New Mexico-Part II: A Ride in a Hot Air Balloon

The Monday after the Balloon Fiesta, Les, Joanne, Art, and I went for an actual hot air balloon ride! Joanne was a little nervous, but agreed to go. It turned out to be a wonderful experience that we all enjoyed. Art and I were glad the Johnstons were able to share it with us!

We arrived at the balloon field about 7:15a and were involved, either helping or watching, from the time the balloon was unfolded until it was returned to it's bag. It was fascinating observing the whole process! Our pilot was a balloonist instructor, so that instilled a little more confidence in us! There were 6 of us in the balloon plus the pilot. Very cozy. We were afraid the day might be too windy to go, but in fact, it was almost too calm.

The ride itself was spectacular! We started out low, skimming over 60 foot cottonwood trees and the Rio Grande River, and at one point were 2500 ft in the air. You could see forever, including the whole area of Albuquerque, ancient volcanoes, and several mountain ranges in the distance. It was very quiet, peaceful, and relaxing. We were in the air about 1 hour.

Because of the calm wind, the pilot was unable to land where he usually did, so we ended up in the cul-de-sac of a neighborhood! He landed with one bounce. Whew!! The neighbors that were home came out and took pictures. A very exciting end to our ride! Afterward, we celebrated our adventure with a champagne brunch and we each received a pin and a certificate commemorating our voyage!

New Mexico-Part I: Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

We arrived in NM on Oct 5th and spent 2 nights in Santa Fe. Since we had seen the city in the past, we decided to visit Los Alamos where the "Bomb" was developed. The drive was about 35 miles outside of Santa Fe, up twisty, windy roads. It made sense to us after we made the trip how this whole project was kept secret in such a remote area! The Bradbury Science museum gave us a good insight into the history of the project and also some of the work that is going on today. The Los Alamos National Lab is huge and spreads out in separate buildings over many miles.

One of the highlights of our journey so far was the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta! We had always wanted to see this and it was spectacular!!!! Our good friends, Les and Joanne met us there, and we were able to share in all the fun! We camped right on the balloon fiesta grounds and were able to walk over in the a.m. and p.m. for the scheduled events. It was convenient, but we had no hook-ups for electricity or water. By the end of 4 days, we were running out of fresh H2O. No showers! Luckily we were all in the same boat!

The balloons only took off in the a.m., unless the weather was too bad. All the public, and there were lots of them, were allowed to walk among the balloons as they were inflating and taking off, which made it even more fun! The first 2 mornings there were special shape balloons that flew. There was everything you could imagine, including a stagecoach, Noah's Ark, a huge cow complete with big udder, a Halloween haunted house, a spaceship, and Darth Vader's head! Saturday a.m. there was a mass ascension and 550 balloons participated! Our pictures don't really do these events justice! After the am ascensions, there were some balloon competitions, where the balloonists would try and hit targets by dropping markers and also try and grab $ attached to high poles.

In the evening, they had what they called "Glodeos" or "Moonglos" where the balloons were tethered and lit in unison with propane blasts when it was dusk. Very beautiful to see! Unfortunately, the event was cancelled one evening due to high winds. Fireworks followed each night. The four days there were a wonderful experience!!!!!!!!

Colorado Springs, Colorado

We have been in Colorado Springs for almost 2 weeks. While here, we got caught up on Art and Diane things; i.e. haircuts. We also made some improvements to the RV - satellite TV and a portable generator!!! I guess we could have lived without the satellite, but at least we won't freeze to death if we are "boon docking" - camping without a source of electricity.

Colorado Springs is at the foot of Pikes Peak. It seems everywhere you go there is Pikes Peak peeking at you! We are staying within walking distance of the historic Colorado City, which was the original city in this area. Art and I have enjoyed being able to walk to neat restaurants and shops nearby.

A highlight of our visit was taking the cog train to the summit of Pikes Peak. It was a 3 hour trip up and down with a 45 minute stay at the top. The views were unbelievable! It was 30 degrees colder at the summit (33 degrees) and there was a pile of snow. The driving road to the summit was closed due to the snow and ice. Art and I were a little dizzy and short of breath at over 14,000 ft!

Garden of the Gods is a park with huge red sandstone formations which have developed over the last 2 million years. They are all different and awe-inspiring to look at. One of the most famous rocks is called "Balanced Rock". There is rock climbing allowed in the park, and in one of the pictures you'll see Art and I giving it a try! We are the people in the left lower corner. Ha!Ha!

The Air Force Academy is also in Colorado Springs and we made a visit. It was a beautiful campus with mountains on one side. The chapel is the focal point. It is very modern and has the lines of a jet. We were able to see the cadets crossing the campus after lunch and also practicing flying gliders.

We are leaving for Albuquerque tomorrow and will be there for the balloon fiesta. Our good friends, Les and Joanne are meeting us which will be fun. Catch up with you after the fiesta!

Estes Park, Colorado-Part II-The Elk

Our experience with elk during our time in Estes Park was the best part of our visit there! We happened to be in the area during the rutting season. Elk seemed to be everywhere, and the bulls were all competing for female favors!

Besides seeing elk at our campground and in Rocky Mtn National Park, we also saw elk in neighborhoods and while biking around Estes Lake, not far from the main town! As we were going to the lake, we saw a bull with his harem of about 15 females and some babies. They were grazing and resting in the side yard of a home in a residential neighborhood! The bull was protecting his harem and chasing off lone bulls! During the bike ride we spotted an elk swimming in the lake and standing on some sandbars in the middle of the water!

On our last evening in Estes Park we went to the golf course next to Estes Lake. We heard from a reliable source that the elk were congregating there! Sure enough, there was a herd of elk grazing in the middle of the course with some golfers still golfing! Again, there was one bull with about 20 females and babies. All around the course were stray bulls and the leader of the herd spent all his time chasing the other bulls away! At times, we were within 10 ft of some of the elk! The bulls were making their bugle sounds and calling to the herd and the main bull was warning the other bulls to stay clear! We spent 2 hours watching! It was great entertainment!!!

Estes Park, Colorado-Part I

Estes Park is a beautiful town mostly surrounded by Rocky Mountain National Park. To get there, we had to leave I-25 and go 34 miles up narrow curving roads increasing in elevation! We've traveled these type of roads before with the truck, but this time we had the 5th wheel behind us! Art did well driving, but it was a little disconcerting!!!!!

Our campground had a spectacular view of the Rocky Mountains! We were, in fact, less than a mile from the entrance of the park! The first night we were there we had mule deer and elk visit the campground! To say the least, we were very excited!!!!!

Trail Ridge Road is the main road through Rocky Mtn Nat Park. It is said to be the highest continuous paved road in the nation! We got up early one day and drove the 38 miles from Estes Park to Grand Lake. It took a couple of hours due to the switchbacks and narrow roads! I made Art drive again! Poor guy! He had to concentrate on the road and didn't get to see as much! At times, the elevations were 12,000 ft! To be honest, I had trouble looking down!!!! The views were indescribable! On the drive, we passed across the continental divide, which separates the water flow from the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. As you can see by the picture, Art was truly divided!!

The Stanley Hotel is a big attraction in Estes Park. This hotel was Stephen King's inspiration for "The Shining". Apparently, he visited the hotel and had some paranormal experiences, which gave him his ideas for his book. We went on a tour and learned the movie was not shot at the hotel, because there wasn't enough snow in Estes Park! The hotel was built by F.O. Stanley, the inventor of the Stanley Steamer, as a private hotel for his vacationing friends and family. Stanley had a lot to do with the building of Estes Park. Fortunately, Art and I had no ghost sightings during our tour!!!

Cody, Wyoming

Cody is a small western town in Wyoming, about 60 miles east of Yellowstone Nat Park. It was founded by "Buffalo Bill" (BB) Cody in 1897 in the hopes of enticing tourists to Cody and also to Yellowstone. The town has a great BB and western influence and was one of our favorite stops so far! We were only going to stay 3 days, but there was so much to do there, we stayed a week!

Our first adventure was a sightseeing trolley ride around Cody. They gave us a hundred year history of the town in one hour. It started and stopped at the Irma Hotel which was built by BB in 1902, and named after his youngest daughter. The Irma has many original features, including a redwood bar given to BB as a gift from Queen Victoria. It was valued at $100,000 way back then, and is exquisite with hand-carved features, including a bison! Each evening there is a gunslinger show in front of the hotel, which we attended. A little corny, but fun!

One of the main attractions of Cody is the BB Historical Center. It is 5 museums in 1, including the BB, Plains Indian, Draper Natural HX, Gertrude Whitney Western Art, and Gun museums. We were there 2 days and still didn't see it all! It was really worth the time!!

I know I didn't mention beautiful scenery yet, but we did take the BB Cody scenic drive towards Yellowstone! It was indeed scenic and we stopped at Pahaska Tepee, where BB built a lodge closer to Yellowstone, where people could drive and stay near the park. It's hard to believe people really drove that far on bad roads 100 years ago! The original lodge is still there, and although you couldn't go in, you could peek through the windows. Pahaska, by the way, means "long-haired man".

Cody is suppose to be the rodeo capital of the world. Although the summer rodeo was over, we were able to catch a college rodeo! It had bareback bronco riding, bull riding, barrel racing, and goat tying. Yes I said goat! We had great seats and lots of fun!

The weather has been beautiful for most of our trip so far! We have been very lucky! Next stop is Estes Park, Colorado. Will talk to you soon!

Billings, Montana

Our drive into Montana was beautiful! We passed through the National Grasslands, and went from barren hills to hills with pine trees! We stayed in Billings, MT for a week. It is a town of about 90,000 people and is in the Yellowstone Valley where the Yellowstone River flows. There was a nice downtown area that seemed very clean and safe, and had lots of activities, including a "Burn the Point" classic car parade that we were able to see.

We decided to tackle the "Beartooth Mountain Scenic Hwy" which is suppose to be one of the most beautiful drives in America! It was beautiful, but also a white knuckle ride!!! Luckily for me, Art was driving! The road was a series of switchbacks and narrow areas that eventually went up about 11,000 ft! What we didn't know was they were doing constuction on the road! At the top, Art had a close encounter with a large steam roller! We had no place to go and closed our eyes as it passed! On the way home we traveled the "Chief Joseph Scenic Hwy". Not quite as scary, but also gorgeous! We ran into a group of cowboys with a small herd of cattle and a cattle dog going up the road! What a neat, but unexpected experience!

Billings was also close to "The Little Bighorn National Monument". The site is on Crow Indian property, but the Crows allow visitors. We went on a small bus tour with a guide, and as he explained things and we saw the actual sites, it made sense why Custer lost! We also visited the "Pictograph Caves" which have ancient indian cave pictures. It was interesting, but we had to walk up steep hills to get there and it was in the 90s! How did our ancestors live without air conditioning?????

As it happened, Mich State was playing the Montana State Bobcats while we were in Billings! The game was televised at Hooligans, an area sports bar. We met some Bobcat fans and cowboys and had a good time!