AZ at last!

Sunday, October 9, 2016

We got up early and hit the road to get to Scottsdale so that we could watch the race!  We took this same drive 5 years ago, the first time that we drove to Arizona.  We forgot how pretty the drive is, and also forgot all the ups and downs and steep grades—its a little more challenging in a motorhome! 

We knew we were getting close when the mountains came into view.  It never gets old!  Then, the saguaro cactus popped up!  Arizona is the only state where you can find these cacti, and it seemed they just appeared once we hit a specific line.

Finally, the Scottsdale sign greeted us as we drove down Shea…we were glad to be close to the end of this journey.  Even Spot knew we were close—there must be a familiar smell for him…he couldn’t sit still.  

We pulled in a parking lot behind the condos…since it is Sunday, the lot was open, and it made a nice spot to unload without having to travel back and forth from storage.  It was kinda funny to walk across a parking lot with “stuff”, but boy it made it nice and quick!

Tom and Margaret were waiting for us.  The condo was in great shape, except for the scale that doesn’t work (thank goodness) and the hot day reminded us we are in AZ at last!

Oh, and we arrived in time to see most of the race.  Darn it, #24 had a great day going until that restart that took him out.

Waiting now for the javalinas that have been visiting in our backyard each evening.

It’s been a wonderful trip, full of new adventures!  We’ve been gone from home for 6 weeks and travelled 3000+ miles. It’s good to be able to settle in for a change.

Gettin’ our kicks on Route 66!

Saturday, October 8, 2016

We spent two nights in Holbrook, AZ. right on Route 66!   Everywhere you look it’s Route 66!  We stopped at a Dairy Queen for an “extra” kick, which included a Dilly Bar, and a soft serve cone—loved the old-time sign. 

We visited Meteor Crater, a fascinating place, not too far from “standing on a corner in Winslow, AZ, such a fine sight to see”.  It’s quite an interesting story--this is a family owned national landmark.  The family obtained ownership because they obtained the mining rights to the area back in the early 1900’s.  There was some controversy about whether this was an impact site, or volcanic residue.  An impact site would have a lot of iron from the meteor, which would bring value, so there was mining done at the site, which generated a lot of information and helped prove it was an impact. Most of the meteor disintegrated. The largest piece of the meteor is on display, and  too heavy to lift  but Jim gave it a try! It is estimated the meteor was travelling at 26,000 mph when it hit the earth 50,000 years ago!  It created a giant bowl-shaped cavity, 700 ft deep and 4,000 ft across!  Meteor Crater is the first proven and best preserved impact site on earth.  NASA has done training at the site for its astronauts so they would know how to collect material on cratered regions on the moon!  Pretty interesting stuff…guess we’ll be ready for the next meteor that comes this way.

Then we visited the Petrified National Forest—Route 66 used to run right through it. An antelope greeted us as we entered—it ran across the road right in front of us!   The national park is part of a natural travel corridor that has been used for over 10,000 years.  Even today, a railroad track runs through the area.  Petrified Forest is the only national park that preserves a section of Route 66.  Roosevelt designated it as a national monument in 1906 and it became a national park in 1962. 

There was so much to see—it is a huge park featuring trees from 200 million years ago that have been petrified by silica from volcanic ash that turned the wood to stone.  The pieces of trees look like rainbow granite sprinkled around the area!   It is against the law to take anything from the park, although it was tempting to take a shiny rock!

 

Spot enjoyed the views of the Painted Desert!  The layers of sedimentary rock create a spectacular and colorful display of the landscape. Justwish the pictures would show how beautiful the area is.

At one overlook we were able to see prehistoric petroglyphs, thought to be as old as 2,000 years!  It’s hard to believe that people inhabited this vast, lonely area so many years ago.  I wonder what they were trying to tell us from these markings—were they marking trails?  --marking events, or days?  --telling a story?  Hmmmm….or trying to get their kicks on Route 66?

Special Shapes and Special Friends

Friday, October 7, 2016

We got to see one more launch this morning before we took off.  This one was the special shapes rodeo, which featured the special shapes balloons.  There were magnificent balloons, in every shape and size and color you could ever imagine! 

The kids loved the special shapes, and would shriek and scream when they lifted from the ground, which really added to the excitement of the event.  The horse patrol watched as the Paw Patrol Balloon launched!

As we departed, we hugged goodbye to all of our newfound friends. It is surprising how the friendships developed after one short week of being together each day.  What a great group of people, who took us in and included us as part of their balloon family! And, they are such an interesting group:  The driver of the chase vehicle was Tim, an air traffic controller.  (I think you have to drive crazy to be a chase vehicle driver…hope he didn’t learn that from watching the skies.)   He educated us on how they measure the wind and currents.   His brother Dan, helped assemble the basket, laid out the balloon, and drove the second chase vehicle.  Dan is a Colts season ticket holder and lives in Albuquerque!  He’s the one that keeps the supplies stocked (including the Albuquerque Sunrises!)  Frank, a UPS guy,  was the “strong man” who held the lead rope, lugged the propane tanks around and held the basket until the “go ahead” was received.  Dee, a retired teacher and Gary, a builder from Crawfordsville, were in charge of the radios. Gary is the one that communicated with Dave via radio during the flight and the chase, communicating location, landing plans and any issues on the ground or in the air.  Dee previously took balloon pilot lessons, so was very familiar with the operations of the balloon, and helped get the balloon ready and inflated.  Mina was responsible for getting the proper forms and releases signed, and organized who rode in which vehicle.  And, she was always cleaning and arranging the trailer, and sometimes held the fan to inflate the balloon.   Pilot Dave oversaw the entire operation, and double checked each step.  He also handled the burner, and did the final inflation.  He was so professional, experienced and calm in every way.  You can see what an interesting group this is, and also can see there is a lot that goes into putting a balloon in the air. 

After the launch, we had to hurry back to the RV lot, (we had to be out by 10am). A couple of balloons had landed right in the middle of the RV’s.  One balloon pilot yelled…”I want that spot!”.  Then, as we got our coffee-to-go from the rally tent, we hugged our wagon-masters and ambassadors who put on the motorhome event.  This was one of the best rallies we’ve been to.  All of the arrangements are made by Fantasy RV Tours, and we are now silver members because we’ve been on 4 trips with them.  And, we’ve booked another trip for next fall—this one to see the Polar Bears in their migration!

As we drove away from the city, we could still see hundreds of balloons hanging in the sky. 

It was so much fun!

More Hot Air!

Thursday, October 6, 2016

We had another great day, and Jim got to take his maiden flight on That-A-Way balloon!  What a thrill!    The winds were a bit tricky today, and they studied the skies as they planned ahead for the launch.  After they took off, they floated quickly south, and the wind picked up..they approached 15 mph!  They began looking for a landing spot, but the wind kept carrying them in another direction.  Finally the wind stalled, and they hovered above a neighborhood, and then dropped expertly right in the middle of a neighborhood street!  I was with the chase crew and got a great video of the perfect landing which was pretty impressive!  All of the neighbors came running out, and were so excited about a balloon on their street. One guy was going to bring everyone a bowl of green chili soup they were making!  (we passed). Another guy asked if Dave could do this again tomorrow, so he could have the rest of his family come over to watch!  What fun it was!  Jim was riding in the balloon with a film guy who is working on a documentary of the Balloon Fiesta.  We all had to give permission to be on camera.  Maybe we’ll see it on Netflix someday!  It is quite an ordeal to get the balloon and all of the equipment packed up.  The balloon has to lay down on the street, and there is a tool that helps squeeze the air out.  It’s amazing that huge balloon can fit in a little canvas bag! It weighs about 250 lbs!

When we returned to the field, Dave had champagne waiting for us (tradition for a maiden flight).  He explained the history and the tradition, popped the cork, we all toasted,  and he signed the bottle and gave it to us!  Then we joined the group for a balloon brunch at the local casino, with great food and deluxe desserts.  This was a special year for Dave…his 37th (and he says final) balloon fest, so several of his siblings came for the weekend.  It’s been a real pleasure and such a privilege to enjoy the experience with a wonderful group of people.

We closed out the evening with the special shapes “Glowdeo”…a night glow of all of the special shapes balloons!  The balloons are so unusual, many are huge, and it was fun to see them all at once on the field. 

  The kids were out for fall break today and for the rest of the week, and you could tell the crowds were much larger. Everyone gets into the spirit around here!  In the RV park, many have moved out to make room for the next group coming in tomorrow for the weekend.  This Fiesta is such a big deal here…its incredible to see the number of people that participate.

We’ll see one more launch just after sunrise tomorrow and then have to be out by 10 am.   It’s been a great experience being part of the Desert Kaleidoscope this year!

Chasers and Racers!

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

It was another glorious day!  The Dawn Patrol launched today, and there was a huge group of balloons that launched before daylight to test the wind conditions.  When they all lit their burners at the same time, it was like a sky full of sky lanterns..a beautiful sight!  It was the chilliest it has been…about 45 degrees, but almost perfect weather for flying.  The Albuquerque box (where there is a low current and a high current) was so obvious as the balloons travelled in a box-like motion after they took off…so impressive to see.  There were fewer hands to help our favorite balloonist today, so Jim and I actually got to be part of the crew!   Jim helped with the basket assembly, and we both helped as they laid out and inflated the balloon.  We also got to be part of the chase crew, which follows the balloon after they take off.  The winds took the balloon in a different direction than it has the other days, and we raced down the side streets to try to get to their location before they landed.  It’s a real skill to watch the balloon and anticipate its movement, and then find the roads that lead to the landing site.  Dan, our driver did a great job, and we were there as they made their landing on a vacant lot in a subdivision.   How exciting to be a chaser!   Then, we got to tailgate with the crew after returning to the balloon field, complete with Dan’s specialty drink…an Albuquerque Sunrise..yummy! 

In the afternoon, we visited the Unser Racing Museum, an impressive display of history, cars, and trophies from the Unser family.  There were two buildings full of exhibits, interactive displays, and memorabilia, documenting an impressive history of racing success in the Unser family.   It was so well done—one of the best racing museums we’ve been to.  There was even part of the wall and catch fence from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that was given to the Unsers when the wall was replaced with the safer barrier.  What a great use of a piece of racing history!  

But, probably the most impressive part of the visit, was meeting Al Unser, Sr. who was just walking around the museum talking to people.  What a genuine, friendly man, who loves what he’s doing, and was so appreciative of people being there.  We were able to “talk Indy” with him, give him plenty of accolades about his great museum, and also were lucky enough to get him to pose for a photo!

We ended the evening with a farewell dinner from the staff, one night early because there is an evening balloon glow tomorrow, our last night here.  We were entertained by some fun guys performing southwest music, and treated to a tasty dinner and good dessert.  As with every trip, we’ve met some great people, and have exchanged contact information with plans to get together again.  What a good feeling to have friends from all over the country!