It's a Little Quirky in Albu-querk-y
Two weeks ago my friend Erin told me that she was going to the hot air balloon festival with her family and that I was welcome to join them. I was hesitant to go, because it was a 7 hour drive to get to Albuquerque and unlike Erin, I couldn’t take the time off work and would only have 2 days to spend there.
The weekend was approaching and my FOMO kicked in. I knew I would regret not going, especially since I knew I would be hearing about the experience and seeing pictures from Erin, so last minute I texted her “I’m in”.
The Friday night drive was pleasant and manageable. Accompanied by a couple interesting podcasts, the drive flew by and before long it was midnight and I finally made it to Albuquerque.
Day 1
I got 3 hours of sleep. It was rough, but I showed up at the Park & Ride where I would meet the Erin and the rest of her family. We hopped on the bus and arrived to a field littered with people. Soon, the pilots were given the go ahead to fire up their hot air balloons. As the first balloons (called the Dawn Patrol) began their ascension into the dark skies, people began to buzz with excitement. As the voices in the crowd grew louder, the balloons flew higher as if the collective excitement somehow pushed the hot air balloons higher into the sky.
We walked around the field and watched as hundreds of hot air balloons took to the skies. My favorite type of balloons were the plain patterned ones, although it was fun to see the creativity of some of these pilots. We saw everything from Darth Vader to a waddle of penguins, and laughed hysterically when we “saw pigs fly”.
After grabbing my third cup of coffee to keep me going, Erin invited me to join her and her family on a drive up to Sanida Crest, which is the mountain that overlooks the city of Albuquerque. The scenic drive led us to the top, where we got out and went on a short hike. On the hike, we were lucky enough to see the aspen groves light up the landscape with their fiery yellow and orange glow.
I grew up having a very specific understanding of hiking. Your destination had to be rewarding, whether it be mountain views, waterfall, a lake, etc. A hike had to have elevation gain, and required sturdy boots. You had to go to a destination where you didn’t have cell service and couldn’t see or hear vehicles going by. And most hikes were tree covered.
It wasn’t until moving to Colorado that I realized that hiking is much broader than I originally thought. I’ve been on some incredibly challenging hikes that were 100% desert. I’ve been on a hikes that were flat but led to a unique destination. And since moving to Colorado, I’ve done most of my hiking in my Chacos.
So we went on a short hike, through a dry, grassy area with a scattering of yellow aspens. It was a breezy fall day, the sun was out but we were chilly, and I didn’t have the right shoes on. Nevertheless, the Leverence family and I had a good amount of laughs and photo ops.
After our hike, we went our separate ways, and Erin and I planned to meet up the next day. I was starving so I found a restaurant in downtown Albuquerque and loaded up on my nutrients. When I’m on vacation, I tend to have fewer food options and end up eating not so healthy foods. Since I was traveling on my own this time and didn’t have anyone else to worry about, I picked a restaurant that would be suitable for my diet and I couldn’t have been happier with the meal I had.
Feeling fueled and nourished, I continued on to explore a place called “Old Albuquerque” - original, I know. It was a lively block centered around a gazebo in a courtyard. When I arrived, I heard Native American chanting coming from the courtyard which set the mood of the town.
I found a coffee shop to grab another coffee and walked around the markets and peering into restaurants to soak in the atmosphere of this culturally preserved square. Traditional Native American jewelry, home goods, and knick nacks were sold in shops lining the square, and without finding anything I wanted for myself, I went my merry way.
Although I had been pushing off sleep all day and my body desperately wanted to rest, I wasn’t ready to give up my precious time. I decided to head back to the hot air balloon festival to be awed once more.
This time I went alone, which awarded me the time to focus on the people attending the festival rather then the balloons themselves. I was drawn into the different kinds of people and was excited about trying to capture the feeling through other people’s experiences. It was fun to try to speculate on the relationships between strangers and create plausible scenarios in my head about their life stories.
Day 2
On Sunday morning, I met up with Erin at Meow Wolf - an interactive art installation in Santa Fe. I had heard about this experience through some Denver friends and was told that visiting was a must. Without much expectation, Erin and I walked in and explored the whimsical and mysterious exhibit.
Basically, you walk into this art installation and you’re told to read everything, to touch everything, and engage fully with the installation to understand what’s going on. So we walk through the exhibit, looking in all direction and noticing all of the details of the whimsical and creative rooms.
This installation was unlike I have ever experienced, and made me envious of creatives who are able to express their curiosity, emotions, and stories with the world through their art. I’m still learning about the creative process and how to express my thoughts and emotions through art, and was inspired to continue my creative journey to see where it takes me.
We had so much more we wanted to do in New Mexico, but it was getting late and we had to get back. Unfortunately, it had snowed all along the front range and I was worried about driving back. Erin and I got into our cars and began the long drive home.
On the way home, I thought about friendships and how they change. A year ago, I didn’t know who Erin was. There were parts of my life that no one understood or could relate with. My anxious desire to travel and explore is something that I share with Erin. I haven’t met anyone else that understands this part of me the way she does, and I’m so thankful for that.
Life will continue to surprise us with new revelations, desires and struggles. But God will continue to provide with people to help us through those trials, to relate in those desires and to share the revelations.
