Albuquerque, have enjoyed the stay.

A change in plans... We were suppose  to only be in Albuquerque long enough to do laundry and flush our holding tanks.  Well when Randy went to dump the black water the valve was sticking, so call to Rv dealer and factory.  The soonest they could get us in was the following wed., that put us a week behind schedule.  Myers RV was great about helping us out and I recommend them to anyone needing work if in this area.  But we still had time to make it to the Grand Canyon on Friday right?  OK change in plans again, government shut down, the Park is closed.   We were lucky to make it to some of the monuments before the shut down though. So as the saying goes "when your given Lemons Make Lemonade" or sometime like that.

In my previous post I told about some of the cool things in the area .  It's surprising what you can find to do, ask the locals and search the internet. 

•                                                                                             Cruising down old Route 66, still a few old neon signs. 

                                                            

                                            

                                                                 Tinkertown Museum

It took Ross Ward over forty years to carve, collect and construct what is now Tinkertown.  His miniature wood carved figures were first part of a traveling exhibit, driven to county fairs and carnivals.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

  
Today, over 50,000 glass bottles form the walls now the Museum.  It's magical and will lift the spirit!!

                                                     The Balloon Fiesta

 

 

From its modest beginnings in 1972 with 13 balloons launching from a shopping mall parking lot, the Balloon Fiesta has grown to a 365-acre Balloon Park with over 600 balloons.

I was lucky enough to stand right next to the Dawn Patrol.  The pilots take off in the dark and fly until it is light enough to see landing sites. Fellow balloonists appreciate the Dawn Patrol because they can watch the balloons and get an idea of wind speeds and directions at different altitudes.  Dawn Patrol inflation began at about 5:45 AM, with launch around 6:00 AM.

 Mass Ascensions,  a launch of all the participating balloons.  The balloons launch in two waves. Launch directors, also known as zebras because of their black-and-white-striped outfits, serve as traffic cops, coordinating the launch so balloons leave the field safely. They began to launch at 7:15 AM led by a balloon flying the American flag to the sound of The Star Spangled Banner.

I choose to do  the park and ride, (I departed at 4:45 AM) cost of  $11.00 round trip, that included ticket into the balloon park.  The school buses picked us up at the mall,  dropping you off at the gate and the same for the return trip.   What a deal,  no hassling with the bumper to bumper traffic jams.  That's  like being chauffeured through the express lane around back. 

 

 Pictures can not capture the feel and sights going on around you.  Standing in the middle of the balloon field surrounded by launching balloons.  It was fun, spectacular, exciting, cool, awesome.  I couldn't have planned a better way to end the last day here in Albuquerque!!

 I only took 240 balloon shots.. so much to see!!

Albuquerque and surrounding area

We are at Kirkland AFB which sits on the southeast side of Albuquerque. 

 

A nice  place to camp,  lots of green spaces to walk Shelby,  grocery store,  gas station and shopping right on base. Easy to get to just off  I40,  that means I can hop on and off to see and do everything in the Area!. 

So I made a list of possible interesting things and have started the touring.  Randy calls it the impossible list,  as usual he is dragging his feet a little.  I'm thinking "maybe I'll leave him back at camp part of the time".  Sometimes it's nice to have home alone time and hangout with a good book,  Especially when you live in an Rv full-time.

Albuquerque.

 The Rio Grande Valley has been populated as far back as 2,000 B.C.  The Pueblo people were living in this area when the first Spanish explorers arrived in Albuquerque in approximately 1540. 

 In 1706, a group of colonists were granted permission by  Spain to establish a new city on the banks of the Rio Grande at the foot of the mountains.

  Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and Museum

This was a great place to start, I come away with what I hope is a better understanding of their culture.
No pictures allowed inside the Museum, theses are some of the murals surrounding the inside court yard.

 It features a brief  historical overview of the Pueblo world, and a contemporary exhibit featuring original artwork and craftsmanship of each of the 19 Pueblos of today.  Their located primarily in New Mexico, at one time the Pueblo's homeland reached into the states of Colorado and Arizona. Pueblo people rooted in this region of the southwest are descendants of an indigenous Native Americans.  

The visit ended at the courtyard cafe featuring authentic Pueblo food.  I had the fry bread topped with pinto beans and green chiles.  It really was a great choice!!

 I did need two glasses of water,
a little hot but just right. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A drive up the Turquoise Trail.  

Starting at the southern end of the Sandia Mountains a winding road will take you to the top of the Sandia peak and ski area.  Spectacular views from the 10,378 foot summit.  Cooler, a little windy and had to stop and catch our breath at the top.  I rode the Tram in the spring with Doug P , much shorter way to go.  Either way spectacular views!!

Top of the ski lift.

 

Back down the mountain we go!  Continuing north through small mining towns once  producers of gold, coal and turquoise.  Now mostly ghost towns turned Artists community's geared to attract visitors just out for a scenic drive, avoid weekends if you can, very congested. 

We did hit some thrift stores and flea markets along the way.  I found a good deal on beanie babies for the kids, Randy got used books for 25 cents and a pocket knife he couldn't go without!

 

 Petroglyph National Monument

According to the Visitor Center there are over 20,000 images pecked in black rocks. A few are 2,000 years old.  Most 400 to 700 years old.  Not all images are from Native Americans, the Spanish sheep herders in the 1600s left their mark also, christian crosses.










                                                                                                                                                                                                         

The West Mesa, a 17 mile long table of land emerged about 200,000 yrs ago when lava flowed from a large crack in the Earths crust.  Over time eroding softer material left basalt boulders, now the canvas for the ancestors of the Native Pueblo people.



 Randy hiked up to the top of the mesa for a better look.
That's Albuquerque below and the Rio Grande river valley.

The main trail through the canyons (about a 7 mile  hike) was closed due to recent heavy rains.  So we opted for   the easy access driving route with paved paths.

Does this look like an alien or one hyper grandkid?

Took a day off to catchup on laundry and grocery shop! :)

          New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.

 

Great displays offer a journey through billions of years of New Mexico's natural history.

 Kid friendly,  I kept thinking I wish the grandkids were here, they would love this! 

I found the Astronomy exhibits with pictures from the Hubble telescope amazing!



The museum complex also has a Planetarium and  Dynatheater (5 storys high).  Ran out of time, will have to do that on another visit.

That's enough for now,  I've got to figure out away to write theses blog reports without staying up until 3AM.
 I get lost in information and looking at pictures!
 I can't keep tract of the time.










All suggestions welcome...    To much info, to much rambling, to long??    Sorry....
I already know about the spelling and grammar issues!  :)

Take care!!!  Kathy

National Parks, History of the West, New Mexico...

 Storri Lake State Park, just outside of Las Vegas NM was our next stop.  The area is recovering from both a 10yr drought and now recent  heavy rains and flooding. 




 
The lake was almost dry when we got here but within 4 days it was filling up!

The nice thing about this trip out to Arizona for the winter is we decided not to have a deadline as to when we get there.   We are enjoying our stay in one spot for a couple of days and doing  side trips. 
So here are a few within North Central part of New Mexico.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                

First Day.

Montezuma's Castle  was once a resort known for their  Natural spring baths. Its now the World College of the American West and the bathhouse is closed to the public.

Some of the original stone pools are still open to the public  up the creek from the main entrance.  Warning, the hot springs flow directly out of the hillside into theses pools and it was very HOT!  This seems to be a popular place with the locals.

Found out about it from our waitress at the local Pizza Place.

  She also told us about a place to get New Mexico style breakfast.

 Mary Ann's wasn't much to look at from the outside but a great find!  Her grandmother is the owner and cook.  Sister waits tables and gets up at 3 AM to make the tortillas, sooo..  good!!.

The question always seems to be red or green chile?
  How about half green and half red ,  its called Christmas.

 I think the best part about traveling for Randy is the food.

  He just goes along with the other stuff.  :)

 A day trip into the Sante Fe National Forest on what is considered a state highway.

 Well  about 6 miles up it turned narrow, ruff and signs of washouts alongside the road.  It was a pretty drive though and nice to get up into the pine trees and mountain streams. 

Stopped and used 4 wheel drive as the stream was overflowing and running down the road, this campsite and trailhead was washed out.

 

Was I surprised to find this old Catholic church up ahead, and the valley below.

The bottom tip of the San De Cristo  Mountain range.

 Day Two.. Fort Union National Monument.

When New Mexico became United States territory after the U.S.- Mexican War, the army relocated the supply depot from Santa Fa to a site near the Mountain and Cimarron branches of the Santa Fe Trail.  Three different sites all called Fort Union existed.  First made with crude timber to protect traders and settlers from the Indians.  The second Fort, an earthen fortification and further away from the bluff was constructed when the Civil War began.  The third which took six years to complete was used during the Indian Wars throughout the 1860's and 1870's.  Abandoned by 1891 when the railroad came through, only theses ruins remain.

Pet friendly grounds with shaded picnic area out front.

What a perfect sky for taking pictures,
 of which I took alot of!!

They are stuccoing over the ruins to preserve and stabilizes but no plans to recreate the Fort.

  The visitor center has a great little museum that depicts the history and life of an army solder on the open plains. Did you know the  Buffalo solders were used here after the end of the civil war to fight the indians?

The stockade, not sure where you would go if you escaped. 

Day Four..  Pecos National Historical Park

Another beautiful day to hike the boundary of the ruins and drive through the Pecos river valley!

Around 1450 Pecos Pueblo had become a community built of rock and mud five stories high with a population of 2,000.  In 1541 Coronado visited the pueblo but soon  left for Kansas as the indians told then stories  of the City's of gold to the east.   In 1621  the  Franciscans from Spain came and built and adobe church and mission.  By the 1780's disease, Comanche raids and migration had reduced Pecos to fewer than 300.  The last survivors left a decaying pueblo and empty mission church in 1838.

 
Visitor center model of the Pueblo.

Randy didn't think I should climb down the ladder,
 he said if I fell they'd never get me out.  Thanks!

I had to see what was down there so I did it anyway.

  Kivas were used for special ceremonial and spiritual events.

 Very little of the original rock wall surrounding the fortress remain standing. 

Remains of the church and Mission. 

                                                                        

We ended the day with a side trip to Villanuvea State Park along the Pecos River.

The park sits in a canyon right along the river  with pinion pines and scrub oak.  Quie and mostly primitive sites.  A few with electric and water.  Great for small campers and tents but not to many spots for the 40 footers.

The foot bridge to the trails from the campground.

The history buff in me is on overload.....  

Now on to Albuquerque, ( thank heavens for spell check!) as I can never remember how it is spelled.

Till the next ramblings, Happy Trails!!