Balloons And Art

Albuquerque is known worldwide for their International Balloon Fiesta every October. Alas, as it is currently February, I am a little bit tardy and unable to attend... BUT....there is the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum that helped take the sting out of missing the Fiesta. 

 Ben Abruzzo and Maxie Anderson were part of the crews who first successfully crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a balloon in 1978 and the Pacific Ocean in 1981. They were also instrumental in organizing the Balloon Fiesta. This museum is dedicated to “the art, culture, science, history, sport and spectacle of ballooning”. In 1783 France, the first hot air balloon was launched. The passengers were a sheep, a duck and a rooster and the balloon stayed in the air for a grand total of 15 minutes before crashing back to the ground. While there is no record of what happened to the duck and rooster, the sheep survived and went on to live the rest of its days as part of Marie Antoinette's menagerie.

This is a copy of one of the original balloons.  Notice the oars. 
The captain of the ship seemed to think that it made some difference in their flight.

Lou and Davey - a great picture 

From the late 1700's to the 1930's - how far has ballooning come

The Turquoise Trail is a scenic fifty mile stretch of road linking Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Along the way, you can take a side trip up to the top of Scandia Peak, which at 10,678 ft elevation had a bit of snow and a great view. OK, I left Minnesota to avoid snow, but there is that certain crispness and fresh smell that accompanies snow that left me perhaps a little nostalgic for Minnesota winter. Don't get me wrong, the feeling left quickly but it was really nice while it lasted.

There are a bunch of little towns along the Turquoise Trail and many of them have turned into little art towns. We stopped in Madrid and putzed through the shops. A lot of local arts, many rather amateurish, but there were a few shops that had some incredibly beautiful objects. 

I love this

The RV park that we stayed in outside of Albuquerque was called the Enchanted Trails RV Park.  I had stayed here on previous visits to Albuquerque.  Not only do they have a bunch of vintage campers and cars near the entrance, but they decorate for Xmas.  I think this tree is very special.

If you can't tell, those are hubcaps