Day 26, October 4, 2021

We made it to Albuquerque, 315 miles direct east from Flagstaff. For most of the trip it was desolate prairie across Arizona and almost as soon as we crossed into New Mexico, there were beautiful multi-colored mountains. About halfway we surpassed 5,000 miles for the trip.

Above is the North Campground at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. We are in the middle of the pack and only three rows from the open grounds were the balloons will be launched tomorrow morning.

It was in the upper 80s when we arrived, but it has cooled off quickly with the sun setting. We are now on Mountain Time. Below is what the launch field looked like this afternoon. It will look significantly different at sunrise tomorrow.

Balloons launch at 7 a.m. with some “Morning Glow” balloons going up at 6. By 8 we’ll have the rest of the day to ourselves and our plan is to drive the High Road to Taos, a 105 mile scenic route with mountain views, “charming” towns and villages, galleries, and museums. It starts in Santa Fe.

A story I forgot to share on yesterday’s blog: Early on the morning we were preparing to leave the Grand Canyon, two elk wandered through our campground between campers. A man from Long Island came over to me and wanted to know (seriously) whether they were camels! When I told him they were elk, he responded, “But they don’t have antlers.” I told him they were cows and the bull elk would likely be along shortly. His response, “Oh.”