States – Page 6 – Wandering Dawgs

A View from Below in Albuquerque

October 23, 2023Posted in Entertainment, New Mexico, TravelTagged Albuquerque, Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, Evil Twin Balloon, Hot Air Balloon29 Comments

I recently returned from the 51st Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. The theme this year was “A View from Above”. This was my first time at the fiesta and the theme for me was “A View from Below” because I chose to stay on the ground and look at the balloons above me and all around me.

More than 550 hot air balloon pilots and their crews gathered in Albuquerque, New Mexico from October 7 – 15, 2023 for this year’s event. For nine days balloon crews, volunteers and spectators got up in the middle of the night to be at the Fiesta Park before 6:00 a.m. I was one of the many spectators there to take part in this magical event.

My brother Joe and his wife Kelli were wonderful hosts while I was there. They live in the Albuquerque area and have been involved with the Fiesta since the 1990’s. Joe volunteers as a Launch Director each year and his wife is a balloon pilot. They are part owners of the Evil Twin Balloon with their friends Don and Connie. I chose a photo of their balloon as my header photo.

My first Day at the Balloon Fiesta

We woke up each day about 3:40 a.m. and left the house around 4:15. Joe had early morning Launch Director meetings and Kelli had pilot briefings.

Tuesday, October 10 was my first day attending the Fiesta. While Joe and Kelli were at their meetings I started the day by meeting the Evil Twin Balloon crew and being wowed by the glow of the Dawn Patrol balloons. What at great way to start the day!

Once the balloon crews started preparing their balloons for flight the field was filled with activity. As I walked around in search of my brother Joe there was so much going on I didn’t know where to look. Balloons were being inflated on the ground as others were launching into the sky. It was sensory overload as the clear blue sky filled with colorful balloons of many shapes and sizes.

Trying to keep up with a Launch Director

The launch directors are called Zebras because of their black and white striped shirts. Their job is to make sure the balloons take off safely. Once I found my brother Joe I had a hard time keeping up with him as he ran around the field giving the pilots the go ahead to launch their balloon.

I turned around to capture my brother Joe at work but when I saw him standing with his hand over his heart I knew they were playing the National Anthem even though I couldn’t hear it.

I was exhausted and my feet hurt at the end of the day but WOW! This day ranked right up there near the top of my list of memorable events in my life.

My second day: Working as a member of a chase crew

Wednesday morning we were up early and ready for another beautiful day of ballooning. I spent the morning working as part of the chase crew for the Evil Twin Balloon. Many thanks to Kelli, Don, Connie, Kelly and the rest of the crew for showing me what to do and allowing me to be part of the team.

*Kelli and Don, the two pilots of the Evil Twin*

Don was piloting the balloon that day. I started out by helping take the balloon out of it’s storage bag while Don and some of the others prepared the basket to be connected to the balloon. I watched as they inflated the balloon by blowing air from a powerful fan into the balloon. I captured a couple of shots of the inside of the balloon as it was being inflated. Don had two passengers that day.

When everything was ready and the launch director gave Don the ok to launch the Evil Twin was up in the air. The chase crew piled into the van to follow the balloon to wherever it landed. Kelli was driving the van and was in radio contact with Don. We were soon at their landing site. We helped get the balloon back into it’s bag, loaded everything into the trailer and were soon back at the Fiesta Park for a celebration and a group photo.

It was another WOW day at the Fiesta! I had a great time being part of the Evil Twin chase crew!

Coming soon! More fun and adventures at the Albuquerque International. Balloon Fiesta.

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #261 – Work in Progress

August 12, 2023August 12, 2023Posted in Alaska, Photography, South DakotaTagged Black Hills, Crazy Horse Monument, Ketchikan, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge, Totems, Work in Progress21 Comments

For this challenge Ann-Christine has asked us to focus on Work in Progress.

Crazy Horse Monument in the Black Hills of South Dakota has been a Work in Progress since the Memorial was dedicated on the day of the first blast, June 3, 1948. The monument honoring Lakota Chief Crazy Horse was the dream of Oglala Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear and is the world’s largest mountain carving in progress. To learn more about the history of this amazing project please visit Crazy Horse Memorial.

Our mission is to protect and preserve the culture, tradition and living heritage of the North American Indians
Mission of Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation

We first visited the monument in the summer of 2006. We toured the museum, watched an interesting video about the the memorial, and bought some native made items in the gift shop.

Crazy Horse Monument in the summer of 2006

Horse Head of the Scale Model with the Monument in the background, 2006

We returned to the Black Hills of South Dakota in the spring of 2011. We chose not to tour the museum again but I captured this image from the highway. It doesn’t look much different than it did in 2006 but some progress was made during those five years.

Ketchikan, Alaska is famous for it totem poles hand carved by native carvers. At the Herring Bay Lumber Company we learned from a native master carver how the totems were made and how each totem tells a story. After learning about the totems and viewing his work in progress we wandered through the totem park to see some finished totems.

Many thanks to our host Ann-Christine for the challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #261 – Work in Progress

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #242 – New Experiences

April 2, 2023Posted in Alaska, PhotographyTagged Denali, Lens-Artists, New Experiences, Photo Challenge, Ruth Glacier, Talkeetna, Talkeetna Air Taxi19 Comments

For this challenge Anne asks us to tell us about a new experience we had.

Ten years ago this week Henry and I were in the final planning stages of a four month RV trip to Alaska from Georgia. We weren’t new to RVing and had made several long cross country trips but this would be the longest we would be away from home. The entire trip was filled with new experiences. I’ve included a few of the most memorable.

*New experience: Humpback Whale on our first wildlife cruise*

*New Experience: crossing the Arctic Circle on the Dalton Highway in Alaska*

*New experience: Glacier Calving on Aialik Glacier, Alaska*

*New Experience: Denali National Park, Alaska*

*New Experience: Orcas on Columbia Glacier tour from Valdez*

Our most exciting and most memorable new experience was a flightseeing trip from the airfield in Talkeetna to the south face of Mt. Denali (it was called Mt. McKinley back then) with a landing on Ruth Glacier.

I was really nervous about flying in a small plane but it was worth it. It’s a day I will never forget.

Our latest Alaska experience was taking an Inside Passage cruise in August, 2022. We revisited some locations and explored new ones.

Many thanks to for Anne for this challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #242 – New Experiences

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #236 – East meets West or North meets South

February 18, 2023Posted in Georgia, Nature, Photography, WaterfallsTagged East and West or North and South, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge20 Comments

Amy’s challenge is to explore differences between locations in the East and West or North and South using culture, architecture, plants, or landscape. I’m going to take a look at the differences between North Georgia and South Georgia landscapes. The opening image is springtime in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah.

North Georgia

North Georgia has mountains, waterfalls, Tallulah Gorge, and the highest point in Georgia.

View from top of Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia

South Georgia

South Georgia is flat and has the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, barrier islands, beaches, salt marsh, farmland, pecan groves, and historic Savannah.

Nanny Goat Beach, Sapelo Island, Georgia

Sunrise at Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, GA

Many thanks to Amy for her challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #236 – East Meets West or North meets South

Birds, Manatees, and Mermaids on the Florida Gulf Coast

February 16, 2023Posted in Birds, Florida, Nature, Sunrise, Sunset, Tourist AttractionsTagged American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Crystal River, Florida Birding, Great Blue Heron, Manatees, tri colored heron, Weeki Wachee 75th anniversary, Weeki Wachee Mermaids, Weeki Wachee Springs12 Comments

Our home away from home for our recent getaway to Florida’s Gulf Coast was a cute Airbnb in a quiet neighborhood near Crystal River. It was our first Airbnb experience and it was exactly what we were looking for. When we weren’t out exploring the area we enjoyed just relaxing on the large screened porch or walking around the neighborhood in search of wildlife.

I started each day with a walk. The sunrises were glorious and I enjoyed seeing the many birds each day.

Brown pelicans stand by while an American White Pelican scratches an itch

A fisherman tossed a fish to this Great Blue Heron who enjoyed a free breakfast

Weeki Wachee Springs

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park was just a 45 minute drive south so we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see the famous mermaid show there. The park is celebrating it’s 75th anniversary this year. In addition to the mermaid shows there is a swimming beach, Ranger led wildlife talks, picnic areas, kayaking and a nature cruise on the Weeki Wachee River. Mermaid statues around the park are part of the 75th anniversary celebration.

We took the nature cruise where we saw Martha, one half of the resident Bald Eagle pair George and Martha, and a Tri-Colored Heron in the mangroves.

The highlight of our visit was attending the mermaid show. We arrived early for the show and while we waited for the main show we were entertained with videos of the history of the park and highlights of some of the old mermaid shows. My favorites were the old black and white videos with the mermaids in their old style swimsuits.

Swimming with Manatees

One of my bucket list items was to swim with the manatees in Crystal River. We had done this back in the 1990’s and I’ve been wanting to do it again ever since. We booked an early morning tour with Fun2Dive in Crystal River. Before we left home we watched a manatee manners video which explained what was acceptable and what was not when in the water with these gentle giants.

I donned a wetsuit and met our guide at the dive shop before riding a bus to the dock where we boarded our boat, the Manatee Life for a tour through the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. There are several springs which are protected Manatee sanctuaries in the refuge. Henry stayed on the boat with the captain to watch the manatees from above the water. I was one of four guests who got in the water with our guide. As soon as we hit the water we watched a small female chewing on the anchor line of another boat.

Two manatees enter the sanctuary while we humans watched from outside the roped off area

Following our guide outside the sanctuary in search of manatees

Our guide led us in our search and showed us where to look. We spotted several manatees and stayed in the water for about an hour before getting back on the boat. Our captain then took us on a boat ride around the bay to a second location. The highlight of the day was observing a huge female moving along the bottom grazing on the grass as we watched. She weighed about 1500 pounds and ignored us.

We watched her for a while before it was time to head back to the boat. While we were in the water Henry and the captain spotted a mating herd in the water near us.

Scenic Drive on Fort Island Trail

Another day we took a drive along the Fort Island Trail. We stopped to walk out on a fishing pier on the Gulf and watched a manatee swim under the pier. We took a walk on a beautiful white sand beach near the pier and stopped at another smaller fishing pier before returning home.