Balloon Fiesta

October 9, 2022

Hello again,

Well, the big weekend came and went in a flash! Erin's friend, Jessica, came down from Denver to pay us a visit and brought her friend, Victoria, along for the ride, too. Erin and Jessica go way back, probably twenty years or so, to Pennsylvania when both were living in Williamsport. Longtime hiking buddies and yoga enthusiasts, they were often seen hiking all over northcentral PA with their mutual friend, Rob, who now lives in Connecticut. In 2006 Erin and I met, and at the same time, Jessica and her husband had their first child. Later that year, Erin moved in with me in a town called Lewisburg, 25 miles to the south, and as Jessica's family grew and our responsibilities at the family feed mill grew, our lives all slowly but surely pulled apart. Fast forward to 2018 and Jessica and her family move to Colorado and then we followed suit, two years later, making the jump to New Mexico. These two reconnected over a card that Erin sent earlier this year and Jessica immediately let her know that she really wanted to come down to New Mexico for the annual balloon fiesta in Albuquerque. So, after many months of planning, Jessica and Victoria rolled in Thursday night a little after dark and Erin went down to meet them at Pecos River Station, then guided them back to our place. Within an hour they were all set up and we were back in our casita having drinks and catching up. On Friday, they made it down to the hot air balloon festival for the night event, and got their about 5pm, just in time to see them filling balloons and producing the famous glow that everyone talks about. After waiting in a half-hour long line for some food and drinks, the girls began working their way across the field, first seeing all the comic-like vessels. Then, after holding off most of the day, the lightning started to flash and the thunder started to rumble and, with whistles blowing like mad, the pilots were all directed to deflate everything and pack it up because of the storm. So, soaked but otherwise content and full of some hot chocolate from a Starbuck's in the city, they made their way back home the 80 minutes or so to our place. Saturday was a lazy morning and Erin finally went out to the camper to check on the girls around lunchtime, promising to be right back. Well, about four hours later, after an enormous gab session, they all made it back to the house to clean up before heading into Santa Fe for the evening. Their prime target was Meow Wolf, a very eclectic Santa Fe original that is, for lack of a better word, a living, breathing art installation that you can randomly explore on your own, or follow clues and plot points in an evolving pattern to see the exhibit. They grabbed a quick bite to eat in town and then spent two hours wandering around what they felt was a very amazing place. Afterwards, they cruised through the town plaza at about 10:30 at night, only to find it mostly deserted. Again, a quick slingshot ride on I-25 and they were all back home(just 45 minutes!). Sunday was not quite as lazy as a morning, but somewhere in that direction, with Jessica and Victoria planning to set sail at 10am. We went out to say goodbye, with Erin staying to help fill up her car and get everything hitched up and to make sure that everything was accounted for. Then, after some big hugs, the girl party was over(for now) and two headed north, one stayed south and all planned on doing it again soon!

Unfortunately, our crazy weekend didn't end there and the day was topped off with Erin running back down to Albuquerque to the emergency veterinary hospital with one of our cats, Zia, in tow. She had started puking like crazy and then sounded like she had a hairball stuck on Saturday. It kept going and when Erin got back around midnight I brought her up to speed. At that point, we thought it could be something that didn't require such a drastic measure, but by Sunday afternoon we were no longer quite so sure and thought that maybe she had swallowed something that had become impacted. Erin finally made the decision to go and we decided that I should stay at home, in case she had to be down there all night. Our dogs are good and can easily make it 6-8 hours without being let out, but eight is pushing it and we weren't exactly sure what we'd be looking at. They told us the wait time would be 2-6 hours from arrival, just for starters. So, Erin raced back down I-25 and got Zia there quickly and, after checking in, sat in the reception area with her, waiting their turn. At some point, Zia let out one of her horrendous, death-is-near-sounding yowls/coughs and they immediately got rushed to the front of the line. After an hour or so, they let Erin know that, thankfully, nothing was impacted. In fact, there was nothing to report other than the fact that she, like her sister, Chelly, was pregnant! The babies were making her really uncomfortable and, combined with a bit of a cold or respiratory issue, she was having trouble breathing with the very rare diagnosis of a head full of snot. I won't mention what the bill was, but you could imagine. Still, this is Erin's baby and we were really worried about her. In fact, she's still a little dopey and is recovering, but not quickly at all. So, we shall see...but apparently more kittens are on the way! The boss put us in charge of establishing a cat colony, so...

Now, this week's great batch of pictures with all of the girls' adventures. First up, Jessica posing with Freedom, who was apparently just hamming it up to no end when the girls did Friday morning's feeding. Then, eight shots from Friday night's trip to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta...these were all taken literally minutes before a thunderstorm broke out. Next, a group portrait of the girls at dinner Saturday night in Santa Fe at Pantry Rio. Then, twelve great shots from the Santa Fe institution that is Meow Wolf...I'll let them speak for themselves. Lastly, a parting shot while farewells were being said...a good time had by all!

See you soon.