Albuquerque, New Mexico day 2

Indeed it was a SUPER early wake up . . . we were out the door before 5am!  Why you might ask?  It is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.  When we started walking around the field it looked like this . . .

. . . and then the sun started to come up . . .

. . . and the first balloon lifted off . . .

Don't ask me why the Wicked balloon was the first to lift off; I am sure there is some reason but have no clue.  Now what amazed me the most is you could just walk right up to the balloons even as they were lifting off.  I was totally shocked but it was cool.  And then Mass Ascension started and hundreds of balloon lifted off . . .

I found time to be silly and have fun . . .

. . . and just like that everyone left and the balloons started to return in the trucks to wait until the evening lift off.  We were back at the hotel by 11:00am and took a brief nap before heading out to explore the Nob Hill area.  We drove up and down Route 66 and loved seeing the old signs.

I had read many great reviews of a restaurant called Thai Vegan . . . oh yes, it was vegan but most importantly it was Thai and yum yum yummy!  Of course I was no where brave enough to taste the vegan soy chicken so stuck with Veggie Spring Rolls!  We decided to go back to Old Town  and just hang out at a restaurant to visit, eat chips and salsa, and people watch.   It was a great ending to a fast and fun weekend.  Tomorrow we must return home and get back to life.

Albuquerque, New Mexico day 1

It is a girl weekend trip and could not come at a better time.  I am looking forward to having a relaxing weekend!  I started by hanging out at Pappasitos in Terminal A at DFW . . .

While I was waiting I got the text that I had been upgraded; nice but it is only a 90 minute flight.  It seems that everything is off to a great start so let's just hope the rest of the trip is so sweet.  And of course just like that our flight is delayed, more delay, and you guessed it delayed again and now I have a throbbing headache too.  Finally, after almost two hours we board and are on our way!  It was a very easy flight and the airport was about shut down when we arrived in ABQ just after 9pm; seriously?  I called for the hotel shuttle and was at the hotel in about 2 minutes.  Marilyn and I link up in Albuquerque (ABQ) late Thursday night.  We say hi and head to bed.  The next morning we have a delightful breakfast at the Hilton Garden Inn (I am sure liking this hotel chain lately) and start planning our day.  I wanted to go to the Sandia Peak Tramway so off we went . . . it was very windy and cold outside so we had to stop by Target so I could buy another sweater and Burt's Bee Lip Balm for my lips.  It was a quick stop and back on track.  We arrived to a ton of tour buses and a line that was insanely long.  We being the travelers and quick thinkers try to buy tickets online but not available.  So we wait, wait, and wait for over an hour just to buy tickets to ride the tram.  We all chat it up in line while we wait.  Of course we all joke and laugh about how ridiculous the ticket buying process is today.  We also noticed the weather gadget they informed us it was 36 degrees at the top with 35 mph wind . . . right about now I am glad we stopped at Target and that I brought gloves too!  The good part was once you buy your ticket you pretty much get on the next tram; we got on tram 14 since they are apparently superstitious and skipped tram 13.  Finally it arrived . . .

We literally all cram on the tram trying to fight for a sliver of the window . . .

 

Once you get off you can walk around and hang out or just head back down.  We walked around and enjoyed the views.

. . . it was cold and super windy but sunny too.  We decided to get in the long line back down and there are a lot of pushy older people in our world . . . just saying.  Of course the line ended with the couple in front of us so we would have first pick on the next car down.  As we waited, I saw this sign . . .

We made it back down safe and sound and not frozen.  I noticed these cool cactus near the parking lot . . .

It was way past lunch time as we did not expect the tram to be so crowded.  Made a quick stop at the hotel to check in and off to lunch at Mary and Tito's.  What a great lunch spot that is run by a family.  The food was really good and the prices seemed low.  I enjoyed both the red and green chile sauce or "Christmas" as one travel book called it.  It was yummy!  It was still to early to call it a day so off to Old Town Albuquerque we went.  It was nice to just walk around and poke into the local shops . . .  lot of touristy places but fun too.  I had a craving for something sweet so a lady recommended a bakery called Rolling in the Dough.  It was late so they were running low but we managed to find several sweet treats.  We were told that biscochitos were the state cookie of New Mexico . . . think snickerdoodle with a few extra spices . . . and there is no way I am passing up those Mexican Wedding cookies either.  I will say that both were yummy and so much for buying a few extras for later because we ate them all before we got back to the car.  Tomorrow will be a super, super early morning so back to the hotel for the evening reception and bed!

Santa Fe, NM

We arrived early in Santa Fe due to the fires that cancelled our tour in Espanola at the Puye Cliff Dwellings. Looking back I am glad but not the damage the fire created. The hotel wasn't ready so we parked the car and headed out on foot to explore the city. My first impression was it was just TONS of tourist shops; I mean every where you turn it is just shops, shops, and more shops. It was a beautiful day so I did not mind being outside; Colin saw the hotel swimming pool and that is all he could think about. We walked to St. Francis Cathedral . . .

Colin enjoyed the maze (which I am certain that is not what it is called) outside . . .

It was time for lunch so I asked a local shop owner what he recommended. So off to The Shed we went. It was a neat courtyard place with inside and outside seating . . . we waited 5 minutes and got our table outside under the trees. I must say this . . . unknown to me when we got our table Colin put his money (why I don't know) under the sugar bowl. After we ordered, the wait staff was rearranging the table for our drinks and when the guy lifted the sugar bowl I said, "Wow someone left you a great tip!" So he took the money and we had our drinks. A few minutes later Colin told me his money was missing . . . I had no clue what he was talking about but then it clicked. I called someone over and explained what happened. The wait staff guy who took the money came over and asked Colin how much he had . . . $11 . . . no questions asked he went and got the money and returned it. It renewed my faith that there are still honesty young people in our world today! Of course I also knew they had just earned themselves at least a tip of $11 too which was earned because the service was great. Our food arrived and it was yummy . . . all around a great lunch with hopefully a lesson learned to my kiddo too.

We continued to walk around downtown but had had enough of the shops. Colin and I returned to the hotel to check in while my parents explored more. Colin and I visited the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. It was free thanks to the Blue Star Initiative. I was a little disappointed that it did not contain more of her artwork but was a nice museum. It was very crowded for a Thursday afternoon. I did like that they loaned Colin a book (at his age level) to read more about O'Keeffe and how she became interested in art. It was a nice touch and gave him more information than I could have about her. There was a short movie but it was so crowded when we arrived and left . . . no where to sit or stand . . . so we did not see it.
It was back to the hotel for a swim . . . the water was too cold for me but thankfully there was another young boy in the pool that Colin became friends with so I was off the hook. We were a little bored sitting in the hotel so drove to check out the New Mexico State Capitol Roundhouse . . .

. . . and walked around to find a place for dinner. We found a place but not kid friendly with food choices but did have a great bakery we stopped at after dinner . . . it was near this . . .

We were tired so headed in for the night . . . tomorrow we start our journey back to Texas. It has been a fun trip!

rafting in New Mexico

I know I said taking the cog rail to the top of Pike's Peak was the highlight of our trip but honestly I was more excited about white water rafting! I have wanted to go for a very long time but just never worked out. Of course now I want to go again! Here we are ready to go . . . I can't help but wondering how cold the water must be especially since it is 9:30am and not even 70 degrees out yet!


Click to see some of the shots the professional photographer took HERE and HERE. I can't say enough good things about Los Rios River Runners . . . they were outstanding! Keith, our guide, was great with us especially Colin. I'm sure when he looked at us he wasn't too excited but could not have asked for a better guide! He made the trip a blast! I would ask for him again, and if we go in the winter he does snowboarding lessons.

I had scheduled a tour at the Puye Cliff Dwellings but due to several out of control wildfires our tour was cancelled. We finished earlier than I expected so decided to head to Bandelier National Monument. My photos aren't that great . . . maybe because I was SO very tired! It was a neat place to walk around and wonder how the heck did they manage to live here.

A few more photos of some of the plants, critters, and working on Junior Ranger book . . .


We were all just exhausted so called it a day and headed to the hotel . . . of course we were met by smoke but at least our room wasn't too smelly just in the lobby. I am now making sure hotels are 100% smoke free before booking.

to Taos, NM

After we left the sand dunes we were on the back roads of Colorado and New Mexico. There wasn't much to see. We crossed the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge and parked to walk across.

I got to the middle and was done, why? Several trucks and cars came barrelling across and the vibrations and movement sort of freaked me out a bit. It was nice to see below and snap the above photos but that was all I needed.

It was late when we arrived in the town of Taos for the night so we pulled into a place across from the hotel called 5 Star Burgers. They were so yummy. It wasn't your typical burger joint but very upscale with some yummy Sangria too! My dad had a Bison Burger which was good, but I preferred the Green Chili Cheeseburger that my mom and I split . . . oh and the yummy sweet potato fries too. We zipped across the street to the hotel. The hotel I booked was SO outdated! I swear online photos are so misleading! It was the oldest and worst looking hotel I have seen in a long time. The other thing that bothered me was that we booked a non-smoking room but on all sides were smoking rooms. Why do hotels do this? It reeked of smoke and was just gross! I did not sleep that well but maybe it was because I was excited about what was going to happen in the morning? I will say the breakfast made up for the crappy room . . . you ordered off a menu so the food was fresh and tasty.

Did I mention that I'm so excited about tomorrow morning?

Capulin, NM

We continued our drive towards our final destination. We stopped in New Mexico at a 'Welcome Center' so we could get some ideas for next week when we stop in New Mexico. The lady was so very nice and recommend a place to visit on our route today that was only 3 miles off our travel path. She even reconfirmed that the Raton Pass was back open. I decided to take the side trip so we stopped at Capulin Volcano National Monument . . .


What a volcano in New Mexico? My thoughts exactly. We checked in and drove to the top. I swear we drove right along the cliff, and I was not to happy. We made it safe a sound but it was a tense few moments. We also decided to take the short nature hike that was only .2 (two tenths) of a mile . . . little did we know until it was too late that we were on the Crater Rim Trail which was an one-mile loop and considered a moderate hike . . . not too smart especially if you looks at my shoes! Oh well, we did it and it was so nice and cool. Colin was ready to go as soon as we got there . . .
Snapping a photo . . .
Needing a break . . .

As we left the area we saw some critters . . .


It was back on the road. The main highway (I-25) between New Mexico and Colorado had been shut down last week due to heavy forest fires. ABW reported to me yesterday it was back open so I was thrilled that no back road detour was going to happen. I was totally shocked at just how much vegetation had been burned . . . it was amazing and sad. I wish I was able to stop and take a photo but strong roadside warnings about NO stopping so we moved along. We could still see the forest fire crews working away on the fires that continued. I imagine it was thousands and thousands of acres that were on fire.