It was a crazy and a very fast paced morning. Today is Flying Competition for the balloonists. So my loud early morning alarm of the fly over and the helicopter take off didn't happen but we woke anyway because we were anticipating the excitement of the day.
Tim and I arrived on the field around 6:30AM just as the balloons started inflating. Our plan was to grab our Chile Relleno Burittos and coffee then head back to the Airstream. Since the crowds are considerably less on a weekday there were tables available to sit at. There we enjoyed the best burritos ever and watched as the crews inflated the balloons.
As they began to launch we walked back across the field. On our arrival back at the Airstream the wind currents had the balloons drifting not too far away from us. This made for a good photo op from Tim's truck.
For the balloon competitions there are a set of completion tasks for each to complete. We were not sure of the exact tasks. There are about five different competitions. The pilots use available surface and upper level winds to navigate and attempt to drop markers at pre-set goals on the field.
So once the balloonists not competing flew by then the competitors flew in. Doing what looked like touch-and-goes over the field dropping their marks. It was a fabulous site!
After the excitement of the morning balloon flights Tim and I departed to go find El Pinto. El Pinto is nearby and the largest restaurant in New Mexico. With eight rooms, five of them outside, they have the capability to seat 1,600 people at capacity. The food was fabulous! The atmosphere was so cozy and enjoyable!
Next we visited the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. Uh ... yeah ... extremely interesting!? Tim says he got a good picture of me taking it all in. LOL No way can one read everything and absorb all the information contained here. Propaganda, Cold War, Manhattan Project, Fat Man and Little Boy, Nuclear Medicine ... they cover it all. Actually I did enjoy it more than what I thought I would. I learned what a Broken Arrow is. Most things were pretty scary in there. My thoughts were not to touch anything but then again I think any radiation would have got us when we entered the door. Ooops!
Our final stop of the day before heading back to base camp was Trader Joe's. I thought I had been in one in Atlanta years ago. This place was different and on a much smaller scale than I thought. We got the few staples we needed. Yes ... We also got the TJ's Cookie Butter!
With no events on the field this evening we enjoyed a beautiful sunset from base camp. The first clouds we've seen in weeks. Then strolled the area mingling and checking to see if the distance race gas balloons were going to launch tonight. As of this post they have not.
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