Christmas Blessing

Though the year may not have been what any of us expected, we have a sure foundation, a hope of the future provided to us by a newborn babe who carries our sins, our weights.  Let us rejoice! 

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Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  

1 John 4:10

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They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.  

Psalm 126:5-6

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Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 

Habakkuk 3:18

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Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy counteanance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. 

Psalm 89:15,16

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These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. 

John 16:33

Pistachios and Space

We were on a mission to obtain pistachios. So off to Alamogordo and the pistachio farms we went. They have all kinds of seasoned pistachios (and pecans for that matter) that you don't see in your typical grocery store. Once that was done, we visited the New Mexico Museum of Space History.

Sitting high on the side of a hill in Alamogordo, NM, the museum has a commanding view of the area below, not to mention a few cool exhibits in their own right. Some of the exhibits were undergoing a change when we visited. Consequently, they were offering everyone as discount. 

The museum has five floors and the walkway between the floors follows along the outside edge that has full windows so  you can enjoy the view. We confess that we probably spent the most time at the Star Trek exhibit. Well that, and stepping on the simulator that let you feel the rumble of various rockets as they left the launch pad. Harold finally got that foot massage he'd been wanting. Oh, and the museum had the coolest elevators and trash cans. We had fun. 

Then it was off to Hi-D-Ho Drive In for green chile cheeseburgers and a milk shake.

Not your typical Rockwell 

Beam us up Scotty

Tribbles

Cool elevator and trash can

Daisy Track

Where Are We Going Next?

Trinity Site

We actually missed some of the first morning launch of the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. Around 8:00 a.m., we met up with Harold's brother, Arlo, and his wife, Linda, and soon departed for Trinity Site.

Trinity is where the first atomic bomb was tested. The site is only open two days of the year to the public. Beginning in 2022, this will be the second Saturday in April and October. We figured that since we had been to the balloon fiesta in 2013 and were going to be there for a few more days, Trinity was worth skipping the fiesta. 

It's a drive to get there, even once you've run the gauntlet of protesters at the Stallion Gate. The site is truly still isolated. The army brings in the base's MWR (Morale, Welfare, Recreation) staff to act as a food vendor as well as lots of porta-potties. There may be a couple of vendors, such as the national parks and historical societies, but that's about it. 

There's really not a lot to see. There's an obelisk at ground zero and a few signs on the perimeter fence. The McDonald Ranch House was closed this year. Normally, you can board a bus to see the ranch house where the bomb was assembled. Even so, most visitors possess a solemnity, recognizing the significance of what happened at the site. 

If you look hard enough, you can see small pieces of Trinite lying on the ground. Just don't take them from the site. That's a federal offense. Trinite is the rock that was formed from the heat of the blast. Essentially, it turned the sand into glass. 

It's a haunting site, worthy of reflection.

Ground Zero

Walking the perimeter

Trinite

This piece is a little glassier

No putting it in your pockets!

Where Are We Going Next?

Fiesta!

Since we were going to be in New Mexico during Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, I signed us up for a couple of camping waitlists. A week before the festival, while still in Carlsbad, we called Kirtland AFB to check on their first come, first serve campground. They had one slot open. Even though they have an overflow area, we decided it probably wasn't worth the risk. We had seen the balloon fiesta in 2013. So, if it didn't work out, it didn't work out. 

We were making plans to head towards Alamogordo and Holloman AFB when we got the phone call from Newmar Kountry Klub (NKK). They had a cancellation. Would we be interested in taking that slot? The NKK had dry camping onsite at the fiesta field. Wow! We wouldn't have to fight the nightmarish traffic to view the morning launches. We could actually sit in our coach in our pj's, sipping coffee, if we so chose. After a gulp at the price, we agreed.  

Ironically enough, we cleared the onsite campground waitlist handled directly by the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta a couple of days later. We declined that spot. 

The day before the fiesta officially started, we attended a balloon inflation at a local school. Linda, our sister-in-law, kept us informed and led the way. Balloonists inflate the balloons on the school grounds so locals have an opportunity to see the balloons. The school we attended had Airabelle, the Creamland Dairy balloon, and one other. 

All I can say is that if you ever have the opportunity to attend the balloon fiesta, do so. Plan to stay several days since you never know if the weather will allow the balloons to launch. If you can stay onsite, even better. Otherwise, I hear the park and ride is a great alternative to driving. There were stories of people sitting in three hours of traffic only to be told that onsite parking was full.

The sight of so many balloons is incredible. They are so colorful. You can hear the propane burns as they go overhead. You can watch them compete in competitions. You can collect trading cards and maybe even a few pins if you're lucky. Oh, just go!

Airabelle (note the size)

Dawn Patrol

Gobs of people

All burn

Bucket list - check

When pigs fly

The Seedquel

Launch grounds

Yoda looks a little nonplussed

Airabelle over Newmars

Landing near you

Harold as ballast - Zebras as launch directors

Menace in the sky

All glow!

Go with the "Flo" (middle balloon green/black)

Fill 'er up

More than 600 balloons registered for the event

Trading cards

Where Are We Going Next?

Little Green Men

Roswell, New Mexico, has had a place in alien lore since 1947 when, according to the Army, a weather balloon crashed at a nearby ranch. Locals say it was an unidentified flying object and that they saw corpses of life forms not of this earth. To tell the story is the Roswell UFO Museum. 

We took the hour drive up to Roswell from our campground in Carlsbad. The city definitely knows how to play up the alien angle. Not only is there an annual UFO Festival, I think there was a green alien chainsaw carving at just about every business, even the streetlight globes were alien heads. The Roswell McDonald's is the only McDonald's with a flying saucer facade. We missed the night view, but you can find pictures of it on the Internet. 

Movie prop display in the museum

Outside a souvenir shop

I'm lovin' it

Check out the street lamp

Where Are We Going Next?

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Described as an "obscure national park" Guadalupe Mountains National Park is on the western edge of Texas and just south of Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We were able to visit both Carlsbad and Guadalupe parks based out of Carlsbad, NM. 

The Guadalupe Mountains contain Texas' highest peaks and one of the most preserved fossil reefs. Surprisingly, there is a salt basin dune area as well. We didn't make it to that section of the park though.

We took a couple of short hikes near the visitors' center. Some of the longer hikes looked more interesting. However, we got there late enough in the day that we decided against them. The fact that they were described as moderate to strenuous had nothing to do with it, nothing whatsoever. Ha!

Smith Spring

Where Are We Going Next?

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

We left Las Cruces and decided to take the route through Alamagordo and Cloudcroft to get to the Carlsbad KOA. The mountains were beautiful, and Cloudcroft looked like a place to explore later in our Jeep. Cloudcroft was having a lumberjack show that day (go figure) and traffic was heavy. The 4,000 ft elevation change was enough of a challenge without additional pedestrians, vehicles, and motorcycles.

With temperatures forecasted to be in the mid to upper 90's our first day in the area, we decided to visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The cavern felt really nice with its temperatures in the upper 50's. Granted, the 90% humidity was a bit of an adjustment after the desert air. My glasses were fogging since we were wearing masks and my hair, well, it didn't like the moisture so much either. 

It took us a little over two hours to walk down the natural entrance and around the Big Room. We do recommend walking down the natural entrance as opposed to taking the elevator. As one ranger commented, you miss half the cavern by taking the elevator. However, be warned that the paved entrance trail is steep in areas and the wet surface may be a bit slippery. According to the signage, you're descending the height of the Empire State Building. You felt it in your legs for sure. 

We returned to the park in the evening for the bat flight. Wow! Absolutely no photography, cell phones, cameras, etc that could scare the bats is allowed, so we don't have pictures. The bats just kept coming and coming, hundreds of thousands. About the time you'd think that was all of them, another swarm would emerge. We finally left because, despite the almost full moon, we couldn't really see them anymore. Amazing!

The natural entrance - where the bats emerge

Entrance trail switchbacks

Not a bad view up top either

Where Are We Going Next?