#13-21 Our Hot Air Balloon ride 9-25-2013

Inflating the balloon before dawn.  We had to get up at 4:30 am!!!!!

Dawn, now we can fly!

 

A little crowded in the basket, but our pilot says we can fly just fine.

We are up, up and away!  And we are not the only ones in the sky.

As the sun rises so do we, our pilot tells us we are about 1000 feet above the city.

Then he takes us down close enough to see the petrographs on the rocks.  It feels like we are going to crash into them.

Our shadow on the ground.  Coming in for a landing we could almost touch the roof the the apartments.  We land in a little park in the middle of a housing development.

Deflating the balloon, rolling it up and packing it into its bag.  We sit on the bag to get all the air out of it, while chase “wife” and pilot pack up the basket.  We are then driven back to the park, where we started, to have our champagne, get hats and tee shirts and have snacks. 

What a wonderful experience.  The noise from the burner keeping the air hot inside the balloon was hard on the ears.  I have the ear muffs on for that as well as the chill of the early morning.  You can tell we had a great time. 

#13-20 Albuquerque, NM before Balloon Fiesta 9-19 thru 9-30

First thing I did when we arrived in Albuquerque was get my nails done!  Angel Nails was just opening and offered a 20% discount to volunteers.  Ryan, the nail tech is very artistic.  Each balloon on each finger is different and he did it all free hand.  I just showed him some pictures of hot air balloons on my phone and he took it from there.  Fun!

Our first stop was on the bluff overlooking the take off field.  We are here two weeks before the Fiesta, so we didn’t have a lot of work to do.  Gave us some time to do some sight seeing and tourist stuff.

They are starting to bring in the rental golf carts.  Lining them up and checking them out to see if they all run, lights work, tires are inflated.  Took them days to check out over 250 golf carts.

Now we move down to the big RV parking lot.  This lot is on an old dump site and it will hold about 1500 RVs.  Before the big rush, the volunteers gather for pot lucks, and pancake breakfasts and Marguerita happy hours.  A nice group to work with.  Once the Fiesta starts, they spread out.  There are so many places for volunteers to work. 

The guys have about 8 or 9 golf carts that they use to guide people to their parking spots.  There is only one area that has water and electric hook-ups that are available to reserve.  The rest are first come first served, or you can sign up online to guarantee a spot, just any spot that is available.  The volunteers have 30 amp hookups and water and we get our tanks pumped out twice a week, so we are permanent before, during and after the Fiesta.  Before the Fiesta the ladies pack goodie bags to hand out, and get the packets ready for the groups that come in.  The guys go out in the field and mark the sights, dig up the “goat head” weeds, and cordon off the areas that groups have reserved.  It is a lot of work, but also fun.

#13-19 Moab to Albuquerque 9-16 thru 9-18

Gidget wants to know if we are there yet?  The scenery through Utah is so beautiful.

We see balancing rocks, arches, caves and sandstone rocks that have been carved by the elements.
The sky is giving us quite a show.  We encounter some showers, but drive right out of them.

Ship rock, sacred to the Navajo Indians.  and below a monument rock framed by the window of our RV.  We are now in New Mexico.  Next stop, Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, where we have volunteered to help in the RV parking areas.

#13-18 Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake 9-15

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the organist and the film crew.  Absolutely beautiful.  This is shown live and taped for later airings.  TV, Radio, You Tube and internet.
The Tabernacle holds about 2500 people, and it was full. 

Our next adventure will be out to see the Great Salt Lake and take in the largest island, Antelope  Island.  We drive across a causeway to get to the island.  It is about 30 miles from where we are parked to get into the park.  The entire island is a state park.

The beautiful clouds reflected on the lake, and the children frolicking on the beach.  At the visitor center we are welcomed with a map of the island and where the roads take us.
After we cross onto the island, we see a buffalo and off in the distance an prong horned antelope. “Home, Home on the range, where the buffalo roam and the antelope range”. We didn’t see any deer, but they are on the island as well as big horn sheep. 

I guess these wild animals are used to cars and people, because they didn’t move.  They are both real, even though they look like statues.

Here are the statues, at the visitors center

The causeway, viewed from a opening in the wall around the visitor center.  Looks like a picture.

Another view from inside the center through a window.

After we left the visitor center we drove 11 miles to the historic Fielding Garr Ranch, which was built in 1848.  It is the oldest Anglo-built house still on it’s original foundation in Utah.  On our way we pass the grill and the signs saying watch out for the buffalo.

The ranch house
The spring house and the combination lower level fruit and vegetable cellar and above a four person bunk house.

Big difference in the inside of the farm house from the Brigham Young house we toured yesterday. A little sparse, but comfortable and serviceable.  I don’t think they did a lit of entertaining.  But it was a working ranch and had ranch hands.  They slept in one room with four beds.

While out on the range they had the covered sleeping/cooking wagon.  Someone was very handy and thought up the first mobile home.

The ranch still raises stock, but they are wild buffalo.  They come right up to the fence and I suppose during the winter are fed with hay to supplement their feed.

Gidget and I and the buffalo at the farm. 
It’s time to head back to the RV, tomorrow we drive to Moab, UT then on to Gallup, NM and finally to our destination of Albuquerque,for the balloon festival.  We are volunteering to help park RV’s and hand out packets.  Should be fun as we will be working with HR people we know from Yuma.