magnificent bronze doors were added during the 1986 restoration.

This is an active church with regular services.

In a special alcove is the oldest venerated image of the Blessed Mother in the United States.  She was brought to Santa Fe in 1625 and placed in the parish church located in Santa Fe at that time.

We also made a stop at Loretto Chapel,

Which has been deconsecrated and bought by the Loretto Inn so they can charge visitors to enter.  The draw is the ‘Miraculous Stair’, so called because of the legend surrounding its construction and builder.

Our last stop of the day was the state capitol building which is unusual but fits in perfectly with New Mexico and especially Santa Fe architecture.

Although the building has no dome, there is a pretty interior rotunda.

The building houses an amazing collection of art by artists who live and work in New Mexico.   We enjoyed viewing the beautiful artwork as we wandered around all the public areas.

Ghost Ranch

Ghost Ranch has a long and varied history beginning in 1766 when it was part of a land grant awarded by the Spanish king to Captain Pedro Martin Serrano. Over the years, it changed hands many times, including once when the deed was lost in a poker game.  It is currently a Presbyterian education and retreat center, but is famous because artist Georgia O'Keeffe had a home there.  It is open to the public as a historical site and for hiking.

We decided to take the most popular Chimney Rock trail.  The scenery is fabulous.

And just keeps getting better as you climb.

O' Keeffe was inspired by the colorful landscape.

Chimney Rock can be seen from the road, but it's fun to get up in the hills for a different view.

Next we stopped in the trading post for an ice cream and to look around.  This struck me as funny.

Here's a closeup of the sign in case you missed it.

We also went partway up Box Canyon trail.  On the way to the trailhead, we passed this modern day hogan or maybe it's a yurt.

We came across this older hogan farther up the trail.  I don't think anybody uses it.

This log cabin sure looks realistic, but it was built for the movie City Slickers.  Now I'll have to rent the movie and watch for it.

We had a lovely day at Ghost Ranch and, no, we didn't see any ghosts.

Funny story.  I took this picture of a very elusive horse out the RV window.

She was loose in and around the campground the whole five days we were there.  Every once in awhile, the rangers would make an effort to catch her, but she just kept moving.  It was pretty entertaining to watch.