The Land of Enchantment

Thursday, September 29, 2016

We crossed the border into New Mexico, which is called the Land of Enchantment because of its scenic beauty and rich history.  I think we are going to get a good taste of both during our stay here!  We reported in to our group and were one of the last to arrive.  There is a group of 110 rigs…that’s 220 people—larger than I thought it would be.  Everyone has an address…we’re in Row 22, site 11. It’s almost like a NASCAR race with all of the motorhomes around.  We are lucky that we are with a group that has a “premium” site…we have electricity and water, whereas most are “boondocking” (dry-camping, no hookups).  But, our power supply is limited…two people share a 50 amp circuit, so we have about 22.5 amps of power.  That means I can’t use the hair dryer when the AC is on, or we can’t use the microwave and toaster at the same time.  But, it’s very manageable, compared to the alternative.

We are in a big field next to the balloon launch site.   It is a flat, desert area, and again, poor Spot is missing his grass.   At the last event, someone went out and bought a roll of sod for their dog, and put it next to their motorhome!  I’m not sure we’ll go quite that far for our little buddy!

We had an orientation meeting to “get acquainted” and they introduced every couple here…took forever!  There are people from 31 states, and 2 couples from Canada.  About 1/3 of the group is from California or Florida—there are 8 couples from Indiana.

We had a nice social hour and Southwest Fiesta dinner of chicken and beef fajitas, with entertainment by two guys playing a Marimba…very enjoyable.

The evening ended with a pop-up rain and windstorm that passed through quickly and brought beautiful skies in the morning.   The actual balloon fest doesn’t start until tomorrow, but we woke up to balloons in the air everywhere you look.  Can’t wait…This is gonna be enchanting!!