Ojo Caliente and the Posi ruins (October 15, 2023)

Deep fried poblano peppers in the Ojo Caliente wine bar. Does it get any better?

The Posi ruins, above the hot springs at Ojo, are named for the Posi-Ouinge meaning "village at the place of the green bubbling springs." This was the largest pueblo in the area prior to the 15th century. Villagers built terraced gardens overlooking the springs.

Pottery shards

Overlooking the Ojo Caliente resort

You climb a rocky path to reach the ruins.

Donna against the bright blue New Mexico sky.

At the wine bar after soaking in the springs. Donna wanted us in our robes. No shoes, no shirt. Just swimsuits and a robe.

 

Hiking at Ojo Caliente (October 15, 2023)

Cactus flowers

Donna's thumb

The quaking aspens were golden.

RV graveyard. Why???

In many Native American cultures, the spiral symbolizes life's journey. The spiral always returns to itself, but never exactly at the same place. When you walk the spiral, you are walking your unique path of self discovery.

The round barn, built in 1928, is the only adobe round barn in the US. On my first trip to Ojo, around 2007, the yoga instructor and I did poses in the loft while doves flew in and out of the barn. Magical!

End of the trail

 

Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe (October 14, 2023)

On our way to Ojo Caliente, we stopped at the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe. The chapel is known for its helix-shaped staircase (nicknamed "Miraculous Stair"), which rises 20 feet (6.1 m) to the choir loft while making two full turns, all without the support of a newel or central pole. The carpenter appeared after 9 days of prayer by the nuns, then disappeared never to be named.

The staircase, built in 1878, is no longer strong enough to hold a choir like it did for many years.

The altar. We lit prayer candles. 

 

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta (October 14, 2023)

How it begins: hauling everything but the gondola in a trailer

The gondola in the pickup bed. I loved that we could mingle with the balloon pilots and passengers.

The balloon is laid out, ready for inflation.

You start with a fan at the opening to make room for the flame. Hot air balloon. Right.

As the balloon inflates, you tip the gondola upright.

Another view of inflating a hot air balloon.

A lot of balloon shapes too.

 

If we're ever all in Albuquerque, we must take a ride in Rainbow Ryder's balloon!

Passengers waving to us.

And so it ends.

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta: annular eclipse (October 14, 2023)

  During an annular eclipse, the Moon is centered in front of the Sun but doesn’t completely obscure it, instead leaving a ring of sunlight visible around the Moon’s edges. This circle of light is called an annulus, or sometimes a “ring of fire.” Annular solar eclipses happen only when the Moon is at the furthest point from Earth in its orbit, making the Moon appear smaller than usual from the Earth’s perspective.

Meanwhile, back in Austin....Tom sent us this photo of the sidewalk in front of our house. More spectacular than our Albuquerque experience, even though we were in the direct path of the eclipse. (shrug emoji)

If you didn't know an eclipse was happening, I think you'd miss it. The sky hardly changed.

The balloonists created their own ring of fire.

Phone or eclipse? 

The sky never got dark, only overcast. 

Wearing our stylin' eclipse glasses, courtesy of NASA. Staff handed them out as we entered the park.

You could also watch it on the big screen TV. But why, when you can see the real thing???

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta: pre-dawn prep (October 14, 2023)

Donna and me at the pre-dawn launch.

The 2023 Balloon Fiesta featured 546 registered balloons, including 107 special shape balloons, and 629 pilots representing 16 countries.

We were close enough to feel the heat

Balloons launched row by row

Balloons like distant planets

Dawn over the Sandia Mountains

 

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta: pre-dawn drone show (October 14, 2023)

Are we crazy? Donna's flight didn't arrive until nearly midnight on Friday the 13th. We got up at 3 a.m. to get to the Balloon Fiesta before traffic jammed. The park opened at 4 a.m. Being from Austin, where ACL was happening the same weekend with tickets at a minimum of $170 per day (and $5150 per weekend for the 3-day platinum pass), I couldn't believe the Fiesta admission was only $15. Parking was $20, also a bargain compared to downtown Austin's $8 for 20 minutes prices. 

We walked around and sipped coffee until the 5 a.m. drone show. I think this silent show but for music is better than fireworks especially for puppies who are terrified of the bangs and pops.

Donna

The peppers were red, then green, then mixed. Donna waited all weekend for a waiter to ask us if we wanted "red? green? Christmas?" salsa. 
 

More early October 2023

Moonflowers and chrysanthemums

What do you do with a cucumber bonanza?

We didn't have a pickle kit but found a very easy recipe online. You use vinegar, water, salt, and a little sugar for sweet pickles. Put fresh cucumbers in the mixture in the fridge for about 3 days, and voila! you have pickles that last for 4-6 weeks. Can you believe we finished all of them? They were great on salads.

I left the turkey jerky out to pack for the New Mexico trip with Donna. Guess who likes turkey jerky?
 

Early October 2023

Fox and Leeloo over for a visit

We harvested one frame of honey from one of the hives. The bees had filled all 8 frames. They'll abscond if they don't have space to store more honey. We replaced this one with an empty one. Got about 5 pounds of honey and comb.