The Trip

I've been asked to document my trip to NM for the Balloon Fiesta. The following is a faithful retelling of this major event in my life.

 The above picture is WHY we (Alyssan and I) made a NINE hour drive down to Albuquerque.

But I shall start from the beginning.

We left at 6AM Friday. Almost on the dot. I think it's pretty fantastic we left nearly on time.

It was early. The sun wasn't even up.

We drove. The sun came up and was all kinds of in our face as we were driving. But it was pretty.

Some snow was on the ground. IN EARLY OCTOBER.

We came close to Four Quarters when Alyssan reminded me she had never been. The 40 minute detour turned into 1 1/2 hours. As you might be able to see, it was muddy. Because it was rainy and COLD. 

In EARLY October.

But it was neat to go to the monument. Been a while since I last went. Lots of cool vendors. Bought a Christmas present for my sister there.

I think I am trying to pose. I need to work on that. But I am standing on 4 states at the same time! How neat is that? That's pretty neat!

(The turned up jeans aren't a fashion statement...it was truly VERY MUDDY...the parking lot was a mess of mud...)

Ran into an old friend at Four Corners. That was cool.

Stopped in Bloomfield to see Kaylee (my old roommate!!). That was AWESOME.

Made it to Albuquerque at about 4:30, 5:00ish. It was rainy and cold, so no balloon glow that night. :(

We ate at Gardunos. Ate so much Mexican food I got sick. It was divine.

 The next morning, even with the threat of high winds, the elements came together, planets aligned...okay, Heavenly Father answered my pleading prayers and as soon as the sun came over the mountain, the balloons were off! (That's me and my friend Alyssan)

One of my favorite balloons at the park that day. Spiderpig!! :)

You aren't supposed to touch the balloons...but it doesn't count when you are wearing gloves, right? O:)

We met up with my sister, bro-in-law, and the cutest nephew ever known to exist. 

He takes after his Dad. Notice how both of them have their eyes closed?

My sister and I are obviously related. We came prepared with sunglasses!

Context:

That balloon is a cow. 

That thing in my hands is an udder. 

Everyone was taking all kinds of pictures with it. 

This was the best of them all. 

SO AWESOME.

(If you look closely, the people behind Alyssan are wearing BYU gear. 

Yes, we left UT and UT followed us)

So, with hundreds of hot air balloons taking off at once, and with thousands of bystanders, they HAVE to have some ground crew to assist with take offs and take downs. They have earned the name 'Zebras'. This is because they first started wearing stripes as their uniforms. Some have taken this dress code pretty far. She was my favorite.

Me and my favorite person in the entire world!

Posing again. Painful, I know. But the Balloon is pretty!

Pretty shot with some cool sunburst action!

So, the good times had to eventually come to an end. But Alyssan and I agreed, it was the best $12 we had spent in a long time to get in the park. Alyssan was in balloon heaven. She has a thing for balloons. :)

We went to the house, shed a layer or two, and head to Old Town. 

Sorry, no pictures. 

Walked around, got some tamales. Oh yes, they were delicious! 

I bought a prettiful ring. She bought 3 packs of playing cards. (She has a thing for them)

Then we had Dion's. It was SO good. (I have a thing for Dion's)

(If you don't know what that is, next time you drive through NM, GO THERE, eat, be happy)

Then we met up with my sister and hung out and went to the BX on base (Alyssan also has a thing for the Air Force). We bought hats.

Hung out at their pad, watched a movie, napped.

Met up with friends. Had ice cream. Did a drive by of the temple.

K. Sunday morning, there was an air show happening on the base which Ison (bil) had to be at. We decided to check it out. The Thunderbirds were there, although due to needing to drive back to UT we didn't see them. There were some big planes and helicopters and a lot of hot men.

I had really bad hair, obviously.

Went to Church with my parents. Sadly I spent very little time with them. That's what happens I guess when my only sibling has a baby...sigh...

Got to see some good friends from the ward.

Then we headed back. I was SUPER exhausted, so Alyssan took the wheel for a couple of turns.

Fantastic weekend!

My favorite part? See below. :)