Sunday – October 6, 2013
Mass Balloon Launch
Albuquerque, New Mexico
We spent a somewhat restful night at the Sandia Casino & Resort in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Unfortunately, there were some campers in a fifth wheel trailer, across from us, that had a very loud industrial type generator that they ran until 11:00 p.m. Then at 3:00 a.m. they started the generator again and ran it until 5:30 a.m. I’m sure many other campers near this fifth wheel were as annoyed as I was over the disregard this camper had for his fellow campers. So, when we encounter noisy neighbors, we just hook up our trailer and move to another spot. Problem solved.
On the weekends the hot-air balloonists perform a mass ascension early in the morning. I was up at 6:30 a.m. to prepare my camera equipment for this event that would take place at daylight. What a show they put on! We had the perfect vantage point at the casino to watch the hot-air balloons as they floated slowly into the clear blue sky above. Hundreds of multi-colored balloons of various shapes and sizes gently glided through the air, seemingly almost touching one another. The balloon ascension continued for about 1-1/2 hours. We were thrilled we were able to witness this marvelous event.
Later in the morning we visited the Unser Racing Museum. We spotted a billboard advertising the museum when we were driving into Albuquerque on Saturday. The museum highlights the racing careers of Bobby and his younger brother Al Unser and their families. It chronicles through video the four generations of the Unser family in racing. The museum displays the racecars they used to win races at Indianaopolis and Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado. An interesting feature of their racing contract stipulated that if they won the race, the pace car used in the race would become their property. Two of the pace cars are on display in the museum. Another building on the property contains additional racecars they raced. It also contains antique cars and trucks the Unser family have acquired. Overall, it was a fascinating tour.
We finished off the day with a high caloric cheeseburger at a local Five Guys hamburger joint.
Tomorrow another adventure begins.
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