The Week; The Rally

One aspect of the fun of traveling like this is flexibility, though sometimes being flexible is a little frustrating. About 6 hours after I posted last week's blog Joyce was sick and urping it all up. Apparently she got what Josiah had a few days earlier. So instead of going sightseeing on Monday we holed up in the ol' hacienda to let her recover. Which she did, though she had sore sides for a few days. I spent the time catching up on some computer bookkeeping and doing a little reading. In the evening she felt good enough to join Vern & Pam and Dennis & Sandy for dinner at a nice little Italian place. Weather: not very warm!

Tuesday we drove a loop up to Taos, over the high bridge spanning the Rio Grande gorge (it looks like about 10 miles to the bottom!!), around through some pretty country and back to the RV Park. In Taos we walked old town, ate at a unique little restaurant, and looked at an old adobe church. Taos was the place where Kit Carson lived for many years. We toured his house. He died in Colorado but is buried in Taos. Weather: not very warm!

Wednesday was our day to move over to Balloon Fiesta Park along with about 2000 other RVs. We joined the long, long line and finally were parked in Lot 1, Row 11, Space 121. There is room next to our RV to park the pickup, then it is the next RV, his pickup, another RV, another pickup, etc, etc, etc, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. Do you get the picture? If not, maybe this photo will help a little. We are parked on the grass where the Albuquerque Balloon Festival takes place in October. Not too far away is the "Entertainment Tent." This is a permanent steel framed, fabric covered structure that holds about 2,500 people (on small folding plastic chairs!). Weather: not very warm, but windy!

Thursday we went to a couple seminars at the Rally, then toured the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. There are 19 Indian tribes (Pueblos) in this area. Many of the Pueblo's are open to tours but we didn't make it to any. In fact we didn't make to some other places we had intended to visit. However we did eat dinner at the restaurant there. It was extremely good -- sort of a blend of Indian and Mexican. Weather: not very warm!

Friday was... well, Friday a day unto itself. It started off with us waiting in line about 45 minutes to catch the shuttle bus to the Rally. (The Rally is at the fairgrounds, we are at Balloon Fiesta Park -- about 15 miles apart). When it started to snow, we should have gotten a clue but we're slow learners. The snow was not heavy and did not stick but it was cold. We did stuff at the Rally like a couple seminars, touring the exhibits, picking up freebies, and spending some of our own money. They close the exhibits at 5:00 so about 4:15 Joyce suggested we get in the line to catch a shuttle back to our RV. By that time the line was two blocks long. While we waited in line it snowed, sleeted, hailed, rained! To make matters worse, they did not have enough buses and there was an accident on the freeway which delayed the few buses they did have. It took us 2 1/2 hours to get back to the RV! To protect my head from the freezing elements I put Joyce's sweatshirt on like a hat and tied the sleeves under my chin. Joyce put a plastic grocery bag over her hat and let the handles flap! We were quite the sight but others were doing similar things to keep warm. Weather: just plain downright cold!

A Neil Sedaka concert was scheduled for that evening in the Entertainment Tent. When we got back to the RV we changed into some warm, dry clothes, grabbed a bite to eat, and went to the concert. It started late because they knew a bunch of us were at the mercy of a few fickle shuttle buses. Anyway, it was a good concert but we walked back to the rig in a cold drizzle. Weather: cold!

Saturday dawned a new day with new promise. The only problem was that the places we planed to visit that day had gotten at least a foot of snow during the night. We wanted to go to Bandalier National Monument and Los Alamos but decided that wasn't a good idea. So instead, we went back to the Rally for a little while. Yes, we rode the shuttle because they added a bunch more buses. It was okay. In the evening we went to the last part of Rita Coleman's concert. She is part Indian and sang "Amazing Grace" in Cherokee. Very moving. On the way back to the RV we watched the Balloon Glow. There were 7 hot air balloons tethered to the ground and the operators would make them glow with the burners. Awesome sight. Weather: much warmer!

We began Sunday by going to church in the Entertainment Tent. It was a nondenominational service which had two parts: the music was Mary and Max who sang country gospel and invited the congregation to join them for a couple sing-a-longs. Then came the preacher who was from Texas and spoke about God's greatness. It was all good but notice what is missing. No prayer. No real congregational singing. No scripture except a little with the sermon. Okay, I guess I'm being a little critical but it seemed like we should have talked to God at least once since it was his day and we were supposed to be worshiping him. Then we drove (notice the word, "drove") to the Rally for a some more seminars and freebies. Late in the afternoon we drove over to Vern and Pam's house for pizza. We talked a lot and watched the video of her dad's memorial service. Her dad, Ray Barnes, was my mentor and spiritual father when I was growing up -- and even in later years. Weather: warm!

Today I took a tour (Joyce didn't go) to Trinity Site. A little history here: As World War II was winding down, scientists were putting together a new devise that eventually became known as the atomic bomb. One version they knew would work so it wasn't tested (that one was eventually dropped on Hiroshima). However, another version -- using plutonium -- was a little iffy. It was tested at 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945. The test area was called Trinity Site. This picture is me standing by the obelisk that marks the exact spot (except 100 feet up) where history ushered in the atomic age. This location -- as you might expect -- is literally out in the middle of nowhere. It is kind of awesome to stand where such a momentous event took place. Weather: nice and warm!

Ahhh. This is more like it. Tomorrow we leave for Mesa, Arizona. Yes, that is a change of plans. Details later. Stay tuned.