Up Up And Away!

September 26, 2012

This is our last day in Albuquerque.  Tomorrow we go to Canyon de Chelly National Monument for a few days, not much there as far as ammenities, so this is likely our last post for a while.  Today we went to the Pueblo Indian Culture Center and learned how the Spanish screwed them in the 1400s until they revolted in 1680.  Also saw a video about how Maria Martenez created the black pottery we saw at the Millicent Rogers museum.

September 25, 2012

Today was balloon ride day!  We had to be at the launch site at 7AM.  They only fly early in the morning and just before dusk due to winds.  It was everything we expected, cool, cool cool!  It was a perfect morning also, clear and sunny.  We flew from 10 feet to about 5,000 feet over neighborhoods, wildlife, and the Rio Grande.  Ok, a tip for Albuquerque neighbors, don’t skinny dip in your hot tub or pool in the mornings or evenings!  Well unless you’re advertising, then be sure to display a phone number.  It was completely quite except when the pilot lit the burners.

Although we have seen preparations and launch, the landing was interesting.  The winds were not cooperating, so primary and secondary landing targets were aborted.  As we flew around looking for landing spots.  I was wondering, how much propane have we got?  We were on the third tank of four.  We ended up landing in an open field next to a main road.    

Deflating the balloon was quite an affair.  They actually dropped the envelope over the road snarling traffic for a while.  Getting the air out and getting that thing back in the bag was quite a challenge.  Airtime was a little over an hour. At the end of the trip we had a champagne toast and some munchies. Very nifty experience!

Wow, its was only 10AM, so what do we do for the rest of the day?  Nearby was the Unser Museum.  I’m sure most know the Unser’s family race car heritage, but for those that do not, the Unser family made their fame by racing and winning the Pike’s Peak Hill Climb race many times across 3 generations.  Later Al and Bobby were winners of the Indy 500.  Al Jr. raced for Roger Penske in the late 80s. Brad had the opportunity to meet him at MIS when we attended a race.

The museum was a collection of cars, trophies, and keepsakes from the racing Unsers.  The picture shown is of a car raced at Indy by Al Sr. powered by a Supercharged Novi engine.  First one I ever saw up close.  A remarkable thing about the museum was there were no ropes or barriers, you could get right up to the cars.

Well, although our energy was waning, next stop was Petroglyphs National Monument.  Basically a park preserving Indian graffiti.  But this was pretty special.  First it was old.  Through carbon dating some were from 1000BC, but most were from about 1200-1300AD.  Second, the area is a volcanic escarpment.  The Ancestral Pueblo Indians felt these areas were sacred, and in some cases these were felt to be communication with ancestral spirits.  According to a park ranger we spoke with, they have had some modern day Pueblo Indians come out to interpret them, and each had a different interpretation.  These are a couple of the many we saw.  The bird engraving has been interpreted as a macaw, symbol for rain.

What do you think  people will say about our graffiti in a 1000 years?

        

September 24, 2012

We got to Albuquerque yesterday, Sunday and just chilled out here.  The campground we’re in is a combination motor home park and campground, and not the best we’ve been in but the location is convenient to things we want to do. They want $6 a day for internet so we searched out a nearby library with free WiFi about a mile and half away.

Today we visited some RV supply stores.  I lost another dump valve handle that makes dumping our tanks rather cumbersome.  Unfortunately the three stores visited did not have what I wanted.  We then visited the National Nuclear Science Museum.  As you probably know Los Alamos, New Mexico is a focal point for A-bomb development known as the Manhattan Project for WWII, and they tested the first impact A-bomb called Trinity.

The museum provided a good understanding of the drivers leading to the development of the A bomb and why it got used on Japan.  Not sure we agree with their motives, or the justification to drop them, but the museum was interesting.  The picture is a full sized model of the Little Boy dropped on Hiroshima, and the Fat Boy dropped on Nagasaki.  They were different types of bombs. Little Boy was a rifle type with 2 hunks of U 235 driven together with an explosive detonator.  It was set off 1200 feet in the air.  Fat Man was an implosion bomb with a hunk of Pu 239 surrounded by explosives that caused the Plutonium to reach critical mass.  This was identical to Trinity.  These were the only nuclear weapons ever used, thankfully!

Bandelier National Monument

September 22, 2012

Today we decided to take a drive on the High Road to Taos (we ran it from Taos) then visited Bandelier National Monument.  The high road was quite scenic, no pictures though because the mountains were east into the sun.  Generally they route people off at a point north of the actual end, of course we decided to go all the way.  Wow, New Mexico Highway 503, a state highway mind you, was barely the width of a car.  It was paved and curved right in front of a couple of front porches!  We thought we were lost, but no, a state highway sign showed up in less than mile.  Easy to see why they route you off before.

Eventually we made it to White Rock, near Los Alamos where a shuttle takes you into the Bandelier park.  The park experienced a really bad year in 2011.  A wild fire burned 60% of the high mesa vegetation.  They got it put out in August then were hit by a flash flood.  The lack of vegetation caused the water to run rampant and took out several trails, bridges, and some ruins.  They are recovering but a flood threat will continue until vegetation grows back.

The park is actually an archeological site where they discovered ruins left from Ancestral Pueblo People.  The picture is the overall view of talus houses. A community of, they figure, about 100 people.  The second photo is a closer view of a remaining wall showing the brick structure. 

 In this same area they built and lived in cliff dwellings.  Many with ladders you can ascend to look into to the dwelling.  The people were similar to those living at Mesa Verde, except the material for these caves is a very soft material called tuff.  Mesa Verde dwellings were not carved out.  They cut bricks and carried them into the cave to build pueblos.  Their material was sandstone, which explains why their ruins have stood up better.
 

Bandelier Park, named after Adolf Bandelier who found the ruins, sits in Frijoles Valley.  The Pueblo People lived off the valley, and some on the mesa above.  The park is quite interesting and scenic. The hikes are easy, with well maintained trails.

As you know we love our poseys.  Here are a couple from today.


Buckhorn Cactus




Mexican Hat

 Tomorrow we move to Albuquerque.  Balloon ride next week!