International Balloon Fiesta, part 1....

Sometimes I feel like we're a family constantly on the go, but we have a lot of fun in our adventures! This past weekend we made the 5 1/2 hour trek South to Albuquerque for some fun with hot air and gas balloons at the biggest balloon gathering in the nation. It was a two-fold trip since we were also going to see Memaw and Papa Flory before winter really starts to rip. They drove over from Texas to see their only grandchild, and we love that.

It was an interesting drive, however. Through Colorado and on over the Raton Pass into New Mexico it was very pretty since we apparently hit the scenery at maybe a couple of days past peak on the leaves. It's always great to see the hills and mountainsides glowing with golden cottonwood and aspen leaves while the oak turns red! Then we crossed the state line and moved more into the very rural, middle of nowhere plains of New Mexico. The nice thing was there was plenty of healthy antelope herds to admire, and the wind pumps were spinning with a fury in the winds. The weird thing was we saw mostly Colorado plates, along with a smattering of Oklahoma and Kansas plates heading South with us. I think we only saw one single New Mexico plate until we were past Glorieta! And it appeared the majority of us were definitely heading to Albuquerque, especially those who were obviously carrying balloons (vans and trucks hauling cargo trailers). There was fire in the mountains West of us toward Taos and Espanola that was giving a great display of smoke in the air, so that entertained me for a long while. We crossed the pass into Santa Fe and were........stunned. Apparently the "great" part of this city is nowhere near I-25. Either that, or it's only touted as a great and beautiful city when it really isn't. Seriously, it was pretty ugly. Admittedly, we only saw that tiny piece while driving through.

But we were close to our destination, so that part was fantastic. And the drive was really a simple one, which is always a very big plus. So, we rounded into Albuquerque and started looking for our interchanges and exits for the hotel. Memaw and Papa had already checked all of us into our rooms, so all we had to do was get there and take luggage in. Always nice! So we pulled in and made our way upstairs to the room.

Luke wanted to swim, but the hotel failed to let us know the pool would be shut down for the season. He was very, very good about it, despite all of us being bummed. He quickly shifted gears and decided running around on the grass to expend the energy of being in the car was a great idea. We all agreed, and the races with Memaw and Papa ensued.

Then we all piled back into our 4Runner and made the short drive to the home of Memaw's cousin for a little visit. They own a wrecking yard and Luke was giving quite a treat!

Bud asked Luke if he liked forklifts, if he'd ever been on one, and if he'd like to drive one. Well, I'm sure you can guess the answer my 3-year-old gave and they took off for a drive. Luke loved this! Bud was operating the gas & brake, but Luke was steering and operating the lift. He even got to lift 2 cars over his head!!! All by himself!! He thought that was pretty darned awesome, and I have to agree. Then it was back to the house, with a small exception. Luke spotted a little tractor and pedaled around the yard for a bit, then begrudgingly headed back into the house with us. A quick cup of coffee and some milk, then we had to head back for a bite to eat and some shut eye.

Saturday morning would come quickly and we were heading to Balloon Fiesta Park around 5:30am....along with the other 100,000 plus people who made the journey for opening weekend. Sleep was vital! And we drifted off with full bellies.....