Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta - What a Gas!

By Karl Moffatt
Lightning flashed in the pitch black sky as we raced south on the interstate to the balloon fiesta in Albuquerque.

It was five in the morning and we couldn’t see what the weather was doing, all we knew was it smelled like rain and there was one hell of a light show on the western horizon.

We arrived at the Park-And-Ride area at the Santa Ana Star Casino with plenty of time to spare, it was only forty miles from the Southside of Santa Fe and a quick drive on the nearly empty highway.

We piled into a school bus loaded with plenty of others who’d gotten up early to participate in New Mexico’s annual fall attraction, the world’s premier, hot air ballooning event.

In the predawn darkness we huddled in the bus as winds whipped rain against the windows and listened as a local broadcaster spoke over the bus radio about the weather front passing through the area.

“Don’t worry, think positive and it’ll be fine” my wife said as I shook my head.

She was right.

We rolled into town along an empty back road and slipped like a presidential motorcade through traffic backed up at the balloon park.

Within minutes we were inside and on the field.

No hassles with parking or traffic and the cost of admission was included in our $10 bus ticket.

This was the only way to go.

And the weather front had passed through quickly after whipping up things on the north side of town.

The wind and rain was now gone and as the sun rose over the Sandia Mountains, the balloons began to rise.

First one and then another filled with hot air, fueled by roaring propane burners, the big colorful envelopes, rounding out and stretching for the sky.

Crowds of onlookers moved among the balloon crews, almost every one armed with a camera of some kind.

It is the most photographed event in the world, according to its promoters.

It is truly a one of kind, interactive experience as spectators become part of the scenery, mingling on the field as crews raise their balloons and depart.

Some 500 balloons from all over the world will typically take off in a mass ascension while as many as 100,000 onlookers gaze skyward from the grounds of the city’s 78-acre launch field.

But today many balloons remained grounded due to high winds in the upper atmosphere.Others though braved the conditions and float up and around at lower elevations.

Despite the flight limitations, crews filled their balloons to provide the crowd with the spectacle of sight, sound and color that they had come for.

The weather had played its hand again, forcing cancellations of some events as it has throughout the week.

Windy conditions and spotty rain in the evenings put a damper on some of the scheduled evening festivities including the hugely popular balloon glows and fireworks shows.

But the weather is all part of the experience and when it holds and the conditions are right, there’s nothing like standing on a field of grass with thousands of other people watching hundreds of aerial monuments take shape and slowly rise from the earth to our delight and amazement.

And when it’s all done by mid morning, it’s time to walk the midway in search of those special mementos and treats that can only be found amid a carnival atmosphere like this.

Breakfast burritos abound while turkey legs and pizza can also be had, too. There are beer gardens and musicians,knife jugglers and donut hawkers.

There are shops that sell football paraphernalia, hats and clothing from South America, souvenir pins, playing cards and apparel commemorating the balloon fiesta and many other items too.

But it’s the crowds of people milling about that provides a whole other show of colors, sights and sounds.

Foreign voices abound with local Indians speaking in their native tongue while tourists from overseas and down south wander about chatting excitedly in their own language.

Young kids in grunge mingle among neatly attired baby boomers while balloon enthusiast’s show off their pins with wacky, colorful, balloon shaped hats.

And everyone seems to be grinning.

There among the crowd comes a man wearing an Assumption College sweatshirt and I have to stop him and say hello.

“Hey I’m from Boston,” I told him. “We used to all pile in a car and cruise out to Worcester to chase the girls out there at Assumption. We’d party all night and then go eat big plates of baked Ziti down at the Boulevard Diner, you know the place?”

"No,” he told me with a squint, “It's my daughter who goes to school there.”

“Oh yeah,” I say trying to move on from my folly. “Hey, how about those Jets, eh?”

We find our bus and leave the balloon field behind, rolling through the north valley past the bronze colored pastures, the copper tinged cottonwoods of the Bosque and under our famed blue skies.

We yawn and wonder aloud what we'll do with the rest of the day, one that for many people has just gotten started.

Visit the Valle Vidal for Great Fall Foliage

There may be no better time to visit the Valle Vidal than in the fall when its giant groves of aspen trees erupt with vibrant colors and turn this part of the national forest into a stunning display of natural art. 

“It’s not going to get any better than this,” says Kathy De Lucas, Public Information Officer for the Carson National Forest. “Mother Nature is putting on a spectacular show right now.”

De Lucas said the aspens should be in full, fall colors this weekend due to recent warm days and cool nights and a lack of inclement weather that can strip the trees bare.

But a storm is expected to be moving through the area next week that could do just that, so foliage fanatics should get out this weekend while the weather still holds, she says.

Colors have been especially vibrant this year with a rare shade of red making an appearance among some of the golden aspens, De Lucas said.

A drive on the well-maintained gravel road, wending through the Valle Vidal, Forest Road 1950, provides visitors with the opportunity to enjoy some of the finest fall foliage the state has to offer. 

Located just north of Taos on the Colorado border the 100,000-acre Valle Vidal unit of the Carson National Forest offers great fishing and fantastic camping also.

Donated to the public by Pennzoil in 1982, the Valle Vidal has attracted many to its high mountain meadows, lakes and streams over the years.

It’s fabled among anglers for the colorful, native, cutthroat trout that inhabit the Rio Costilla, Comanche Creek and other backcountry streams.

Many of those streams were recently rehabilitated to rid them of non-native fish and then restocked with pure strain, native, cutthroat trout. The fish is noted for a distinctive red slash under its jaw and other highly colorful body markings.

And big rainbow trout are regularly stocked in Shuree Ponds where an angler's chances of catching a nice one are as a good as seeing a bear or other wild animal wander by.

Wildlife thrives throughout the Valle Vidal which has special restrictions in place to protect its vast elk herds during the early summer calving season.

The unit is a favorite among hunters for its big game animals and is a “once in a lifetime” hunt for trophy bull elk. 

A trip to the Valle Vidal almost requires an overnight campout where elk can be heard bugling or coyotes howling across the vast open meadows. 

Camping on the Valle Vidal is restricted to the two established campgrounds or in the backcountry, at least a mile from any road and where no motorized vehicles are allowed.

Backcountry campers must park only in designated parking areas or in one of the two campgrounds and then hike in.

Cimarron campground located near Shuree Ponds usually fills up first on weekends while McCrystal, on the other side of the mountain, usually has plenty of sites available. McCrystal campground attracts a lot of horseback riders because of its corrals and proximity to open meadows.

At McCrystal campground visitors will find interpretive displays along a trail to the nearby Ring Ranch homestead where several original log buildings have been restored and are occasionally still used by the Boy Scouts, Forest Service personnel and the occasional working cowboy.

At Cimarron Campground visitors will find Little Shuree Cabin, across the road from the Cimarron campground entrance, has been restored by a crew of military veterans this summer. 

Located on Ponil Creek, the log cabin was once part of the Vermejo Club, a hunting camp where the likes of early Hollywood producers, Cecil B. DeMille, and Mary Pickford, stayed and carved their initials into the interior logs.

A recent fire razed the historic cabin but the crew of five vets has since resurrected the building in which some of the logs bearing its visitors initials will be displayed again, De Lucas said.

Visitors to the Valle Vidal can see plenty of fall foliage by driving through the forest to Cimarron and then looping back though Eagle Nest and Red River to Questa. At Eagle Nest, one could also take Taos Canyon to town or head south for a return trip through Mora and Penasco.

Any of these routes make for fine fall foliage excursions, consult a map and get out there.

If You Go:

Leave Santa Fe on US 84/285, proceed to Espanola, stay on the main drag and head up State Road 68 along the Rio Grande to Taos, proceed through town and follow State Road 522 through Questa, north to the village of Costilla and then take State Road 196  into the Valle Vidal. Follow Forest Road 1950 up to Shuree Ponds and the heart of the Valle Vidal.

Cochiti Lake Offers Great Escape for City Dwellers

It may be just down the hill from Santa Fe, or right up the road from Albuquerque, but for many visitors to Cochiti Lake, it’s a world away from the hustle and grind of the big cities.

“And those who haven’t been here in a while should be pleasantly surprised by the many improvements we’ve made,” says Mike Carey, manager of the lake for the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Visitors will find a brand new campground featuring attractive shelters with modern picnic tables, barbeque grills and solar powered lamp posts. There’s also water, electricity and improved access for today’s larger recreational vehicles at many sites.

Camping is $12 a night at the new campgrounds 16 primitive sites while another 16 with water and electricity are $20. There’s a 14-day limit on staying in the campground, reservations can be made at www.recreation.gov while many sites are set aside for use on a first-come, first-serve basis. 

The new campground is part of $13 million overhaul of the lake’s facilities with even more campsites and a bathhouse with showers slated to open in the spring of 2011, Carey says.

Down on the lake’s beach and swimming area visitors will find new shelters where swimmers can get out from under the sun after enjoying a dip in the cool waters fed by the Rio Grande. 

And with family budgets tight these days a trip to Cochiti Lake can be refreshing in more ways than one, visitors aren’t charged a “Day Use” fee as is typical at many other federal and state recreational areas.

Pets are prohibited from the beach area but welcome while leashed in all other areas of the lake. Alcohol, glass bottles and firearms are not allowed at the lake. Only gas and charcoal grills can be used, no campfires, and anyone using any kind of floatation device such as an inner tube must also be wearing a lifejacket.

There are no concessions at the lake and visitors should be prepared for their outing with all necessary supplies. Some groceries and fishing tackle can be found at stores in Pena Blanca.

Cochiti Lake is a Mecca for windsurfers and sail boats due to its gentle but continuous breezes and many of the colorful craft can be seen out on the lake among other types of boats.

Cochiti is a no-wake lake, motorized boats are allowed but are restricted to idling speed, and there is a boat launch fee of $3 per day or $30 for an annual pass. The lake has two boat launches, one on either side of the lake.

The west side of the lake features the facility’s upgraded visitor center with informational displays, restrooms and offices. Here visitors will also find a scenic overlook and access to the road atop the dam which can be hiked or biked but is off limits to motor vehicles. 

The west side of the lake is where one will find the new campground and access to the beach and swimming area.

The east side of the lake is called the Tetilla Recreation Area and features more camping and picnic sites, another scenic overlook and a boat ramp and access to the shoreline along Santa Cruz Road. This area is popular among fishermen, windsurfers and those seeking greater solitude for swimming and recreational activities.

A visit to the east side of the lake requires visitors to turn off State Road 16 at Tetilla Peak Road and head towards the village of La Bajada and continue for about ten miles down a remote stretch of two lane blacktop bordered by vacant Indian lands. 

Anglers will find bass, crappie, catfish, sunfish, walleye, pike and some trout in the lake and a state fishing license is required. More information about current fishing conditions can be found online at www.wildlife.state.nm.us.

Rangers begin locking up the gates starting around 6 p.m. but anglers can park outside and walk back in to fish during the more productive evening hours. 

Despite its proximity to Santa Fe and Albuquerque, Carey says he doesn’t expect the lake to be overrun with visitors this long holiday weekend.

“We’ll be full but it won’t be as intense as Memorial Day when everyone’s itching to get out after a long winter,” he says.

Carey, 63, of Placitas, retired several years ago after a 40-year career with the Corps but returned to manage Cochiti Lake after the assigned manager, Rebecca Miner, was deployed to Afghanistan to work on public building projects.

The agency has seen many of its employees sent overseas to assist in building projects in Iraq and Afghanistan and has been relying upon retirees to voluntarily step back in and help out, Carey says.

“After three years of retirement I was looking for a little excitement anyhow,” he says.

So while the rest of the world hits the road and heads for the hills this long Labor Day weekend, Cochiti Lake, awaits those looking for something a little closer to home but seemingly miles away. 

If You Go: From Santa Fe take I-25 south to the bottom of La Bajada and take the turn off at the overpass to Cochiti Lake on St. Rd. 16. From Albuquerque do the same. To get to the east side of the lake take Tetilla Peak Rd off St. Rd 16 at the turnoff to the village of La Bajada. 

For the west side of the lake, continue west on St. Rd. 16 past the Tetilla Peak turnoff and follow down to St. Rd. 22. Go right and follow to the lake. If coming from Albuquerque and headed for the west side of the lake then one can get off I-25 at the Santo Domingo exit and follow St. Rd. 22 through past the pueblo and through the village of Pena Blanca and on to Cochiti Lake.

Canero Guard Station a Welcome Respite from Hectic Summer Tourist Season

There’s a reason much of southern Colorado might feel like home to many New Mexicans.

Maybe it’s because so many of the same Spanish settlers who colonized New Mexico went on to do the same in places like the San Luis Valley, where a Spanish/Mexican land grant fueled much of the area’s development.

Taking a drive across our northern border today reveals many of the familiar scenes related to Hispanic settlement of the region, including iconic churches, a farming and ranching culture and weathered faces peering out from under straw hats.

But one might be surprised to discover that the first Anglos to settle in the valley were Mormons who established the town of Manassa, birthplace of the great heavyweight fighter Jack Dempsey, and also hometown of current Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar.

And the area’s agricultural base has drawn many Amish and Mennonite farmers who now can be seen traveling by horse-drawn carriage along back roads or frequenting the town market, clad in their distinctive, handmade clothing.

Bordered on the west by the San Juan Mountains and towns like Antonito and Del Norte, the valley extends east to the Sangre de Cristo mountains and the oldest town in the state, San Luis, founded by New Mexican settlers from the Taos and Mora areas in 1851.

To the north one will find the funky little town of Saguache and one of the state’s easiest mountain passes to cross at Poncha Pass. To the south the valley flows just across the state line into northern New Mexico before fading to high country desert around Tres Piedras.

The primary route north through the center of the San Luis Valley is U.S. 285 while the main east and west highway is U.S. 160.

While traveling through the area one might be interested to know that many of the valley’s farms produce much of the barley used to brew Coors beer. It is also home to the headwaters of the Rio Grande, whose waters nourish New Mexico, and, it is the location of one of the largest, solar powered, electric power plants in the country.

It’s also where the National Forest Service maintains a number of remote cabins for rent where visitors can relax in simple comfort while enjoying the vast array of recreational activities found here.

For more info and reservations go to www.recreation.gov and check under cabins/lookouts in Colorado.

A recent stay at the Carnero Guard Station in the Rio Grande National Forest revealed a secluded two- room cabin featuring propane heat and lights, hardwood floors, comfortable bunk beds, and a fire ring and picnic table in the front yard.

The surrounding forest is dotted with rolling hills and pastures highlighted by amazing volcanic rock formations.

Guests at the guard station are just a short drive from Penitente Canyon, where rock climbers now flock to once what was a spiritual hideaway of the secretive religious brotherhood.

Visitors to the cabin will find numerous forest roads to explore with many leading to intriguing places where wildlife can be seen, fish caught and relaxation found.

The uniqueness of the area is its lack of highly popular and heavily used recreational sites, which allows visitors to enjoy a greater degree of solitude even during the peak of the summer tourist season.

Those using the cabin as a base can make any number of day trips to local attractions like the town of Saguache where while visiting the historic downtown district one might catch Saguach Cresent Editor and Publisher, Dean Coombs, putting out what is perhaps the last newspaper in the country produced by a Linotype, hot lead, printing machine.

Saguache even features a theatre where visitors can catch a movie over the weekends as well as a fine town park in which one can lounge on the grass in the shade of many towering trees.

Day trips in the area could include a visit to the Great Sand Dunes National Park with perhaps an evening in a pool at any of three hot springs resorts found nearby. There’s an alligator farm and UFO watchtower to be investigated and a church in San Luis where bronze sculptures depicting Christ’s Stations of the Cross lead up a hillside to a church with twin spires.

Back in the woods, fishing can be found on any number of small creeks running through the forest, but the best might be had just off Highway 114 on the drive over to Gunnison.

Flowing through a canyon, Cochetopa Creek, holds wild brown and brook trout and anglers can stop at any number of roadside pullouts to bust through the streamside brush and fish for them.

Continuing down the road, anglers will find fishing available, with permission, on private ranches, such as Kreuger’s, which is stocked with fish by the state.

Kreuger’s Ranch features almost idyllic water flowing through scenic pastures with plenty of ox bows, undercut banks and good cover for fish. The ranch offers cabin rentals and RV parking too.

And maybe the best part of a visit to the San Luis Valley might be a stop at the no-name, burger joint on the outskirts of Antonito that features green, chile, cheeseburgers that rival anything found in New Mexico.

If You Go:

From Santa Fe, head north on U.S. 84/285 through Espanola and follow to where the route splits at the turnoff to Ojo Caliente and Antonito.

Follow U.S. 285 north through La Jara and Monte Vista towards Saguache. 

After passing through the turnoff to Center watch for the La Garita turnoff at Road G. Follow to Forest Road 41G, about 17 miles to the cabin. Gas, beer, groceries, food and the cabin key can be picked up at the La Garita Trading Post.

Ghost Ranch's Piedra Lumbre Visitor Center Worth Stopping For

The Piedra Lumbre Visitor Center off U.S 84 near Abiquiu Lake provides travelers of this wonderfully remote, incredibly picturesque, stretch of blacktop, a unique opportunity to stop and learn more about the land they’re passing through.

“We’re isolated,” says Ghost Ranch’s Director of Museums, Cheryl Muceus. “But there’s plenty to see and do once you get here.”

Operated by the nearby Presbyterian Church’s Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center, the visitor center features two informative and interesting museums, a fabulous gift shop and jaw-dropping views of the backcountry that inspired renowned artist, Georgia O’Keeffe.

The facility was formerly operated by the Forest Service as a living museum featuring wildlife too injured to be returned to the wild. The operation was forced to close in July 1999 after animal rights activists complained about the conditions.

The Forest Service then hoped to reopen the facility as a visitor center to cater to outdoor recreational enthusiasts and others traveling northward to Chama and Colorado.

However those plans never materialized and it remained closed until 2005 when Ghost Ranch stepped in to reopen the facility under a lease with the Forest Service.

Ghost Ranch operates and maintains the facility and its exhibits and pays a nominal leasing fee to the Forest Service for its conditional use.

“But we would like to obtain the property either through an exchange or outright purchase someday,” Muceus said.

Ghost Ranch could then make facility improvements and program changes that would better suit its needs in educating travelers and directing them to its other operations at its nearby 21,000 acre education and retreat center.

This cabin found off the entrance road to Ghost Ranch was used in the filming of the 1991 movie "City Slickers". 

The Ghost Ranch features paleontology and anthropology museums, spiritual and other educational programs, housing and related services and all sorts of activities. For more information see its website at www.ghostranch.org. 

In the meantime, though, the Piedra Lumbre, or shining rock, visitor center provides travelers with a welcome stop on the long, lonely road to Chama and beyond.

Visitors will find a well-stocked, unique gift shop featuring among other things a great selection of postcards featuring local scenery and landmarks. There’s also what seems to be the entire collection of Nevada Barr and Tony Hillerman novels, as well as other books and items available for sale.

The store also features cold soft drinks, ice cream and some snacks too.

Entering the grounds, visitors will find a nicely done rendition of a traditional, northern New Mexico, adobe building, the Gateway Museum, featuring vigas, latillas and a comfortable, aspen-shaded courtyard to rest in.

Inside are displays and exhibits dedicated to local Indian cultures, local sheepherding and weaving and the Spanish land grants that once dominated the area.

In another building, the Pack House, visitors will find more information about the original founder of the living museum from whom the Forest Service had obtained it, Arthur Pack.

It was Pack who sold O’Keeffe a summer home on the ranch from which she drew much of her artistic inspiration. The artist also established a winter home in the village of Abiquiu and later moved into Santa Fe where she died at the age of 99.

Here in the Pack House one will also find a great selection of preserved insects and other regional wildlife including skulls, furs and displays. There’s an informational display about the beavers that were once prevalent throughout the area, another about the life of aspens, a wildflower exhibit and displays dedicated to the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad and the mining industry, too.

The visitor centers grounds are also the site of the smallest National Forest in the country, the Beaver National Forest surrounded by an oasis of aspens on this high desert property. 

But it may be the surrounding scenery around the visitor center that truly captures one’s attention, as soaring vistas and cloud-studded skies draws one’s eye to the horizon.

One can make a short climb up to an elevated, observation deck on the grounds to take in the surrounding view while inside there is a display of prints dedicated to O’Keeffe.

A binder on hand contains pictures of the surrounding countryside and O’Keeffe’s work that shows how the scenery of the valley inspired many of her works.

Visitors to the area will also find nearby other interesting stopping points such as Echo Amphitheatre, Abiquiu Lake, the Monastery of Christ in the Desert and the Perdenal, the flat topped mountain that overlooks the entire area.