New Mexico, September and October 2018 Part 2 (Albuquerque)
September 22, 2018--Drive from home to to High Plains Camping,, Oakley, KS, overnight, 345 Miles
September 23, 2018--Drive from Oakley, KS to Pueblo South/Colorado City KOA, Pueblo, CO, overnight, 297 miles
September 24, 2018--Driive from Pueblo, CO to Santa Fe Skies RV Resort, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 261 miles
September 24, 2018 to October 4, 2018--Santa Fe Skies RV Resort, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 11 days
October 5, 2018--Drive from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Albuquerque KOA, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 37 miles
October 5, 2018 to October 7, 2018--Albuquerque KOA, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 3 days
October 8, 2018--Drive from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Carlsbad KOA, Carlsbad, New Mexico, 278 miles
October 8, 2018 to October 9, 2018--Carlsbad KOA, Carlsbad, New Mexico, 2 days
October 10, 2018--Drive from Carlsbad, New Mexico to Boothill RV Park, Alamagordo, New Mexico 168 miles
October 10, 2018 to October 11, 2018--Boothill RV Park, Alamagordo, New Mexico 2 days
October 12, 2018--Drive from Alamagordo, New Mexico to Butterfield RV Park, Benson, Arizona, 309 miles
October 12-13--Butterfield RV Park, Benson, Arizona 2 days
October 14, 2018--Drive from Benson, Arizona to Rincon Country West RV Resort, Tucson, Arizona for the winter! 48 miles
September 23, 2018--Drive from Oakley, KS to Pueblo South/Colorado City KOA, Pueblo, CO, overnight, 297 miles
September 24, 2018--Driive from Pueblo, CO to Santa Fe Skies RV Resort, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 261 miles
September 24, 2018 to October 4, 2018--Santa Fe Skies RV Resort, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 11 days
October 5, 2018--Drive from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Albuquerque KOA, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 37 miles
October 5, 2018 to October 7, 2018--Albuquerque KOA, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 3 days
October 8, 2018--Drive from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Carlsbad KOA, Carlsbad, New Mexico, 278 miles
October 8, 2018 to October 9, 2018--Carlsbad KOA, Carlsbad, New Mexico, 2 days
October 10, 2018--Drive from Carlsbad, New Mexico to Boothill RV Park, Alamagordo, New Mexico 168 miles
October 10, 2018 to October 11, 2018--Boothill RV Park, Alamagordo, New Mexico 2 days
October 12, 2018--Drive from Alamagordo, New Mexico to Butterfield RV Park, Benson, Arizona, 309 miles
October 12-13--Butterfield RV Park, Benson, Arizona 2 days
October 14, 2018--Drive from Benson, Arizona to Rincon Country West RV Resort, Tucson, Arizona for the winter! 48 miles
October 5, 2018, Santa Fe to Albuquerque
This morning got up by 7 am to get ready to leave for Albuquerque. It’s only about an hour away so we didn’t have to be in a hurry, checkout is at 11 am. Mike took the car and had it washed and the interior cleaned since it was such a mess from our hiking. It cost $21 and well worth it.We got the RV ready to go. Mike was working on the outside while I got the inside ready. We left around 11:30 am by the time we hooked up the car. We thought it would be smart to hook up the RV and car on the paved road. Unfortunately we didn’t take in consideration that the road was at a small incline making the car roll towards the RV. We finally got it all hooked up and hit the road
It only took us about an hour to get to the Albuquerque North/Bernalillo RV Park. It’s a really nice RV park and our site is a very nice pull through. Once we set up we had lunch in the RV and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. The staff at the Park recommended we walk to a nearby brewery, the Kaktus Brewing Co, for dinner. Mike and I took the short walk to the brewery. It was a little hole in the wall but looked like a fun place. We ordered beer for Mike and pizza for the two of us. The pizza was great. They were having Acoustic Night but we didn’t stay for it as we were getting up early the next day for the Balloon Festival.
When we were walking back to the RV we met a couple across from us who are staying at Tucson for several months. We found out they are staying at Rincon just a few sites down from us. I keep saying it’s a small world. Mike and I spent the night getting ready for our morning at the balloon festival; 3:30 am is going to come early!
It only took us about an hour to get to the Albuquerque North/Bernalillo RV Park. It’s a really nice RV park and our site is a very nice pull through. Once we set up we had lunch in the RV and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. The staff at the Park recommended we walk to a nearby brewery, the Kaktus Brewing Co, for dinner. Mike and I took the short walk to the brewery. It was a little hole in the wall but looked like a fun place. We ordered beer for Mike and pizza for the two of us. The pizza was great. They were having Acoustic Night but we didn’t stay for it as we were getting up early the next day for the Balloon Festival.
When we were walking back to the RV we met a couple across from us who are staying at Tucson for several months. We found out they are staying at Rincon just a few sites down from us. I keep saying it’s a small world. Mike and I spent the night getting ready for our morning at the balloon festival; 3:30 am is going to come early!
October 6, 2018, Albuquerque Balloon Festival
It was an early morning. Our alarms went off at 3:30 am and we were out the door at 4 am. We were at the Hoffmantown Church parking lot at 4 am, boarded the bus at the Park and Ride. We arrived at the Balloon Festival at 5 am. We might have been a little too early but I had heard a lot of complaints about how the Park and Ride was organized so we weren’t taking any chances. It seemed like the bus system was working great and we had no problems getting to the Festival.
Mike and I walked around and were amazed at how many food and souvenir buildings and booths that there were. The lines for food were particularly long. Mike and I thought we had dressed appropriately for the early morning but I found very quickly that it was colder than we had thought it would be. I had three light weight layers but we should have had heavier coats. Thank goodness I had brought gloves and a head band to cover my ears
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We walked out to the field to see a lot of the hot air balloons being set up for the 7 am mass ascension. The Star Spangled Banner was played and all of the hot air balloons flamed their burners. It was quite a site. The Dawn Patrol consisting of about 10 balloons were launched at 6 am. This ascension is called the Morning Glow because on the ground and up in the air pilots fire off a “glow valve” lighting up their balloon like a lightbulb, creating a morning glow – then flying until it is light enough to see landing sites. Aside from it being a beautiful early morning sight for spectators, the Dawn Patrol is also useful for other balloonists as they can watch the balloons and get an early idea of wind speeds and directions at different altitudes.
After that the rest of the balloons were set up for the Sunrise Ascension. It amazed us that the balloons were being set up and fired right in front of us in the middle of the field where we were standing. We could feel the heat from the burners and it felt good by warming us up. Around 7 am the balloons began to take off, one after another. The Mass Ascension probably lasted two hours. The balloons were everything from basic to complex shaped balloons. There were some intricate shapes as animals, cartoon and movie characters, and various objects. Some of our favorites were Darth Vader, Yoda, pigs, a flying cat, the head of Van Gogh, an owl, fish, and a ferris wheel. It was unbelievable how many balloons were in the air at the same time. Some of the balloons never did take off due to the direction of the wind with safety in mind.
Around 9 am the balloon ascension was over. We walked around for a while taking it all in. There has to be thousands of people here to witness the ascension. Around 11 am we left to get in line for the bus to take us back to our car. Now I understand why people have complained about the bus system on the Park and Ride. We were in line for over an hour waiting to take the bus from the Festival back to our car. The problem is that everyone is trying to leave at the same time. We finally caught the bus that took us back to the car. What an experience.
Mike and I returned to our RV, ate a late lunch and rested. Around 4 pm we drove back to the Park and Ride to see the Evening Glow. After sunset all the balloons inflate and light their burners to make it look like lanterns. I was really looking forward to this but after we arrived they cancelled the Evening Glow because of the wind. We were really disappointed. We got something to eat and walked around before we decided to leave. There was supposed to be a laser show and fireworks but we wanted to leave early to avoid the crowds trying to catch the bus. We had a longer wait than we anticipated but finally caught the bus back to the car. Tonight we noticed a lack of organization for the Park and Ride.
We got back to the RV around 8 pm and had an early bedtime.
October 7, 2018, Old Town Albuquerque
It was still windy so we decided to skip the hot air balloon Morning Ascension. I’m glad we did because we learned later that it had been cancelled due to high winds. We met Miles, Suzi, and a few of their friends at Old Town Albuquerque. We ate lunch at Hacienda del Rio. We waited for an hour for a table and then waited another hour to get our food. It was probably the worst food we’ve ever eaten. Because of our wait the restaurant didn’t charge us for our food. Good thing since it was so bad.
Because of the Balloon Festival town was crazy busy with all the tourists. We really liked the Old Town and hope we can visit another time when it’s not so busy. There were lots of restaurants and neat jewelry shops, clothing shops, and t-shirt shops. The only thing we bought was some ear rings for me.
Because of the Balloon Festival town was crazy busy with all the tourists. We really liked the Old Town and hope we can visit another time when it’s not so busy. There were lots of restaurants and neat jewelry shops, clothing shops, and t-shirt shops. The only thing we bought was some ear rings for me.
We returned to the RV around 4 pm and started getting things ready for our drive to Carlsbad the next day. Dinner was leftovers at the RV. We’re hoping the wind will die down tonight making our drive tomorrow easy. We’re disappointed that so many of the Balloon Festival activities were cancelled during our weekend but glad we at least made it to see Saturday morning’s launch as we probably won’t every come back again to see this event. The only thing I would do differently would be to stay more days in Albuquerque to make sure the weather cooperates so you can see more of the balloon festival. With more time I would have liked to visit more of the attractions in Albuquerque. I would like to return some day.