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Volcanic EscarpmentDay 14 we drove in some very high winds (again) for 420 miles. Passed through a sand storm, saw a whole lot of open desert, and did I mention very high winds (60 MPH cross winds). Mi Hyon drove for about 1.5 hours and w/ the wind it was about all her wrist could handle, but just enough for me to clear my mind. We can honestly say there is very little once you pass Gallup NM (Rt 66) and ABQ. The one interesting landmark was the volcanic escarpment along I-40. Being a non-violent fissure eruption, lava flowed w/ an accumulation of sand and gravel up to 25,000 feet thick. The lava cooled and hardened, transforming into black volcanic rock all along the highway. It looked like the state had dumped a lot of asphalt along the road ;-) It's an amazing change of scenery along an otherwise dry brown long strip of road. On day 16 Mi Hyon took a balloon ride adventure, I baby sat Maggie. She had to show up at 0545 to prepare and finished by 0900. To make the adventure even more challenging she was too excited to sleep the night before. She says it was
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The view of all but the lava. The haze in the air is mostly dust. one of the greatest adventures of her live, measures up to the Para Gliding she did a few years back in San Diego. You can sure tell NM is far different from Ca, in California she had to sign a 100 page legal release for ever possible event, in NM it was a one paragraph release;-) After her flight, we visited Old Town ABQ and had lunch. Old Town was largely an artist square, w/ a lot of small shops and a live Mexican Band.
Day 16 was recovery for MiHyon and it was too hot to do much else anyway. So we cleaned up the rig, Mi Hyon washed Maggie, and I cooked and cleaned grill. 16 days of living in a small space...in places w/ more dirt and dust than we've imagined existed on earth, sure coated the rig. As for Maggie, the only white left on her body was under her shirt ;-) If someone didn't know better they would have said she was dark brown...Tomorrow it's off to Amarillo and some more Rt 66. We're looking forward to hanging out at the Cadillac Ranch and having a steak at the Big Texan Steak Ranch.
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susan
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hot air balloons
Love the hot air balloon pictures. It must have been exhilarating!!