An Inspired Cook

October is one of the best month’s to visit New Mexico. This year was particularly special with the Solar Eclipse crossing over parts of New Mexico with 100% viewing. Our son Josh who has a degree in Physics and Astronomy traveled to Albuquerque to see the event. We were concerned about the weather; the day started out with a few clouds but as they began to dissipate we had an unobstructed view of the sun and watched the Annular Solar Eclipse from start to finish lasting around 3 hours. Josh brought telescopes and solar eclipse glasses for us to wear. And Joe taped up our camera lens with an eclipse lens to take pictures. However, all the best photos were taken by Josh who knew how to take a photo through the telescope lens resulting in some amazing shots. Our sister in law Melody also spent time with us in October, however she had to fly home before the solar eclipse took place. But she enjoyed her first Balloon Fiesta, the Jemez Mountains, Valle Caldera and the Aspens in Santa Fe. For 2 weeks in October we enjoyed many adventures such as hiking our favorite places, eating the most amazing New Mexican food, watching hot air balloons fly every morning, experiencing the solar eclipse, plus a roadrunner and a coyote. It’s a magical time to be in New Mexico in October, I guess that’s why we are The Land of Enchantment!

---

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 2023

Going to the balloon fiesta means getting up early, we were up at 3:30 am and out the door to the park at 4:00 am. The gates open at 4:30 am in the dark with only the vendor lights and a few gas burners on the balloon field. After picking up some breakfast burritos and hot chocolate we make our way to where the dawn patrol would launch. They are the first 10 – 12 balloons with the most experienced balloon pilots that launch around 6:15 to check the weather conditions. Once they assess the wind conditions, they will radio the officials on the ground where they will raise a green, yellow or red flag. The yellow flag indicates they are in holding position until the conditions change, the red flag is a no go and the green indicates they are good to fly. Once the green flag is raised the balloon crews on the ground make quick work of prepping the balloons to launch. They take these safety steps in order to launch the 550 + balloons that are expected to fly. We were lucky to find the right row to watch the dawn patrol crews prepare the balloons on the ground. Once you start hearing the fans that are used to blow up the balloon you know it won’t be long. Next comes the propane burners which light up the field and give off warmth to those of us who aren’t used to the cold mornings. If you’ve never been to a balloon glow or dawn patrol it should be on your bucket list. And don’t forget your camera, it’s the most photographed event in the world estimating 25 million photos taken during Fiesta week.

Once the dawn patrol goes up and the green flag has been assigned, it’s time to fly. At 7:00 am they announce the green flag has been given and the National Anthem is played over a loud speaker. They go row by row or what is known as waves in which a row will blow up their balloons and wait for an official to come over and blow the whistle signaling they are cleared to launch. This was one of our favorite balloons “Gut-Wrenching” by Shawn Speicher. We stood near the pilots and crew as they prepared the balloon for launch.

The first balloon up carries the US Flag. The UNM balloon is one of the new balloons flying for the first time. Incidentally, UNM is where Joe started college before we got married. The “Visit Albuquerque” balloon represents our Red and Green culture with a Green Chile on one side and a Red Chile on the other side.

Here are a few of our favorite balloons.

Some more of our favorites including Airabell the Cow balloon and the Baby Dino balloon.

As the fiesta winds down, the skies are dotted with colorful balloons. Every time we go it’s a magical experience! It was even more fun this year sharing it with Melody and Josh who took it all in with awe!

---

Annular Solar Eclipse 2023

When we learned that the Annular Solar Eclipse was going to be 100% visible over Albuquerque we invited Josh to come. Seeing the eclipse through Josh’s eyes is exhilarating. Throughout the years he has spent so many evenings outside with his binoculars looking up at the sky, the stars, the moon or the ISS fly over. He spent a year in Australia, 6 month’s of it working at an observatory near Coonabarabran NSW. When he returned, an opportunity came about to move to Jackson, WY to work for Wyoming Stargazing.
Josh set up the telescopes in the backyard. We each took turns looking through the telescopes and taking pictures. The photo above was individual pictures taken on our Sony 6000a camera with a tripod. Joe put the images together to make one large panoramic.

The day of the eclipse we got up early around 5:30 am. We are only 4 miles from the Balloon Fiesta park and could visibly see the dawn patrol light up the skies before the sun came up. When the sun starts to appear over the Sandia Mountains, the skies are already dotted with balloons. Josh started setting up the telescopes and the tripods to stabilize our cameras. We then waited until 10:36 MDT for the eclipse to begin.

Before the eclipse started, Josh took some pictures through the telescopes. As you can see we started off with a few stray clouds covering the sun. A little bit later Josh captured 4 balloons; one crossing in front of the sun. The last pic shows the sun spots on the sun.

The gallery above shows Josh’s eclipse photos through the telescope. The last two pics are with a different filter which shows the solar flares around the edges of the sun. Click on any photo within any of the galleries to enlarge or view slideshow.

Like many others, we experienced eclipse shadow art that filtered through the leaves.

---

Aspen Vista Trail 2023

The fall colors were just coming alive when Melody, Josh, Joe and I drove to the Santa Fe Ski area to view the aspen trees on the Aspen Vista Trail. Here are some of the best views!

Framing Santa Fe and beyond!

Love the golden colors against our dark blue skies!

And the golden hue that radiates through the grove of Aspens.

It was a great day sharing time with family.

---

The Food of New Mexico

“Hot Tamales” is the place to be for a true NM meal. Upper left . . . Stuffed Sopapillas with Green Chile, Upper right . . . Chicken Enchilada Casserole with Green Chile, Navajo Taco with Green Chile on the side, Below . . . Tres Colores Enchiladas, one Red Chile Beef, one Green Chile Chicken and one Chile Con Queso.

We celebrated after the eclipse at “Casa de Benavidez“. Chile Rellenos for Joe; Josh and I both had Beef Chimichangas. . . Green Chile for me, Christmas for Josh!

---

My Wild Backyard

Did I mention we saw Roadrunners and Coyotes!!

A huge Thank You to “Wyoming Stargazing” for lending us your best Stargazing Tour Guide! If you ever vacation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, I highly recommend you book a Stargazing Tour! Ask for Josh, he’s the best!!