Marcum Memories

October 5: Day 3 of the Rally. Coffee and breakfast served again beginning at 5 am. Today is the Opening Day of the Fiesta and we got up at 5 am so we could be on the shuttle to the balloon field. We arrived in the dark, of course, and found a spot on the grass to set up our chairs. We were asked to move after a while because the balloonists were getting ready to set up. The field used for the balloons was divided into grid squares and each entrant was assigned a square. While we were waiting for the "green flag", Sandia Casino & Resort presented a drone light show, which was spectacular. When it was light, and the green flag was given, 5 propeller plans flew over the field and then the balloonists began inflating their "envelopes". We found our way next to a balloonist and decided to stay and watch the process. The basket is laid on its side and a giant fan starts blowing air into the flattened envelope. Several crew hold onto the ropes that are attached from t...

October 4: Day 2 of the Rally, coffee and breakfast snacks were served beginning at 5 am. At 9:30 the shuttle busses began running into Old Town Albuquerque. We took the 10 am bus into town and spent a few hours walking around being tourists, and of course, we spent some bucks. Alan bought a nice new Route 66 shirt and I got an ABQ Balloon Festival hat. We returned to enjoy a BBQ dinner in the event tent.  

October 3: We left the KOA at about 9:15 am to make our way to the campground parking lot near the balloon fiesta field. We registered, received our camping spot and then attended the orientation meeting at 3 pm followed by the social hour at 4:30 pm and dinner at 5 pm. The first day was nice but the heat was still here. We have 30 amp power so we can only run one AC at a time. We managed just fine and by nightfall, the air cooled considerably. 

October 2: We left Clovis, New Mexico to stay close to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and are staying at the KOA on the north side of town. On our way, we traveled through Fort Sumner and stopped at Billy The Kid's grave marker. Besides his colorful past, his grave marker has a history also. After it was stolen a few times, when it finally came "home" it was shackled with iron bars. We made our way to Albuquerque and checked into the KOA North Journey campground.  

September 27: Bastrop, TX. This was a stay at home day, spending it with our "kids", going on walks and keeping cool. I did, however, take Sunny to the dog park and she took great delight in searching out the tree squirrels. Fortunately the park is enclosed or I would be chasing her all over the RV park. I'm sure we watched much more TV today than we should have but it was nice to have a quiet day away from most of the heat. September 28: Bastrop, TX. We stayed around the house in the morning and walked the dogs. Went to Nola's house and took Sunny with us in the hopes she could interact with their three dogs. No interaction because Sunny is too timid and their dogs barked a bit much for Sunny's liking. We spent time visiting while we used Nola's washer and dryer to do a load of laundry. Afterwards, we brought Sunny home and went to dinner at Chili's.  September 29: Bastrop, TX: Today we drove to Troy, TX, to visit a girlfriend from Rutan, my former full-t...

September 26: Today we joined Nola, Serena and Kara at Maxine's for lunch, then we took a brief walking tour of Old Town Bastrop. We wanted to visit the Bastrop Museum but it is closed for renovation. We did, however, get to see a vintage fire truck. We returned "home" and enjoyed a quiet time for the remainder of the day. The office at the campground has 2 of the cutest kittens who were adopted together and are best buddies. They behave just like our Lucky and not afraid of humans at all.

September 25: Drove to Bastrop, TX, to visit with my second cousin and we'll be here for 5 nights. We met Nola and daughter, Kara, for dinner. Weather is a bit cooler, still hot and not as humid as we have been experiencing. We're staying at Basin RV Park which is located parallel with a freeway so we have constant vehicle noise. At the end of the property is the Texas Colorado River and a nice dog park that Sunny enjoys.