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Published: October 12th 2009
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First Balloon
A balloon carrying the Star Spangled Banner is the first to lift off. We were off to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta with Alki Tours. It is a 10-day celebration of launchings, races, and contests on a plateau the size of 54 football fields. After flying to Albuquerque and spending the night at the Fairfield Marriott Hotel, we drove to the Balloon Park at 5:30 a.m. October 4th. Our early departure gave us a head start on heavy traffic and got us to the Park in time to see three Dawn Patrol balloons test the winds.
At 7 a.m., a balloon was launched carrying the United States flag. During the next few days, 550 balloons would fill the skies in the biggest international balloon fest in the world. Wednesday was International Balloon Day. Thursday featured Special Shapes balloons from China and Japan. We would see honey bees, a castle, stagecoach, spaceship, Porky Pig, Nellie the Elephant, and Smokey Bear, among others.
Unfortunately, winds arose later in the week and there were eleven crashes as pilots lost control of their balloons. One balloon hit a tent and a 70-year old man tumbled 25 feet to the ground. A woman was hurt when her balloon bounced off a SUV. Another balloon crashed into a utility
Smiley Face
Balloons lift off in waves in the early morning. pole and cut the power to 3,000 houses. There were no life-threatening injuries.
We had a busy itinerary. Next we visited the Pueblo Cultural Center and watched the White Eagle Zuni Pueblo Dance Group perform several dances wearing elaborate feathers and beaver skins. Then we drove to Albuquerque Old Town where we enjoyed hearing a band playing in the park. Lunch was a delicious Navajo Taco at La Placita Restaurant. Pueblo Indian vendors lined the boardwalk and sold their beautiful jewelry, baskets and pottery.
That night the wind was too strong for Balloon Glow, but the Fireworks Show lit up the sky for half an hour. Explosions on the east side of the Park were answered by boomers on the west side. The Grand Finale filled the whole sky with colors and falling sparks.
The next day we drove to Sandia Peak, 10,768 feet above Balloon Park. Trams made in Switzerland carry visitors two miles to the top of the Peak at 12 mph. Each tram holds 50 people. We expected to have a view of 15,000 square miles, but winds were howling and we found ourselves surrounded by clouds, so we caught the next tram back
Lift Off
The crowd applauds and cheers for every balloon that rises in the sky. to the desert floor.
Caesar, the driver of our coach, took us on the High Road to Taos. Dwellings here are more than 100 years old. Geoff, our tour guide, wanted us to visit Chimayo Church, a National Historic Monument built from 1814 to 1860. Legend says a man found a cross in the desert and took it home. The next night it was back where he found it, so he built a church on the very spot where it was. Pilgrims walk from as far away as Albuquerque to visit Chimayo Church, famous for its healing miracles. Canes, crutches and wheelchairs are left by those who have been healed. Geoff scooped up some of the miraculous dirt for each of us to take home in a baggie. He has a long list of friends who have survived cancer with the healing dirt in their possession.
At Ranchos de Taos, we stopped at the Church of St. Francis Assisi made famous by the painter, Georgia O'Keefe. She painted the windowless, symmetrical back of the church more than 200 times and painted the front three times. The Church is so old an undercoating of straw protrudes out of the
Honey Bees
The Honey Bees from China were one of the Special Shapes balloons. weathered and worn clay surface.
At Taos, we check into the historical Stagecoach Inn where O'Keefe stayed for three months and painted. The next day we had a great adventure when we took the Toltec & Cumbres Railway up to Antonita, Colorado. This is the train made famous in the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman. It is a narrow-gauge steam train with a locomotive that belches black smoke and steam as it chugs and puffs up the mountainside. Two men stoke the furnace with coal going uphill and rest going downhill. A small, yellow spotter car followed us to watch for fires from the sparks. One fire was reported and quickly doused with water.
For many of us, the Toltec & Cumbres RR was the highlight of our trip as we stopped for a lunch of meatloaf, turkey, or soup and salad at a depot surrounded by brilliant yellow, quaking aspen trees. Train buffs lined the highway and crossings, waving and taking pictures of twelve passenger cars pulled by two steam engines. Best of all, groves of aspen trees were at their peak of yellow splendor in the sunshine.
Shirley and Margaret
We enjoy the surprise of which balloon will lift off next. Our driver, Caesar, met us at Antonita with the motor coach for the drive back to
Taos. On the way we stopped to take a photo of Rio Grande River Gorge 600 feet below. Here the river cuts through a billion years of granite visible from the highway bridge above.
In the morning we went to Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site 1,000 years old. It is the oldest continuously-inhabitied dwelling in the United States. It was raining and there were puddles in the muddy clay dirt. The doors of the pueblos were open and we were invited to go inside and buy jewelry, woven art, and pottery from the Pueblo Indians. I was relieved to learn they live in regular houses nearby and are dedicated to maintaining the homes of their ancestors. The children go to school in Taos, a town of 70,000 people. We had a laugh at a sign on one of the homes: "Real Indian Stuff." We had been warned to look for Indian stamps on the inside of the jewelry. This was authentic, all right!
We had lunch at Taos Plaza in the modern center of town where we enjoyed the sunshine
Old Town
We enjoyed music from the band playing in Albuquerque's Old Town Park. and 69-degree weather.
The next day we drove to Santa Fe, the third and last city on our tour. Kay was our guide for a Walking Tour. Santa Fe was established in 1619 and it will celebrate its 400th Anniversary in 2010. We visited the Capitol Building which is one of two that has no dome. The other Capitol with no dome is in Hawaii. Built in 1966, it is a modern structure. The Senate Chambers are underground in honor of the Indian "kiva" meeting houses.
We photographed the Governor's Palace, finished in 1610, for the Spanish rulers. Today the Indians draw names to sell their arts and crafts on the boardwalk known world-wide for the quality of the silver and turquoise jewelry.
We visited Loretto Chapel famous for its spiral staircase to the choir loft. When the Archbishop invited the Sisters of Loretto to build a girls' school in Santa Fe, they could not find a carpenter to construct their staircase. On the last day of their prayers to St. Joseph, a stranger appeared and built the stairs. Then he left without accepting any pay for his work. Even more mysterious, years later the wood was
Lunch Time
La Placita Restaurant has delicious Navajo Tacos in Old Town. tested and found to be spruce. There are no spruce trees in New Mexico. The Sisters believed it was St. Joseph himself who came to their assistance.
That evening we had our Farewell Dinner at the San Francisco Bar and Grill. Most of us chose a delicious trout dinner with pineapple and mango sauce. For dessert we had a tasty Mexican Flan.
On our last day, our guide Geoff took us back to the Round House (Capitol Building) to view the $6 million collection of art. One of our favorite pieces was a buffalo head made from paper mache, old paint brushes and nails. The eyes light up in the dark. Santa Fe is second only to New York City for sales of art in the United States.
Finally, we left Santa Fe for Albuquerque Airport. It is a 90-minute drive and we arrived in time to board our Southwest Airlines flight to Seattle. The final two days of the Balloon Fiesta were here and so were thousands of visitors from around the world. We hoped the winds would cooperate so everyone could enjoy the fascinating spectacle of hundreds of balloons floating in waves against the bright,
Pueblo Cultural Center
The White Eagle Zuni Pueblo Dance Group performs for a full house of visitors. blue sky.
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Phyllis
non-member comment
I really enjoyed your New Mexico pictures! I see I am behind in looking at your blog's. It sure looks like a very informative trip. Phyllis