Once in a lifetime Rick -- RIDEs in the Competition Balloon Event!

We arrived at our balloon site (spot U7) this morning as usual (5:45am) and were greeted with perfect weather. Everyone was eagerly looking forward to flying today and to a special competitive event. The first balloons to launch were the Dawn Patrol balloons which were inflated near us and are spectacular as they fly into the dark skies.

Rich and Brad, our pilots, returned from the pilot meeting and let us know what would be happening today. Most of the balloons (about 400) would go to a remote field, launch, and then try to fly over the main spectator area field where the balloon pilots try to fly over specific targets and drop a beanbag as close to the target as possible.

Given the very light winds, our team strategized as to where to position the balloon for the launch. While we were getting ready to launch, a couple hundred of balloons that were not competing launched at the main field (our "target") and made for a beautiful sight. You can see this sight in the third picture from the top.

Soon, it was approaching the 8:00am launch time and we inflated the balloon envelope. At that time, Rich asked if I would like to come along for a ride -- YES!! was my quick answer. I climbed into the basket and was joined by Brad and Rich, then we were ready to go. I was amazed at the smoothness of the flight as well as the quiet (except when the burner was fired). I was also really impressed at the number (literally hundreds) of balloons that were launching all around us and moving with us toward the target.

Rich did a great job of piloting us around, under, over and between other balloons as we made our way to to the target. We crossed the target area at about 5' high and made a direct "hit" on one target. This was a very challenging piloting effort and I really enjoyed watching Rick in action. The pictures near the bottom of this post show scenes in front, on the side and behind our balloon so you can get an idea how many balloons were around us (and these shots were made with NO camera zoom -- they were really that close!). In fact, we got bumped a couple times by other balloons with no problem.

Here is a picture of our balloon, the Euphoria in flight. What a great ride this is!

Finally, Rich piloted us to a great landing behind the balloon museum and we packed up the balloon for its next flight. You can see Rich (center), Brad and I are very happy with this flight!

Great day at the Balloon Fiesta

Today started windy, cloudy and cold. We thought there would be no flying today, but went to our assigned chase crew spot anyway where we met our pilot. We waited for about an hour as the weather improved and finally learned that the balloon fleet would be broken into two parts and half would launch from the main field after all! Our balloon was slated to launch from an off site location which ended up being canceled, so we had the chance to watch the action at the central field, which was great. The action was started by this red and white balloon hoisting the American Flag aloft.

At about 7:45am, several hundred balloons began to inflate and soon, the sky was full of colorful airships. The goal of this flight was to try and drop a marker on a target which happened to be very close to our motorhome, but the wind had other ideas and the balloons were blown off course to the south east. Still, it was great fun to watch them soar above us.

I was amazed at the many different shapes and sizes of balloons. My favorite is probably this wonderful castle balloon that looked like a fairytale castle in the sky. I would also have to admit a great liking for Darth Vader's helmet -- a very easy balloon to track in the sky.

There were so many balloons that it was hard to track them all. What a wonderful, colorful display.

Finding the AT&SF Locomotive 2926 and the Balloon Museum

We had quite a bit of rain Saturday night and so there was no flying Sunday morning. As a result, we did some exploring and I found an interesting item on my navigation system's museum's listing featuring the New Mexico Live Steam Railroad exhibit. Of course, I had to go see that! We drove down to an older industrial area and all of a sudden, came upon a huge steam locomotive undergoing a full restoration by a number of volunteers. WOW said Rick!



He got out of the car to take a few photos and one of the workers invited us in, gave us both a hard hat and told us all about the AT&SF 2926 project. The locomotive had been in a park on display for 40 years before this group was able to secure and move it to this siding. They are now restoring it to running condition and expect to complete it by 2012. When done, this will be the second largest operational steam locomotive in the country.

As you can see by the pictures, the tender is already restored and looks great. Work on the locomotive is much more complex and they are now working on the tube boiler by removing the old water tubes. It is interesting to see the locomotive without any of it's external cowling. I will have to plan to try and get back here in a few years to see it when it is running.

We also had the chance to tour the Balloon Museum and Hall of Fame. This is on the Balloon Fiesta grounds and has a number of historic balloons on display including the first transcontinental USA balloon, the trans Atlantic, trans Pacific and the non-stop around the world flight. The silver gondola was used in stratospheric flights up to 110,000 feet during the 50's.

What a day -- on the Euphoira Chase Team!

We got up very early today at 5:00am to get to the balloon launch area. We were able to take a shuttle bus for 1 mile from our motorcoach to the launch area and were amazed at the traffic and people coming into the grounds. Orinda is amazed at the activity around at 5:30am!

Since we signed up yesterday as volunteer balloon chase team members, we went directly to our launch site, U7, where we met up with our pilot, Rich Jaworski who has flown over 2,100 hours in hot air balloons and holds several world records. His balloon is called the Euphoria and hails from Nebraska. Rich patiently explained what to do and did a great job directing our novice chase team.

All around us, balloons were being unpacked and inflated. There were a special ground of balloons called the Dawn Patrol that took off before sunrise and were amazing to see as the propane heaters illuminated the balloon envelopes. These launched right over our heads.

We got busy with our balloon, the Euphoria, and followed Rich's instruction in assembling it. Rick's job was to hold the base of the balloon open as the fan blew cold air into the balloon to inflate it. Once we had that done, the propane burners were ignited (all 10,000,000 BTUS!) and we went "hot" and the balloon began to rise. Finally, Rich climbed on board and was off! The rest of us piled into the chase van and went after him.

Meanwhile, literally hundreds of balloons were being launched including this cow and Darth Vader's helmet! It was amazing to watch several hundred balloons in the air at one time. We kept chasing Rich's balloon and after about 12 miles, caught up as he landed in a vacant lot (at the same time as several other balloons). After re-packing the balloon, our crew took a moment to take a group picture (Rich is standing next to me in the second row) before we went our separate ways. A great day all around!

We arrive at the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque

We made the short drive from Santa Fe to Albuquerque and the Balloon Fiesta. We will be joining the Escapees BOOMERS group and boondock on the large Balloon Fiesta grounds.

Our first move after arriving, was to join as a volunteer Balloon Chase team. This job assigns us to one of the balloon pilots and will have us help assemble, launch, chase and recover one of the balloons. Fortunately, there was a short training session that Orinda and I attended and after this, we were approved as official chasers and given the coveted flight line pass to boot. Here you can see Orinda holding up her new credentials!

The balloons launch from the huge launch field that consists of hundreds of acres of beautiful grass. This picture gives you an idea of the field before the balloons arrive tomorrow -- there will be some 650 balloons launching then!

We also took a walk around the vendor area and lo and behold, found a symbol from our midwest roots -- the SPAM coach! We will have to see this tomorrow after it opens.

A day in the Tour and a tour of the Tour

We had a very nice day as we get ready to go to the Balloon Festival tomorrow. Since we will be boondocking (no hookups at all), we took the time to do laundry, clean the coach and just get stuff ready to go. First, however, we drove down to the Santa Fe Railyard area which is undergoing dramatic restoration. One especially interesting item is the Santa Fe Southern Railway which offers train rides in the area.

We thought we might take a ride, but after hearing machine gun fire close by (YIKES!) found out the train was being used in the making of a movie with Steven Seagal called "The Keeper". Anyway, no train ride today!

After returning to the coach, I decided to try out my new waterless carwash called "The Solution" which you spray on, wipe and then dry. This worked quite well, but it takes a while to wax a 40' coach. Anyway, after completing this little task, I thought it might be interesting to tour our Tour motorhome and see how we are living.

We will start at the front of the coach looking toward the rear. On the driver's side, you can see our 4 door refrigerator and then the sofa and my recliner. On the passenger side, we have the kitchen area with the cooktop, dishwasher, oven and sink. You can also see Orinda sitting at the dining table and our living area TV.

Next, is the bath area. Since the walls of the coach slide out, we also have a hallway and closet next to the bath area which is very handy. Finally, we come to the bedroom and laundry closet. We have found that this floorplan works well for us and gives us plenty of living area. I would estimate we have about 430 square feet -- not large, but very comfortable.

Tooling around Santa Fe, New Mexico

We are out and about today in the Santa Fe area. Santa Fe is the second oldest city in the USA being founded in 1607 by the Spanish. Today, it is a booming city featuring a very artistic culture.

Our RV park is OK and close to shopping and other options, so that is great. Our first venture was to have lunch at Joe's Diner -- Orinda could not resist. Unfortunately, we opted for BBQ which was probably not the best choice, so lunch was disappointing. Still, Orinda got to go to a diner which is always high on her list.

We then went downtown to the New Mexico state capital building. This beautiful, round building is very interesting and fun to explore. Orinda and Rick both pondered being members of the House and Senate as they explored the vacant chambers.

Right across the street is the El San Miguel (St. Michael's) Mission Church which was built between 1610 and and 1628 and still stands. This is the oldest church in the United States.