WOW!!! BALLOONS everywhere!!!!

We went for this mornings liftoff and it was amazing and unbelievably beautiful!  It was a perfect morning; not too cold, a beautiful dawn, brilliant blue skies, and hundreds of balloons.

And they came down everywhere

Another day, more adventures

First thing I did today was to go and see the earthship community outside of Taos.  These homes are built with lots of recycled materials and they are off the grid.

Next I went to walk across the bridge that goes across the Rio Grande Gorge, also near Taos.

We decided it was time to head south.  I wanted to find a little store in Chimayo where M'Lin buys her chilie powder.  New Mexico doesn't seem to Mark their roads very well, but with some meandering we finally found it.

This ones for you, M'Lin.

This little store is a part of a little, but famous El Santuario de Chimayo where people go for healings.  It's a quiet, peaceful place and we had our lunch sitting under the trees.

The little church is beautiful inside and there is dirt that people can take from a well like hole and it is said to have healing properties.

A wonderful place to spend a little time before we forge on to Albuquerque and the hustle and bustle of the Hot Air Balloon Festival.

On the road again!!!

Being on the road is one of my favorite things to do.......no clear plans, but maybe an idea as to direction.  

We head north on Hwy. 550 toward Durango, Colorado after having a green chili burrito at a small cafe.  (Wow, hot and delicious)

First stop, The Aztec Ruins (which the Spanish misnamed.  This complex was built by the ancestral Pueblo peoples in the late 1000's and was inhabited for 200 years.).  They make me reflect on all the peoples that built these settlements through out North, Central, and South America....all aligned in

certain directions and with the solstices.  Pretty amazing!!

Next stop, Durango.

And now east......past Chimney Rock

To Pagosa Springs....a town with hot springs as well as winter sports. we have our picnic lunch in a park here.

Heading south-east on Hwy. 64, we drop back into New Mexico......beautiful country and a two lane road with few cars.

Evening arrives as we enter Taos where we find an Inn and I relax in a hot tub before I turn in for the night.  Looking forward to tomorrow's adventures! 

The South-West, here I come

Monday morning, September 29th I fly to New Mexico to see an old friend and to go to the hot air balloon festival.

Patsy, her daughter, and her grand daughter pick me up and we drive 160 miles to Farmington in the north-western corner of the state.  We drive through beautiful desert country...red bluffs, mesas with big open skies full of storm clouds, blue sky, and rainbows.

I meet her family for the first time and so this adventure begins with family and good food.

And a river walk in town.....

Tomorrow we head out on the road toward Colorado and then east to see what we can see.