fall 2010 southwest usa trip
Posted in arizona, camping, colorado, hiking, life, outdoors, photography, travel, utah on September 2, 2010 by liljango10/1: arrive denver, colorado
10/1-/8: hang out in colorado for a bit. enjoy some fall color photography in southwest colorado.
10/8-10: mosey down to albuquerque, new mexico to check out the balloon fiesta
former TAH member:
“the balloon fiesta is something else….especially the night glow lite up. it’s PACKED though, so expect to get there early as it’s similar to a concert…you will wait in a long line of cars to eventually get to a parking space.
the sandia mtn range, just outside the city. you can drive all the way to the top and there are glorious sunsets from up there. i never camped up there…just day trips with my dog. there are numerous pull-overs for hiking, but i always enjoyed the one at the top, just hiking along the ridge line.
my second favorite spot was the jemez mtns area. it’s been a while since i’ve lived there, so i don’t remember the exact roads, but do a mapquest or googlemaps for “jemez springs” which is the name of the reservation. there is also a fabulous natural hot spring in the area called “spence hot springs”…short hike to a wonderfully wooded hot spring…not even sulfury. also “soda dam hot springs” but very packed as it is right on the road.
there are forests galore full of beautiful trails that follow small, trout filled creeks…even one that leads to a giant rock outcrop that the more brave souls jump from to the pool below. i wish i could remember the hikes, but there is a ranger station right in jemez springs that can point you in the right direction.
good luck. while in alb, check out “the flying star” cafe….great huevos rancheros and strawberry-rhubard pie to die for. also any mexican rest, you gotta get something with green chillies…they are the bomb!”
raymond:
“I have been to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta several times. When I first moved to Albuquerque, the first morning of the balloon fiesta about 5 balloons landed within a couple hundred yards of where I lived. I was laying in bed and was woken up when one of them hit the burner right above my bedroom. I had no idea what it was, I thought maybe aliens where invading of something. The balloon glows are really cool, but they may be hard to photograph. The mass ascensions in the mornings are pretty amazing as well. I have always wanted to go to the balloon fiesta with a good camera.Camping in the Jemez Springs area is really nice, much better then in the Sandia’s, but you might want to look into the weather for that time of year. The lows there this time of year can be in the low 40s. The Jemez Mountains are about an hour Northwest of Albuquerque, and the camping areas in the Sandias are on the East side of the mountains and accessed from the South end of town, so they are both about an hours drive from the balloon fiesta park on a normal day. If you want to get to the balloon fiesta in time to park for a morning mass ascension, you would probably have to be in your car driving by about 4:00am. If you want to see the morning glow and other morning stuff, you would have to start earlier. There may be a camping area on the West side of the Sandias North of town that would be closer, but I can’t remember one.
10/10-15: roaming….
- leave albuquerque, new mexico; lunch – green chili cheeseburger, mmmmm.
visit White Mountains or Chiricahua National Monument, AZ- visit tucson, az / phoenix, az
- arrive in san diego, ca
10/15-21: hang w/ the parents in san diego
10/21-25:
- los angeles, ca
- sequoia national park, ca
- yosemite national park, ca
- san francisco, ca – visit the lil bro
10/25-???: TBD
