Travel Zette

A peaceful feeling comes over me when I’m near the mountains especially in New Mexico with beauty all around. I’m fortunate to have many happy memories hot air ballooning in Albuquerque. This year was my 25th time attending the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. I came a few years on my own but most often went to crew for friends that are pilots. On a few occasions, I have driven to Santa Fe and a couple times further north to Taos. This year, I spent the month of October at a casita in Taos with a view of Taos Mountain from the little nook with a writing desk. The first Sunday of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is my favorite with a morning mass ascension and balloon glow in the evening followed by an awesome fireworks show. I drove down from Taos for this day to help crew for a friend. A two and half hour drive one way but worth it to see the events.

I mostly spent my time in Taos writing, reading and enjoying the views from the casita but I did take a few days to explore a bit further. I had seen the Taos Pueblo and Rio Grand Gorge on previous visits. Timing did not work out for me to revisit the Pueblo but I did drive out to the Rio Grande Gorge late one afternoon with the shadows darkening the deep gorge which is always a spectacular sight. The aspens were turning gold and provided beautiful contrast against the dark evergreens prompting me to take the 30 minute drive to Taos Ski Valley one day. It was quiet there and the colors were wonderful. On one of my last days, I wandered around in the town of Taos, had lunch on the plaza and found Chokolá, an artisan chocolate shop, and had a shot of Aztec hot chocolate…delicious!

 

A new adventure for me was the Enchanted Circle which is about a 90 mile drive through northern New Mexico, starting and ending in Taos. I drove north to Questa and the Rio Grande del Norte Monument with incredible views of the Rio Grande river as it winds it’s way south through the carved gorge. From Questa, I drove east to Red River, a lovely little town in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. As I left Red River, I drove over Bobcat Pass at 9820 feet. The road soon curved south and I drove into a wide valley with a beautiful lake at Eagles Nest. Further South, I took a small detour and drove through the Angel Fire Ski area. Heading west back to Taos was a beautiful twisting two lane road through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The drive took about 5 hours with a few stops for photos. It would be a nice all day excursion, taking more time to explore Rio Grande del Norte, maybe lunch in Questa or Red River and a ride on the chair lift at Angel Fire to the top of the mountain.

My days at the casita in Taos were sunny, with only a couple exceptions and the nights were cool, turning cold by the time I left at the end of October. The sunsets were amazing and I often took walks down the unpaved roads in the evening to find a good location for photos. My casita had a great view of the sunrise but I missed most of these, catching it only a few mornings I was up early. At night, the sky was dusted with millions of stars and a few times I clearly saw the brilliant blue/green twinkle of Uranus.

I discovered a couple of days before my departure that the Taos Mountain Balloon Rally was taking place the last weekend of October. I went to the field Friday morning and only a few balloons inflated with a couple taking flight. The mass ascensions were scheduled for the weekend but I already had a scheduled flight from Albuquerque and needed to leave Taos before the morning events. New Mexico is aptly named the ‘Land of Enchantment’ and I leave knowing I will return next year at least for a few days…