Hanging out in Albuquerque

Today was Sunday and it was a day of rest. We hung out at Fran and Andy’s house. Early in the morning watched the balloons rise from the back yard. For the afternoon we watched football games andRead more
Today was Sunday and it was a day of rest. We hung out at Fran and Andy’s house. Early in the morning watched the balloons rise from the back yard. For the afternoon we watched football games and relaxing. In the evening we went out for another wonderful Mexican meal. Lee also had an opportunity to photograph the colorful sunset and moon rise.Read more
Woke up way before dawn to return to the Balloon Fiesta to see the mass ascension of the balloons. Although warmer than the day before, it was still freezing outside. The hand and feet warmers came in very handy! In the afternoon we relaxed after getting up so early in the morning for 2 days in a row.Read more
Early wake up at 3am to catch the 4am bus to the Balloon Fiesta. It was freezing outside and everyone bundled up in layers. We also used hand and feet warmers. We saw the Morning Glow, Special Shape Rodeo, and a flying balloon target competition. The winds were a strong so some special shapes were inflated but did not fly. After the Fiesta we all went to Andy and Fran’s Club for breakfast, and to thaw out. Next the girls went to the Fiesta Arts and Crafts Fair and the boys went home. Later in the afternoon we all relaxed and napped. We had a relaxing dinner at home and viewed photos on Fran and Andy’s very large TV. Lastly we took family photos with Auntie Fran’s special shirts. There were lots of laughs!!Read more
Blake joined Lee, Sean, and I to see Tent Rocks and hiked narrow passageways through the slot canyons all the way to the top. Following our hiking we returned to rest up then out to dinner with everybody at El Patron, another wonderful Mexican restaurant. Went to bed early because the next morning we had to get up early (3am) to go to the Balloon Fiesta.Read more
In the morning drove to Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Refuge and went searching for wildlife to photograph. Lunch was in Socorro at an authentic Mexican Restaurant. From there it was onto Albuquerque to meet Fran, Andy, Michele, and Blake. We went to dinner at Chaco which was a hotel with a lovely rooftop restaurant. There was was beautiful scenery as the sun set, with great company, and fabulous food.Read more
In the morning there were wonderful clouds in the sky so we went back to White Sands to take more photos. We hiked the hills to find pristine dunes without foot traffic. Next we drove to Organ Mountain where we hiked some steep slopes. Later in the day drove to Las Cruces where we had a great lunch at the Spotted Dog Brewery then went to the Hilton 2 Hotel where we hung out and relaxed. Had dinner at the Cold Stone Creamery!Read more
Could not go to White Sands in the morning due to government misspelled testing, so went to Pistachioland for a tour and some tastes. In the afternoon went to White Sands to see the gypsum dunes. We took lots of photos, and Sean and I went sledding down the sand hills. The evening was spent on a sunset stroll at the dunes with one of the park rangers.Read more
Carlsbad Caverns exploration then drove to Almagordo, NM
We woke up at Kalaloch Lodge to explore the beach and had breakfast overlooking the ocean. Next we drove from Washington into Oregon. We went to the Columbia River Valley just east of Portland, Oregon where we visited the Crown Point Visitor’s Center. From there we went to see Latourell Falls and then Bridal Veil Falls.Read more