6 ABQ Botanic & Old Town

Sightseeing and Shopping today. Shirley and I embark out on our own to go to the ABQ Botanic gardens and then Old Town.
The ABQ BioPark is impressive. There is a complex with a zoo and aquarium as well as the gardens. We wandered around the Botanic Gardens. It's is easy to see summer has been hard on some of the plants. The tropical conservatory is very humid but has lots of exotic plants.
Just an aside, we are beginning to adapt to the super dry air in New Mexico. Our nasal passages have been complaining and our hands demand lots of lotion. Those symptoms are easing a bit.
That humid conservatory was a bit uncomfortable for me. I was happy to enter the desert conservatory with all the dry air and desert plants. The gardens have fall decorations and they are developing an area they call Heritage Farms which looks like it will be a nice addition. The Japanese Gardens have a large Koi pond and waterfall.
A short drive to Old Town. It's a shopping area and we concentrate on looking at the stores and wares. The Zia Sun symbol is the New Mexico symbol and sacred to the Zia people. We learn some of its meanings.
After dinner we return to the condo to find out that Gary has tripped on a shadowed step. His foot is hurting but he's not thinking it is serious. I encourage him to see a doctor in the morning. His wife, Kay, is back in Austin. He has been able to go up in the balloon he crewed with this week but he knows the foot hurts too much to do any more crewing. There's a lot of heavy lifting, pulling and holding to get the balloons inflated and airborn.
Shirley and I are not planning to go back to the Fiesta field. We have seen the balloons from afar most mornings. The winds have been calm and suitable for flying most days. There was one day that Gary's balloon pilot opted not to fly. He explained surface winds were fine but the mid level winds were faster and going a different directions and then there are the high level winds which could be fine or could be challenging.Read more