Traditions

When Brent was a little guy his Grandma liked to take him to the Pumpkin Patch year after year. I hope he has fond memories of that; I know she enjoyed it and looked forward to their annual pumpkin fun!

Now we get to create and enjoy our special family traditions with Brent’s girls. One recurring event for them is when we show up in our trailer, aka “Papa’s House” and hangout in their driveway for a few days, creating special memories together between grandparents and grandchildren! 

Last fall, and again last month we enjoyed taking a family outing to a Pumpkin Farm not too far from their home. On this visit we took some family photos among the pumpkins and then just hung out together watching the girls play on the hay bales, climb the tractors and carry pumpkins from one area to another. Hannah is full of energy, running from one thing to another while Ava moves at a slower pace, watching and taking everything in. Hannah, although running all around,  seems to always be watching over her little sister, (or any other little child nearby) making sure she is staying nearby and is safe. Their individual personalities are more evident as they are maturing and growing.

Flashback

Celebrating this adventure called marriage. How can it be 38 years! It seems like only a short time ago that our journey began on a beach stroll with a box of Cracker Jacks. Carmel popcorn is one of my favorite treats and back then Cracker Jacks was pretty much the only way to get such a thing.

So, during a summer evening stroll on the beach all those years ago Steve brought out a box of Cracker Jacks...for a snack, or so I thought! After we ate a little of the Carmel Corn, I pulled out the prize and jokingly said “maybe it’s a ring!” Actually Steve HAD hidden an engagement ring in the prize envelope!

He proposed, and I said YES and so began this crazy adventure of our lifetimes! We have raised kids together and been empty nesters together, and now we have the joy of traveling together in this Adventure on the Road.

Several weeks ago, for our anniversary I asked a friend and great photographer, Annette, to do a beach photo shoot to commemorate our special milestone. This time it was me that surprised Steve with a box of Cracker Jacks. I wanted to recreate in some pictures how our adventure began.

Thanks for inviting me to join you on this grand adventure Steve. I can’t imagine life without you in it! You are my best friend, true companion, a wonderful father to our kids, a proud grandfather, and loyal friend to many!

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭107:1‬ 

 

 

 

 

 

We had such a great time taking pictures together at the beach as Annette directed a great photo shoot for us. Fun new memories to cherish!

 

(All photo credits to Annette Tully! Check out her work on Instagram@annetully_photography or facebook@annetullyphotography)

 

Albuquerque

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta’s 50th anniversary 

Opening Day

Wake up at 4:15 am
Breakfast Buffet at 5:15 am

Shuttle to Launch Field, 5:45 am

Dawn Patrol Glow and Launch, 6:00 am

Green Flag- all clear to Launch Balloons!

We arrived at the launch field in the dark in time to see the Dawn Patrol “Glow”. So beautiful with the balloons brightly illuminated by their burners with Albuquerque city lights in the distance. Soon the first few pilots ascended to check the weather conditions above.

We made our way onto the damp grassy field looking for a place to observe the ascension of hundreds of balloons…a finely orchestrated yet chaotic display of colors. Balloons laid out in rows along the grass were slowly inflated by large electric fans. Once the colorful envelope, as the "balloon" is called, was filled with cold air, the pilot began heating the inside of the balloon with his gas burner until the balloon rose fully upright above the basket. Then when the whole row of balloons were ready a crew of “Zebras”, dressed in black and white umpire shirts directed the crowds away from the balloons and gave the signal to each pilot when it was safe to ascend amidst shouts and cheers from the surrounding crowds below. Organized mass chaos!

To the east, sunrise began to illuminate the sky behind the Sandia Mountain range, as wave after wave of balloons launched and floated above us, lit up by the sunlight as it crested the mountain peaks.

For about two hours we walked amid the crowds of thousands over the 365 acre launch field, surrounded by innumerable massive balloons rising like waking giants from the earth and launching skyward all around us!

Steve described the event this way, “Imagine you are a tiny bug in the grass (think “A Bug’s Life”) and suddenly hundreds of multi-colored flowers are bursting from the ground and then floating away into the farthest blue sky!” That's what it was like!

We enjoyed this so much that we arose early again on Sunday and headed to the launch field. A cloud cover hung overhead and the event was delayed a couple hours due to winds about 200 feet above us. Finally the balloons received a green flag clearance to take off. Pilots had been eagerly awaiting this clearance and made haste to upright their balloons, soon launching and filling the sky with colors.

Watch this short video compilation I made of my pictures, video and time lapse videos if you want to get a little feel for being here!

 

Turquoise Museum

Monday all flights from Balloon Fiesta Park were cancelled due to the winds and rain in the area. We enjoyed a visit to the Turquoise Museum, which was a very educational time. We saw turquoise rocks, jewelry and art work from the six continents where turquoise is mined. Each area produces turquoise in varying shades of blue and green; each country and culture has its own unique style of jewelry and artistic uses of this special stone. The museum is well laid out in a building that looks like a castle, and is described on their website as follows:

“Founded in 1993 the Turquoise Museum is home to the LARGEST collection of NATURAL turquoise in the WORLD! Curated to fascinate each visitor about The World's Most Colorful Gem. Learn about the science and grading of turquoise, the mining and history of the gem, and the imitations and how to shop. The Turquoise Museum is a family business, now in it's fifth generation. Come by and see our family history and the international turquoise story on display."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the afternoon we hiked along the Rio Grande River. It is only about two miles from our campground. Although we haven’t seen it , it is popular with the balloon pilots to do “touch and goes” in the river if the wind is cooperating!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balloons All Around Our Trailer

 

Tuesday arrived with some more rain showers. Launches were delayed and we “slept in” but soon a green flag rose on the launch field and the sky over our trailer and campground was filled with the sights and sounds of the balloons. Some were launching from the dirt lot adjacent to our campsite while others were landing there. Some even landed or took off near trailers and others near the adjacent canal. It was a day of competition where pilots launch from a mile away from the Fiesta and have to navigate to the field and drop a marker into a target. Kind of like horseshoes from the air. We heard the cash prizes are quite the incentive for this wild ride!

SANDIA PEAK TRAMWAY

 

After enjoying the happenings around our camp for a couple of hours we headed to the Sandia Peak Tramway to enjoy a smooth ride up to the peak, 10,300 feet above sea level. The tram “flight” took about 15 minutes and transported us above deep canyons and rock escarpments, through the clouds to the top of the Sandia Mountains. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exiting the tram, hiking trails through the Cibola National Forest led though beautiful forest along the mountain side. Once the clouds dissipated we had amazing views of the city of Albuquerque stretched out below us! Groves of Aspen were stunning with their yellow gold fall colors!

 

 

 

Our "flight" back to the base of the mountain revealed amazing views of the valley of Albuquerque. The tramway boasts that “you don’t buy a ticket to ride…you fly.” I quite agree with them! It truly felt like we were flying as we made our way up and down the tramway. Maybe our flight was similar to a balloon flight, but I think our takeoffs and landings were much smoother than many that we observed at the Balloon Fiesta. If you can’t fly in a balloon, fly the tramway!

We are just halfway though the nine days of the Fiesta. The weather is delaying or cancelling events but we were aware of that possibility and made our plans to stay here for the full 9 days of this quite amazing and one of a kind event. It is the only Hot Air Ballooning event that allows visitors to walk among the balloons on the launch field. What an incredible experience! 

 

Thanks again for joining our Adventures on the Road, Albuquerque Edition!