October 8 - Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

What a day!  It started at 3 am to catch the shuttle to the park. It was really cold and we had to wait til 6:30 for the balloon ascension. Lots of vendors to pass the time. 

Bill and Lou were able to be on two of the pit crews helping them set up. They thought that was really interesting to learn the process. 

First was the drone show.

Then the mass ascension

It was something to see. It was so amazing to me that the spectators were in the field with the balloons. No fences. We could talk to the pilots and crew and watch as they got ready to launch.

We went back to the RV for lunch and a nap. 

Then back to the Fiesta for the evening. Tonight is the shapes that glo. 

The basket of the Unicorn  

Next were some skydivers with some fireworks 

and then different drone show  

The night ended with a huge display of fireworks  

October 7 - Hike and Baloon Fiesta

​Before we left for the Bernalilio KOA Campground, we took a hike to Church Rock which is in the Navajo Nation. 

Arrived at the Bernalilio Campground, set up and went to Kaktus Brewery. This Brewery is at the edge of our campground, has good beer and where we learned ( many years ago) to make Frito Pie. 

We were amazed that they had Helles beer. That’s what we mostly drank in Germany.

Very early tomorrow we go to watch the balloon ascension. 

October 6 - Hike in the Canyon and onto New Mexico

​Before we left the campground for our next stop, we hiked the White House Ruins trail from the top of the canyon to the bottom. It was a 2.5 roundtrip trail that zigzagged down along the cliff walls. 

Fairly easy going down with the switchbacks but coming back up the trail was mostly in the sun with a lot of stops to catch our breath. 

We pulled in to tonight’s campsite at Red Rock Park. 

October 5 - Canyon de Chelly

​Before we left Sand Island Rec Area, we walked the Petroglyph Trail. 

We left Sand Island early morning to drive south on Route 191 to Canyon de Chelly. For the past several nights in Utah, we have stayed in the Navajo National lands. Now we will still be in Navajo National land in Arizona.

Our campground for tonight is in the Canyon de Chelly National Monument - no hookups but there is water available and a dump station. We are in among cottonwood trees. 

People have lived continuously in Canyon de Chelly for nearly 5,000 years

We drove the southern rim route and stopped at all the lookouts  

The above is the floor of the canyon and the bottom photo is the rim  it’s all rock.

October 4 - Pueblos and Kivas

​With our second day at Sand Island, we decided to drive back to Canyon of the Ancients to view a couple Pueblos and Kivas. The first one was Escalante Pueblo, a historic 9 room ancestral Puebloan Village in Colorado. This was the first recorded archaeological site in Colorado. Quite impressive  

The Kiva was where the community met for ceremonies.  

Next we drove to see Lowery Pueblo. We were able to walk in and look around. 

Tomorrow we keep moving south to another historic site at Chinle.

October 3 - Forest Gump’s Scenic Overlook. sand Island Rec Area, Hiking

​Before we left Sleeping Bear Campground, we drove to Forest Gump’s famous scene. 

It was hard to get a shot without people. Very popular spot. 

Drove to our next campsite at Sand Island Rec Area. Nice site along the San Juan. No hookups but clear skies at night to see the Milky Way. The river was high and muddy.

We hiked a short trail to see petroglyphs