Up, Up and Away (or do I have a career as a balloon pilot?)

While in Sedona, we went for a balloon ride. I have wanted to do this for a long while and finally justified the expense to myself. Our younger daughter rode in a balloon when she was 13 because her grandfather got her a balloon ride gift. Here I am at 60, letting myself do it.

It is a full morning experience, where you get picked up at 5:15 am, ride out to the launch site, watch the balloon and basket get unloaded and filled, ride for 90 ish minutes, land, then have breakfast (champagne, OJ, apple fritters and fruit.) Then the balloons get deflated and put away, everything gets loaded again, and we get dropped off at our car.

The ride was remarkable. We floated above the buttes, mesas and red rocks with amazing views in all directions. We saw the sun rise. We saw the top of some of the mesas we hiked up. There are other balloons flying. Mostly it is silent except when the burner is turned on. It felt magical enough that I could do this every day and not get tired of it (hence the new career direction.) Our pilot was probably in his early 70’s and had been flying for over 20 years. He was a fountain of ballooning knowledge and shared freely. The balloons launch from a specific spot but where you land is due to winds that day, so there are chase vehicles.

While in this area we hiked to Cathedral Rock, Brims Mesa, Devil’s Bridge , Bell Rock and did the Courtyard Butte loop. You can hike around in the desert and stay on relatively flat trails, or you can hike up various mesas and buttes. They were all gorgeous. Cathedral Rock, Brim’s Mesa and Bell Rock had the added pleasure of astounding views from the top. We did so much hiking that I had to ask for an afternoon off from my husband after 3 or 4 days!

Devil’s Bridge was so special because you not only hike to a natural rock bridge/arch, but you can walk on top of it and across it when you get there (it is about 5 feet wide at a minimum). When we first arrived, there was a yogi doing downward facing dog. He then attempted a head stand but kind of changed his mind in the middle. There is also an amazing view if you hike to the bottom of the arch and walk through it. You see the arch and the landscape behind it.

My obsession to visit every national park, monument, recreation area, etc. led us to our next stop on the way to Albuquerque. We have an annual national park pass and have definitely gotten the best deal in town with it. For most, it costs $80 annually, and to get into a park, monument or recreation area usually costs between $10-20. We were surprised to notice how many of these parks there are!

The Petrified Forest National Park is in a desert painted with lots of colors, and strewn with petrified wood. Petrified wood ranges from white to gold to reds to purples, and looks like stone. There is even a natural bridge made from a giant tree that was under water for many years before it appeared again.

We have been in Albuquerque for about 2 weeks and got to spend the first few days with Ilana and her boyfriend, Josh. I even got pfankuchen (a special treat – german roll up pancakes by Chris) for breakfast on Mother’s Day before they left for their adventures in Alaska.