Clarendon, TX - HH and Bridgeport, TX - TT

Sunday - Today’s stop is at a museum in Clarendon, TX, called Saint’s Roost. The museum isn’t open today or tomorrow but we put some cash in a donation box. It is 83°F right now so we have the generator running and the A/C on. For these overnight stops, I don’t bother setting up StarLink nor put out the living room slide. The AT&T hotspot is sufficient for Internet. 

Monday - Wednesday arrived about 2pm at the TT in Bridgeport, TX. We did need to make a stop at a rest area to add some tape to the windshield. Yes, it’s started to come out again. Maybe the heat in Albuquerque combined with their horrible roads. Lots of jarring while driving in the right lane. The roads improved once we crossed into TX. 

Tuesday - The forecast is for hot today then much cooler for the rest of the week. We are in the original part of the park so 30amp with sewer and water. Most of the sites don’t have a sewer connection which makes it more challenging to do things like laundry. We are kind of far from the amenities like the pool but that’s not unusual for a TT park. 

Too bad my e-bike is out of commission. I broke the pedal assist sensor ring the last time I was putting it away in the basement storage. Hopefully I can find a replacement part. 

Not much else to report. StarLink is under the slide topper again sitting flat and seems to be working fine. 

Santa Rosa, NM

Saturday - We left the balloon fiesta this morning after dry camping for ten days. We used the generator quite a bit as the solar was barely able to keep up in the middle of the day. It ran for 4-6 hours per day to recharge the batteries and cool down the RV in the afternoon. 

We are at a small RV park in Santa Rosa, NM, about 120 miles east of Albuquerque. Full hookups w/50 amp service for $35. Good price but that’s about it. The park is kind of run down but we needed to dump and get some laundry done. 

Tomorrow, we are headed for a Harvest Host on the other side of Amarillo. 

Last night, we went to the fiesta and I helped a bit with the Party Balloon. This was a large shaped balloon and they needed some help. I was available. 

The evening events are just “glows” where the balloon is filled and heated but not launched. The “glow” is from the propane burner. I don’t have any pictures of the Party Balloon as I was helping holding it down. I qualify as an anchor or ballast. It was a fun experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Balloon Fiesta and felt that the volunteering added a lot to the experience. I would do it again in a heartbeat. 

AIBF - Day 7

Friday -Today was the my last early morning. Once the balloons start launching at sunrise (7:09am), we get very few volunteers stopping by the booth. So we get to watch. It seemed much colder today than earlier in the week. Especially once you get onto the field. 

There were a number of special shaped balloons this morning but not all them launched as it was a bit breezy. 

Seeing all the balloons in the air is still pretty cool. 

AIBF - Day 6

Wednesday - I volunteered for the morning shift again. It was pretty nice weather and most of the balloons took off. It couple of the larger shaped balloons opted not to fly. 

A lot of balloons were in the air. Almost too many to count. The “Albuquerque box” was evident as all of the balloons took off towards the south (to the left in the picture) and are now moving north after gaining some altitude. 

For lunch, they had a pilot and volunteer picnic at the Albuquerque zoo. Good barbecue with all the normal fixings. And the zoo was pretty nice as well. Though I didn’t take any pictures.