On Monday morning, we headed over to the Taos Pueblo. The pueblo has been there for over 1000 years and the Native Americans who live there, live as their ancestors did all those years ago. There is no running water or electricity. We only spent the morning there but you could very easily spend an entire day there.
Sunday morning we headed over to the park again to see the balloons one last time. After packing up and checking out of our hotel in Albuquerque, we started our journey to Taos. We stopped at the Santuario de Chimayo in Chimayo. Patti again told us about this place. There is a sacred sand pit called “El Posito”. The sand is said to have healing powers. There is a room that has crutches, braces, poems, letters, etc from people to have been healed by the sand. Karen and I each picked up a rosary, some sand and ristras. We also stopped at the Church of San Jose in Las Trampas and the San Francisco de Asis church in Taos. We stayed at the Best Western Kachina Lodge in Taos. The highlight of our stay was that we participated in Indian dancing around the campfire.
Saturday found us at the park again in the morning. The afternoon was spent driving up to Santa Fe to go to Jackalope. It is a store that sells home and garden stuff. Here is a quote from their website explaining what the store is … “Jackalope is not only an unparalleled shopping experience featuring colorful, rare and unusual items from dozens of cultures from around the world, but also a festive world “theme park” featuring several acres of New Mexico sun-drenched excitement including wildlife in the trees, a prairie dog village, an animal barn, a plant nursery, a furniture store, a mercado, a cafe … the list goes on”. If you are ever in Santa Fe, make sure you go there. We took the Turquoise Trail on the way back to Albuquerque stopping in Cerrillos, Golden and at the top of Sandia Crest in Albuquerque. We enjoyed a very beautiful sunset but it was freezing cold and we were in our shorts. That night we went and saw Charlie Daniels at a casino. The audience was filled with many patriotic people (I won’t say anymore).
We got up real early so that we could be at the park to see the Dawn Patrol. By real early I mean that we were at the park before 6:00am. Breakfast consisted of an orange juice and a deep fried sausage covered in pancake batter. It was so good. The morning’s events started with the Dawn Patrol. That is when they send up only a couple of balloons to see how the winds are. After the Dawn Patrol, it was the Wells Fargo Special Shape Mass Ascension and the Key Grab Competition. The balloons reminded me of bubbles just floating in the sky.
Since Friday night happened to be a full moon, we decided to go to the White Sands National Monument in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Patti Rueffer told us about this place. The sand is very fine and it looks like baby powder from a distance. We just happened to arrive at the park, just as the sun was setting. We did get a few pictures before the moon came out and lit up the entire park. It was as if it was daylight again. We did encounter an unexpected visitor, a very large spider. We were sitting on the sand waiting for the moon to appear when Karen accidently spilled her pop. Then out of nowhere, the spider appeared.
Every year, Albuquerque hosts the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Karen was there the previous year and she said that it is was just a remarkable experience. We therefore decided that we should go and also it was a long weekend at home. We were very lucky to fly Business Class on Air Canada. You see I was fortunate enough to accumulate enough miles by using my Visa card to get us there. Some highlights of Business Class include getting on and off the plane first, black leather recliner chairs, a meal with actual silverware. All I can say is that I will never be able to fly coach again.
We arrived in Albuquerque on Thursday afternoon. We made a quick stop in Old Town. After checking into our hotel, we headed over to the park where the Fiesta was being held. The evening’s events were the Wells Fargo Special Shape Glowdeo and AfterGlow Fireworks Show. I have never seen that many hot air balloons in one place. It was just amazing the different shapes that a hot air ballon can be.
