And The ADVENTURE Continues...: October 2015

Friday, October 16, 2015

October 16, 2015 RECAP OF OUR 7 MONTH JOURNEY

Friday, October 16, 2015 RECAP OF OUR 7 MONTH JOURNEY

We have been on the road almost 7 months now.

RV has traveled over 12,000 miles

Car has been driven over 7000 miles even with it being down for 3 weeks

Our favorite state so far is still Oregon

The most picturesque place we have seen is Bryce National Park and a close second has been the Balloon Fiesta.

Highest elevation has been 12,300 feet-Rocky Mountain National Park, CO

Highest temperature has been 109 degrees

Lowest temperature has been 38 degrees

Longest we have hiked has been 9 miles

Have driven through 25 states this trip, we have 7 more to go before we hit all 49 , Hawaii is not counted

Best campground has been West Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park
Pat has taken over 15,374 pictures---Still the Crazy picture lady!!!!!

Mike has lost 27 pounds---I think he has hit his plateau
The worst thing that has happened- getting the RV and car towed and having major repairs done
Place that the most pictures were taken-1) Yellowstone 1048, 2) San Francisco 888, 3)Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta 871
Campgrounds we have stayed at 42

October 10, 2015 Last day at the Balloon Fiesta

Saturday, October 10, 2015 Last day at the Balloon Fiesta

Sorry I thought that I posted this day but just found out that it was just sitting there to get posted.

Sadly today is the last day here in Albuquerque and the last day of our blog.. I know that some people are going to have withdrawals but our first leg is over. We are heading to Texas where Mike is going to be working for Amazon till Christmas.

We watched the balloons go up this morning from our campsite and they started floating our way and then landing in the field next to us so Mike and I went over to see then land. Mike couldn't stay there and watch he had to go and help the balloons coming in for a landing without their landing crew. They were landing all over the place. What a hectic hour or so for everyone.

Mike and I planned to go down to the fairgrounds to see the night glow. You could just feel the anticipation from kids and adults alike waiting for it to get dark. The balloons starting to blow up and then the sun finally set. As soon as everyone was inflated they started the countdown for all of the balloons to light up. What a display!!!!! They would all come on all at once and then they would all flicker on and off. What a great ending to our visit to the Balloon Fiesta 2015. We have thoroughly enjoyed our week here. It is a wonderful site to see.

So this is it. If we do take a side trip and there are some interesting things to share I will post so periodically check back and see what is happening. I hoped that everyone enjoyed our blog and pictures for the last 6 months.

Max looking at the balloons

LAST DAY OF THIS WONDERFUL EVENT

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MIKE HELPING WITH THE LANDING

LIGHTING OF THE BALLOONS -NIGHT GLOW

LAST SUNSET AT THE BALLOON FIESTA

FAREWELL TO THE BALLOONS

Friday, October 9, 2015

October 9, 2015 NO POST FOR TODAY

October 8, 2015 Stayed at campground and short trips to Balloon fields

Thursday, October 8, 2015 Stayed at campground and short trips to Balloon fields

Yesterday I struck up a conversation with a couple while watching the balloons and It turns out that they have a coach just like ours but a year older and are from NH. We agreed to meet and compare notes on our coaches and on our adventures. Jim and Mike talked about the coaches and Terry and I hit it off finding that we have a lot of interests in common.

I spent the morning with Jim and Terry while Mike drove to get our car. We watched the dawn patrol and today was character day as the kids are out from school. Jim and Terry are heading back home today but we agreed to keep in touch and hopefully will met up sometime along our journey if not we will stop in and see them when we visit with family in NH , Yes our car is FINALLY ready to be picked up.

Mike made it home by 3 and so we headed down to the balloon field. We walked around to the various shops and watched a group of men doing some fantastic wood carvings that get auctioned off each night. The money raised goes to helping the community. They carve these pieces in one day!

We planned on watching the night glow but the wind suddenly picked up and the balloons wouldn't stay up so this activity was cancelled. So we headed on home a little disappointed but it was a long day especially for Mike who had driven a total of 10 hours today.

DAWN PATROL THIS MORNING

CHARACTER BALLOONS

AUBREY THIS ONE IS FOR YOU

CARVINGS FROM ANOTHER DAY

THESE CARVINGS ARE BEING JUDGED AND AUCTIONED OFF TODAY

KIDS HAVING SOME FUN

October 7, 2015 Petroglyph National Monument, Turquoise Museum and Old Town Albuquerque

Wednesday, October 7, 2015 Petroglyph National Monument, Turquoise Museum and Old Town Albuquerque

We began our day watching the balloons go up from our campsite instead of going to the field. We sat there for about an hour hoping the wind would blow in our direction but the balloons were floating away from us. So we headed in as it was in the low 50's and I was getting a little chilled.

Next we headed to the Petroglyph National Monument.. This place has more than 20,000 petroglyphs over a span of 17 miles.. We only walked 3 miles. They estimate that these were made 400-700 years ago and there are some that go back some 2000-3000 years ago. So there is a lot of history here in this one place. Pretty incredible that something has survived for this long of a time.

The next thing that we went to see was the turquoise museum. This was an very small place but this is the place to go to learn about turquoise from beginning to end. It is a family owned business and they have turquoise from all over the world. It was more than we expected. It was well worth the small fee.

Then we walked around Old Town. Everywhere we turned we heard music. I even bought a CD.

Time is running down for us. Our car is finally ready for pickup so Mike is going to get it tomorrow. Sunday is going to be our last day here and then we are heading to Amazon just on the outskirts of Forth Worth so folks this blog is going to really slow down as we will be staying in one place till the new year. At this time we have no plans to travel. We also haven't made up our minds as to where we are going to winter,

THESE 4 BALLOONS ARE FROM YESTERDAY WHERE THEY LANDED IN FRONT OF US