White Sands National Monument/El Paso October 14

Next to the more famous testing grounds is the wondrous White Sands National Monument.  Dave went there with his family when he was a child and he was eager to return with Bennett. We took the Dunes Drive surrounded by the white sand.  This sand is gypsum, a rare sand because it is soluble in flowing water.  With no outlet for water, the gypsum remains creating the dunes.

 The continuously shifting and growing dunes are stunning to view but also fun to climb or sled down.

 The sands are relatively easy to walk on because rainwater dissolves some of the gypsum and cements the sand together somewhat like plaster of Paris.

 Some plants manage to find water and hold their own against the shifting sand.  These soaptree yucca seem to thrive, growing up to a foot a year.

 This was a place not on our trip plan and we are glad Dave had us visit.  We would like to return and see the dunes at sunrise and sunset.

Full of delight and covered in sand, we headed to El Paso, Dave’s home town.  His parents and brothers greeted us.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner, then returned to his parents home to lose at cards.  In the morning Dave made us a farewell pancake breakfast and we bid a teary farewell to all.

Santa Fe/Bandelier

The balloons packed up and the RVs rolled out.  We went north to Santa Fe.  While Jerry and Anna Lee have been there several times, it was a first visit for Cheryl, Dave and Bennett.  In the morning we drove to Bandelier National Monument, once the home of the Ancestral Pueblos.  We followed the trail stopping to look at kivas and an ancient village.

climb into cavates

find deer

 and have a group photo taken.

We returned to Santa Fe just in time for the shops to close, the best shopping time.   There were still some artisans at the Palace of Governors and Cheryl bought a pair of turquoise earrings. Bennett enjoyed the local street art.

 We experienced a delicious Southwest dinner.

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta (Oct. 7 - 11)

This was Jerry and Anna Lee’s third time at the Balloon Fiesta and it was the best.  To bring Bennett, Cheryl and Dave proved to be a delight.  We were also joined with Mark and Ellen,

friends from home.  Cheryl, Dave & Mark got to have a turn in a balloon basket.

All of us were part of the Monaco International Rally.  We all had a great time as you will  see from the sample photos below (together we took thousands of pictures, most of them worth keeping but we will limit those here.)

On our first evening, during the appetizer hour, one of the balloonists gave us the history of ballooning.  The first flight, in France, had a sheep, duck and rooster up in the air for fifteen minutes before crashing.  Two months later, on November 21, 1783, a balloon built by the Montgolfier brothers carried the first human balloonist.  We enjoyed learning more about the science of ballooning.

The Balloon Fiesta began forty-four years ago with a celebration of a radio station’s fiftieth anniversary.  The director of the station asked Sid Cutter if he would bring his hot air balloon to the event.  Cutter asked some friends to join him and thirteen balloons soared over Albuquerque.  From this event the biggest hot air balloon fiesta in the world grew to having six hundred balloons soar for nine days filling the skies with bold colors and beguiling shapes which were easily  seen from the windshield of the motorhome.

Each morning we arose at 6:30 to see if the six hundred hot air balloons would take off.  The Dawn Patrol, a group of balloons go up first to test the wind patterns.  All was good so off they went each day.  We went onto the field to watch the crew fill the balloons and then watch them ascend.

 Bennett’s favorite was the Angry Bird balloon but Jerry and Anna Lee are particularly fond of the pair of penguins, of course.  We all assume penguins can't fly and these almost didn't.  The shipping company responsible for getting them to Albuquerque lost them.  After a bit of a push from a solicitor in their homeland, England, they were found in Los Angeles.  A quick flight to New Mexico put them in the hands of their human friends who happily took them aloft.

 There were six hundred balloons aloft and we got photos of most of them.

 Many of the participants in the Rally enjoyed different ideas of where to stand to get the best shot.

 Two days we had wonderful luncheons as part of our group rally.  Bennett found the first one rather dull.

 He did enjoy watching the chili being roasted at the second luncheon.

During the day, we also like visiting the many booths, especially those with things to do or prizes to win.  Bennett won this truck.

The Parabatix Sky Racers zipped around an obstacle course.

 Cheryl and Dave had an appointment at the Albuquerque Botanical Garden so we all tagged along strolling the lanes.  Bennett liked the trains, especially Thomas.  He also liked the animals in the farmyard.

Each evening we went onto the field for the Balloon Glows.  The balloons are alight with the gas used to raise them but they do not fly, they gleam.  On our first night the wind was too strong for the glow so we went from balloon to balloon collecting cards that picture the special shape balloons.  The other nights were spectacular with the glowing balloons.

  Bennett also enjoyed the view from the interior of a balloon basket at one of the night glows.

 The AfterGlow Fireworks displays each evening capped off our wonderful days.

 For his evening book time, Bennett liked to read Curious George and the Hot Air Balloon. 

Lowell Observatory

We mentioned Cheryl and Dave’s friend Michael is an astronomer.  He is the deputy director of the Lowell Observatory, the place where Pluto was discovered.

We took a group tour of the Clark Building where we saw the Lowell telescope.

 Percival Lowell was the son of textile mill owners from Lowell, MA.  As a child he received a telescope as a gift.    This was his first telescope.

 As an adult he bought the larger telescope and searched for sites that were best for viewing the sky.  In 1894 he established the observatory in Flagstaff to search for life on Mars.  Although they never found life on Mars, the observatory was the site of many astronomical discoveries.  V. M. Slipher saw through the large telescope that stars move leading to the notion of an expanding universe.  Pluto came later.

The dome for this observatory was built by the Sykes brothers, owners of a bicycle shop.  The dome rotates on tires from 1949 Fords.

Outside the observatory is the mausoleum of Percival and his wife, Constance.  Percival died in 1916.

His heirs continue to run the foundation

Lowell's beloved car, called "Big Red" is stored in the Putnam Collection Center together with his books and other personal items.

The walk leading to the Pluto Dome is lined with busts of

Lowell

 V. M. Slipher

Clyde Trumbaugh

Michael gave us a personal tour of the Dome where we saw the telescope through which Trumbaugh sighted Pluto by studying photo plates.

After a delicious dinner and pleasant evening with Michael and Cheryl, we returned to the RV for our highlight destination, the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.