New Mexico

The Balloon Fiesta Route

We have been wanting to experience this Fiesta for some time now. 

 It is unbelievable!  

http://www.balloonfiesta.com/

Early Thursday morning (Oct. 8)

The mass ascension of the special shaped balloons.

They just made you smile.

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon, 

and fortunately for us there was not a session that afternoon

 so the traffic was heavy only with campers.

Once on the balloon grounds, it was easy to

 forget that our motor home was in a dirty parking lot

 with maybe 1000 other campers without any facilities. 

 All for $30 per night!

It was a little chilly in the morning (notice the clothing) 

but we were still able to "pose".

Rick (right) and Jan (to Rick's left) were able to join us.

They, too, found the experience fascinating. 

 However, the traffic for them was unbearable, 

so after the first night they joined us in the motor home.

We viewed three mass ascensions,

 two special shapes and one for all balloons.

We also attended one balloon glow in the evening.

  The balloons do not lift off but lean out their fuel 

to make a yellow flame and 100's of balloons flicker.  

It was beautiful but the pictures were just mediocre. 

Saturday morning, the balloons were drifting towards

 the RV park so we headed out early to climb

 atop the motor home for a different look. 

Just before climbing up our gracious neighbors 

snapped a couple of pictures.

From the motor home--here come the balloons!

The pose on top of the motor home.

Just after Rick and I climbed down this balloon arrived. 

 It looked like we would have had to duck,

 or just hopped in the gondola!

Between ascensions and glows the four of us toured old Albuquerque.

http://www.albuquerqueoldtown.com/

After Saturday morning's ascension we tried to ride

 the tramway to Sandia Peak. 

 We arrived as it was opening and the line snaked into the parking lot.

  Another time.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/cibola

http://www.sandiapeak.com/

After missing the tram we found Twisters.

This restaurant doubled as Los Pollos Hermanos 

in the TV series Breaking Bad

http://www.amc.com/shows/breaking-bad

Rick and Jan departed so Judy and I toured this National Monument.

There are over 5000 petroglyphs protected here.

http://www.nps.gov/petr/index.htm

While looking for a local restaurant we ran across 

this site on the National Historical Trail.

http://www.nps.gov/elca/index.htm

Back to Verde Valley Thousand Trails, Arizona 

We drove through Petrified National Park again and 

camped in another parking lot just outside the south end of the park.

http://www.nps.gov/pefo/index.htm

Even the beautiful collared lizard had a hard time competing

 with the colorful petrified wood in the Rainbow Forest.

https://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/Collared%20Lizard.php

Nevada

The Route

During our stay at Thousand Trails Las Vegas 

the average high temperature was about 104.

 So one day we headed to the mountains 

where we spent an enjoyable day in the mid-70's.

Private homes added to the beauty of the Spring Mountains NRA.

During a snack stop we learned about the area.

Over 900 nuclear bombs were exploded at the Nevada Test Site

on the valley floor below.

  Most were underground, but during the first years

 of testing they were all above. 

The "sinkholes" can still be seen and were 

produced from the early 50s to the mid 60s.

Near the ski area, the aspens were showing off their fall colors.

We re-visited this NRA, but did not hike to the area's hot springs.

Our last visit to this area included seeing the new bypass 

bridge about half finished.  This time we got to walk it.

We do not think that this counts as a high point, 

but you can see that our feet are smiling!

CHEESE!

On the Hoover Dam.

Lake Mead is at about 38% capacity.   

That's down about 147 feet in the last fifteen years.

 It has not been this low since it started to fill in the 1930's.

However, it is still beautiful.

Arizona bound.

Utah

The Route

We stayed overnight and toured the island.

The bison grazed in our camp site. 

 They were where I am standing,

 but we waited until it seemed safe for the picture.

  Especially since the afternoon before I had

the requisite bison burger while visiting the island.

You can nearly see Judy in this return visit to the capitol.

Judy, Don, JoAnn, Barb, Dennis, and Nai. 

 These good friend hosted a pizza happy hour

 and visit on their deck.

  We all met when the six of us (and others) put our motor homes

 on el Chepe flatbed train cars 

and toured the Copper Canyon in Mexico.

We stayed long enough that we had to move the party inside!

Cannot say thanks enough!  See you in December.

Millard Fillmore was president when Fillmore in Millard County

 was chosen by Brigham Young to be the territorial capitol of Utah.

  We visit presidential sites, but do not know if this library qualifies.

We also visit capitol's and have toured all 50,

 plus several territorial and first capitols.

Staying in southern Utah for a couple of days allowed 

us to again view the beauty of the area. 

 Kolob Canyons is a lesser visited section of Zion National Park.

At the end of the scenic drive in Kolob Canyon.

At 10,000 feet the aspens were turning. 

 We enjoyed the views as we headed

 through the Dixie National Forest.

Cedar Breaks National Monument is above 10,000 feet

 so breathing was labored while we hiked a couple of miles.

   The spectacular views are similar to Bryce Canyon National Park. 

Overlooking the "break".

Our hike through the aspens yielded 

more pictures than you can imagine.

See,

I told you.

After Cedar Breaks, we took the long way home

 and re-visited Zion National Park.

  This time in a 3 hour tour--mostly in the car.

We just made it to the Visitor's Center before closing

 and in time to buy an Angel's Landing t-shirt and postcard. 

 We missed the opportunity after we hiked

 to the top on October 18, 2006.

Angel's Landing is a great and very scary hike. 

 I was white knuckled the whole way up. 

 There are chains to hold onto so you

 don't fall as you climb the narrow ledge.

It is about a 5.5 mile hike with an

 elevation gain of nearly 1500 feet.

This was our third trip to Zion.

 I think it gets more stunning each time. 

This trip we did hike  the Canyon Overlook Trail. 

 That is Dennis across a side canyon 

on our way to the overlook.

The view at the end of the trail.

  Walk this trail in the morning for better lighting.  

But the view is still worth the walk.

Heading to Las Vegas for a week or so.