Week 112 - New Mexico, Sante Fe & Balloon Fiesta - 10-05-2008

Buenos Dias Mis Amigos,

After a great week with Ellen's Aunt Glo, we headed into New Mexico. In Tucumcari we visited their annual air show. Then, we headed through the Northern New Mexico back roads to the Conchas Lake State Park, Las Vegas and onto Santa Fe. We met our Atascadero neighbors, Ben and Sid and visited old town Santa Fe and the 36th annual Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.

The air show was small in numbers of planes and exhibits but pretty exciting.

1) A Curtis P40 Warhawk, what General Chennault and the Flying Tigers flew in China before the attack on Pearl Harbor and 2) an experimental jet-powered glider.

These pilots really have fun at the air shows. Unlike the competitions they are a part of, here, there are no rules. Fly wherever you want, do whatever maneuvers you like. We have dozens of photos of these guys doing loops, turns, twists, vertical stalls, and everything else that we have no idea what they are really called. Where's Ellen's brother in law Frank or Uncle Ron when you need them?

Lake Conchas State Park was warm, beautiful and deserted. Unfortunate that Pete works and needs cellular Internet connection, as we had to move on early the next morning. We did not even have cell phone service. Very nice, very peaceful and very left behind!

Santa Fe is a very old city and full of historic buildings. The San Miguel Chapel is billed as the oldest church in America. Built in 1610 for the Tlaxcalan Indians from Mexico, it was the first building burned in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. The chapel was rebuilt in 1710 as a military chapel. Below is the Loretto Chapel, circa 1878. A "miraculous" 33-step spiral staircase is part of the chapel. It costs $2.50 to see the staircase. We skipped that and will pay Frank and Janice, a buck to see their phenomenal spiral staircase when we return to Paso Robles!

Old Town Santa Fe is full of authentic Mexican culture. Can you spot "Waldo" under the eaves of the Palace of the Governors on the right?

Santa Fe is the capital of New Mexico. It is an unassuming building filled with 5 million dollars worth of New Mexican art. New Mexico claims both the oldest and newest capital buildings. The Palace of the Governors built in 1609 and the current state capital building in 1966.

1) This bison is constructed totally of recycled materials. One eye is an old fishing reel, the other the base of a lantern. 2) We visited at 4:30 on a Friday. The "bustling" state capital was rather empty except for the janitor below and the security guard who let us in.

The highlight of the week was visiting on the first day of the 36th annual Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta with the Ben and Sid. 1) We left in the dark at 5:30 am from Santa Fe to get to the fiesta. We thought we might be the only ones. 2) Maybe not!

Over 600 balloons were part of the Mass Ascension starting in stages at 7:00 am.

We lucked into meeting Benjamen and his sister Julianna. He and his five sisters and brother and parents have been involved in hot air ballooning for eight years. Benjamen, a English/creative writing major at the University of New Mexico, was a delightful and took the time to explain the launch sequence when ballooning. First the balloon is stretched out on the lawn and connected to the gondola.

1) We waited until they were ready to be "going cold". Going cold is the step where they use dual three foot fans to begin to inflate the balloon. 2) Once partially inflated, the "crown" must be retrieved from inside the balloon. Here Benjamen walks through the open circle in the top of the balloon! The crown is a circular fabric piece that will fill in the hole. The crown is attached to the balloon with only 12 pieces of Velcro. During flight a rope is used to pull the crown away from the balloon. This leaves this large hole open to allow the heated air to escape and cause the balloon to descend, as fast as 400 feet per second. Amazingly, the crown will reattach its Velcro when the cord is released.

1) After the crown is attached, they can "go hot". The burner is tilted to aim into the bottom opening of the balloon. This causes the balloon to rise. It takes many crew members to launch a balloon. Benjamen's job this day was to "be on the crown". He had to tug on the crown line as the balloon rose. It he were to let go, the balloon could rise up and over the gondola causing it to flip over and perhaps loosing control of the launch, burning the fabric or other problems. 2) A view of the inside of the balloon shows the crown in place with its control line hanging from the center.

Once "hot" these two balloons are "kissing" on the ground.

1) At an event like this, you need to wait for the okay from the launch controllers before you take off. While waiting it takes crew members to hold the balloon down and the pilot to periodically do burns to keep the balloon up. 2) Once ready, the three passengers climb aboard. This gondola is smaller than our motorhome bathroom, however the views are fantastic!

This guy travels alone, we guess you can see why.

"Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the balloon".

Not all balloons are the traditional shape. Here is a sampling of what we saw launched. Think about creating one of these balloons. You cut and sew all the fabric pieces and cannot see what you've created until it is complete! Then you inflate it and enjoy your masterpiece. The twin bumble bees were amazing. The pilots launched and the two bees held hands for the first five minutes. We actually thought it was a single balloon until they finally went their separate ways.

Another bucket list check mark and a good one. Many thanks to Benjamen and Julianna for taking so much time to share with us. (Names are important and we verified that we spelled his name correctly).

We will meander for a week in New Mexico and end up at the FMCA Rally in Farmington, New Mexico on October 15th.

May the Lord bless your week,

Love, Pete and Ellen

Photos from Oct 2008