Trip up the Trail

October 9 – Another great balloon watching day!  It took a while for the sun to hit where you

In honor of my nephew Harry

could get some good photos!  There was only one balloon landing in the arena and their crew was ready and waiting.  We had seen that balloon hovering for a long time and they were waiting on the crew.

Who is this?

Bill's spot to watch the balloons

Once most of the excitement was over we all went in for breakfast and then re-grouped!  Sharon and Bruce were spending time with Joan and Joe who got in yesterday and they were going to lunch together.  The rest of us were going to drive the Turquoise Trail. We took 2 cars and stopped at a couple of thrift stores, Trading Posts and once we reached Madrid we both parked and everyone visited

Lunch time

numerous shops.  They have some really nice items and so much jewelry!  Bill and I bought a big gecko to put on our outside wall facing our street.

Further up we stopped in Cerrillos at a place that had hundreds of old telephone insulators.  He had a bunch for sale and a couple of hundred lining the edge of his roof.  Inside was a huge selection of stone and rocks for jewelry making and other crafts or collections.  Outside there was a small

Diner from the movie

petting zoo with a llama, goats, pigeons, and several varieties of fancy chickens.  The view from the end of his lot was very scenic as well.  No one bought anything but we sure enjoyed looking at all the “stuff”.  One of the popular spots is the Diner that was built for a scene in the movie "Wild Hogs".  Now it's a gift shop!

Somewhere along the road Jean and I both spotted the same sign we’d seen a few years ago with our girlfriends when we were driving from Santa Fe to Taos.  It has a cow on it and above the cow is a space ship.  Hummm!

We didn’t want to go into Santa Fe this late in the day so we cut over to I-25 and headed back to the ranch!  Everyone had some down time, then Bill and the guys worked on our water pump.  The mounting screws were stripped and it was not seated properly and that was causing it to make a horrible noise that they could hear beside us. It also was barely producing any water.  So they “jimmied” it a bit and it’s much quieter and more efficient.  It’s still on the repair list for when we get home!

Everyone ate on their own tonight and then gathered by the fire pit one last time.  We laughed and joked and had a nice evening.  Jean came out at last with a plate of her famous lace cookies!  They were/are sooo good!  Thank you Jean! What a nice evening!