'23#26 Balloons Inflate and Deflate

 There is black and white, good and bad, and as they say everything that goes up must come down. Today is the last mass ascension at the Balloon Fiesta. The balloons go up and then the balloons go down. Excitement level was way up when we arrived and our excitement is starting to ebb. This our last day in Albuquerque. Tommorrow we hit the road and move on to the next adventure.

We have seen balloons of every shape, size, and color. They stayed on the ground and flew right over our heads. We also saw them up close and lit up at night. We came to see balloons and balloons we saw! Just got the wind update and the morning ascension has been delayed because the winds are too unpredictable to fly. We will wait and see. 

Later today the group we are with will run shuttles into Old Town Albuquerque. It will be fun to explore and check out some of the stores, restaurants, and history in the area. When we get back in the afternoon we will start preparing to leave Monday morning. 

As you can see there are a lot of RVs here at Fiesta Park and all of them will be leaving in the morning, except for those that stay to tear down tents, canopys, signs, and everything else that was put up for all to enjoy the Balloon Fiesta. We are in no hurry and will leave  as the traffic and time allows.                                                                                                            

 

I am going to sign off now, have some breakfast, and we will start our day in our home in Albuquerque New mexico because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary                                                                                        

                                                                                             

        

                                                                                          

'23/#25 Gooood Morning Albuquerque!

 I was going to have coffee and blog about last night at the Balloon Glow but woke up to the mass ascension flying right over our RV! Just had to post this right now. 

Now it is time for coffee and a shower. Today we will see the annular eclipse, go to a group social, and head over to the launch area for another Balloon Glow. I will also blog later about last night.  

Getting ready for another busy day in our home in Albuquerque because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'23/#24 BALLOONS!

 We are in Albuqerque NM for the Balloon Fiesta. It is supposed to be the largest single gathering of hot air ballons in the world. This year 618 balloons are registered. One year they had over 1000 ballons and decided it was too much to handle. Our group checked in on Thursday, had orientation, and then dinner. The next three days will be all about the ballons.

The balloon glow and mass ascension start at 7am so it is imperative to get there early. We decided 4:30 am was the time to wake and start our adventure. A short bus ride from the RV area and we were right in the middle of the activity. We watched balloons inflate before the sunrise and walked among them gaping and taking pictures. As the sun started to rise so did the balloons.

First there were a few then maybe a dozen then twenty or so and soon there were more balloons in the sky than we could count. There will be lots of pictures and some videos here and on Facebook from Mary and myself. We counted and between the two of us we took almost 500 pictores before 10am! There is not much more to say than we saw balloons, more ballons and lots of balloons of every shape, size, color, and theme.

We were back in the RV about 10:30 am tired but too excited to sleep. Played with the pictures, ate a little lunch, and blogged. Now we are tired and will take a nap to be back at the launch field for the Special Shape Glowdeo tonight. More pictures to follow.

It's nap time in our home in New Mexico because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

O23/#23 Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'......

 And the wheels keep rolling as we get closer to Albquerque NM. Overnight stays are easy and don't take too much time to set up and tear down. 15 to 30 minutes and we are off the road and set up for the night and usually a little less to get back on the road in the morning. Tonight we are in Amarillo Texas with one more stop before we get to the balloon festival.

Our next stop we will prepare the rig for "off grid living" while we are at the festival grounds. The details are not important but it will let us enjoy our time there without worrying about RV living.

On another note, I do watch the responses to the blog and look forward to each and every comment. I know it is easier to post as anonymous, and that is ok, but if you could mention who you are or give me a clue in the comment it would be great. I like to to put a face to the comment. 

A short trip so a short blog. Until the next blog I''m gone. From our home in Amarillo Texas because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'23/#22 Life Back On The Road

 I know I pointed it out before that we have been very busy. Well we finished our work commitment in St Ignace and got the rig ready for travel, all in time for our planned departure. Our little KOA family got together for dinner and dessert one last time before we left. We got very close to these people and will keep in touch. Some we will get together with once back in Florida. Another season and our workcamping family keeps growing.

October 3rd the wheels officially started rolling. First stop was Elkhart IN. We have passed through the area many times and always try to spend a couple of days. It is after all the epicenter of RV manufacturing. And don't forget all the gooood Amish food! As a bonus a friend from the Post Office lives just down the road from where stayed. We had a 2 plus hour lunch just laughing and telling stories over good food. But it was time to move on down the road.

Our next stop was just an overnighter. We stayed at the Illinois State Fairgrounds for $20. What a deal! On the road early the next morning and into Ozark Missouri. Another cheap parking lot campground with a special feature. It was the proximity to a close friend that Mary worked with in Forsyth about 5 years ago. We spent a couple of days catching up, seeing how big her boys have grown, saw her new house, and met her new husband. it was a great visit but once again the road was calling.

Today we are in Choctaw OK. Another one night stay but it was time to catch up on some chores. In another day I was going to have to go commando if we didn't do some laundry. We also needed a few groceries to get us to our ultimate destination....Albeuquerque New  Mexico and the Balloon Festival.

The washers are done and things are starting to come out of the dryers. And since clothes don't fold themselves I will end this blog.Until the next blog we are home in Oklahoma because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'23/#21 Busy, Busy, Busy

 It's been a couple of weeks since the last blog but things are happening quickly. With the season winding down we have preparations to take care of before we hit the road and there are things we want to do before we leave, oh... and there is work. Our prep work involved moving the rig to a full hook-up site to have continuous access to sewer. This will let me get the waste water system ready for the road. If you RV you know and if you don't there isn't enough room here to explain. Just know that it is a necessary evil in the RV world. We also spent at least three days just cleaning around our home. We like to arrive at our destination all clean and ready to hit the ground running for our next adventure. And we had to work sometime in there.

We also participated in the Michigan tradition that is called the Annual Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Walk.  The Mighty Mac, as it is know, is shut down to vehicular traffic for six hours and opened to pedestrians. Our group of workcampers all went with our manager's blessing leaving only one person on site until we got back. The five mile bridge would mean ten miles to walk back and forth the whole length since there was no return transportation available. We opted to walk to the halfway point and turn around as many do. Fun and interesting. The center of the bridge sways pretty good and requires decent balance. Enough balance needed that there were some who turned at the expansion joints when you first feel the sway. Fortunately it wasn't too windy. We have heard that on windy days it is hard to stay on your feet! Another thing on our list to do. Oh and again there was work.

Tie dye Chuck and Mary

Here we are on the steel deck

Just last week we finally made it over to Mackinac Island. That is the big draw to this area. With only 300 year round residents and thousands more during the summer it is like most northern summer destinations. It is a quaint little town with shops, hotels, and nature trails like many other small town destinations. There is one difference. Mackinac Island allows NO motorized vehicles. The island transportation is either foot, bicycle, or horse. That is the novelty of Mackinac island. Getting around can be challenging for those with moblity issues but is doable. We had a great time bicycling and taking a horse drawn tour of the island. We came, we saw, we checked another item off our to-do list. Oh, and again there was work.

Gotta find the Post Office

One of the many horse drawn tours

At the Mackinac Island dock

Well I will sign off now because we have to run into town for a few things. Oh and this is our final week of work! Until the next blog from our home in Michigan because......

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'23/#20 Holiday At The KOA

 Labor Day weelend is a sign that the summer is coming to an end. This is the last hurrah for locals and tourists to go camping and enjoy the outdoors before winter sets in. Winter in the U.P. is not for the faint of heart. Temperatures that will freeze the Great Lakes and storms that will sink large ships can come from any one of the lakes that surround Michigan.

This is also a time for us to brace for the last busy weekend of the season. In the pictures you can see how busy we got and how empty we became once everyone left. From now until the time we leave here things should be much slower and work will be at an easier pace. 

Now that things will be slowing down it is also time for us to make preparations to get back on the road. We have already started cleaning and purging the inside of the RV of all the stuff we have gathered while sitting still. Next will be checking all the working components on the trailer and truck to make everything road worthy. We will also move to a different site with full hook-ups. That means a real sewer connection and no more portable waste tank to empty at the dump site. Think "honey wagon" but 30 gallons at a time. Not horrible but time consuming and a bit of a pain in the ass. 

Well we have to go to work since the crew is now down to the managers, two sets of workcampers, and one local. The work will be easier but we will all be spread thinner around the campground. The seven of us all work well together so it shouldn't be an issue. 

So I will sign off from our home in St Ignace because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary