Events in the area

This time of year brings brings opportunities to visit local venues. Friday night was the Second Annual White Sands National Monument Holiday Open House. The walls of the parking lot area and visitor center buildings were decorated with luminarias.  It was a treat to see luminarias early in the season and these were the real thing, set up and lit by La Luz 4-H mbembers.

Los Guapos provided msic for the evening and a story time was held for children.

The museum book store was open as was the gift shop. On the patio good food and friendly people welcomed the guests. The posole, jerky, pancakes, candy and chips and salsa were samples of some of the food items offered in the gift shop. With the temperatures in the 20s, hot coffee and cider were very much enjoyed by all of us who braved the cold..

Today Chris Turri held his Third Annual Studio Open House.  Chris is a La Luz artist who makes metal sculptures using mostly reclaimed steel and bronze colored by a patina process which provides varying shades of green and blue.  He uses these materials to make art pieces that range from huge outdoor yard sentinels to small 4 inch spirit masks that he individualizes with petroglyph figures and such things as recycled wires and nails for hair. The results are pieces that add a southwest flair and whimsy to walls and outside areas.  Chris's studio was open for viewing and he and his wife Jan warmly welcomed guests into their home for refreshments. (Beautifully and deliciously provided by Virginia Copeland)

JM

Balloons of autumn

I snapped these two in town, it is really neat to see random balloons landing where ever.
You can hear them over head, blowing the propane. It is a great time of year!

Happy autumnal equinox and welcome to fall!

Champagne and Propane II

The Giant Saguaro is up and going! It is so massive, it dwarfs the other balloons. There is a special shape that is a chile Ristra that is about the same size as this one. I didn't see that one this time. It shaped up into a beautiful day.

This shot shows my favorite one from a distance, Smokey Bear.

These were the last ones to get up and going. I feel like it is old friends when I see the same balloons year after year and pick out newcomers.

The witch and cactus travel together and are two very popular ones. I liked the reflections in the puddle and seeing how tiny people are in comparison to these balloons.

One last shot as they head out over the dunes. Another gorgeous day for an adventure. I missed the Tularosa Basin Wine Festival that was also going on the same weekend as well as the Golden Aspen Bike Rally in Ruidoso that brings in thousands of bikers.

Champagne and Propane

We had a great weekend! There was alot going on and we did not make it to everything, but we did make it to White Sands this morning for the second day of the balloon fiesta. We got there in the pre-dawn light and the softly colored sunrise was just beginning to illuminate the sands.

We topped a dune and saw the crews beginning to unpack and lay out the balloons. We have had this festival for several years and 50 plus balloons attend. Half of them launch from around town and half from the sands on the first day and then they switch launch sites on the second day.

We got there about an hour before launch, and it was about 55 degrees outside, colder in the sands. Even in the heat of summer when it is over 100 degrees and brilliant sunshine beats down reflecting off the dunes, they are suprisingly cool just a few inches down.

The Wells Fargo balloon was the first to get up and going this morning. there were puddles in the flats of the dunes so they had to work around that. The kids all played on their saucers, sliding down the dunes.

The sun is now up and more balloons are being inflated. Albuquerque has their HUGE balloon fiesta next month, and we are very lucky to be able to host as many as we do and to have such a amazing setting.

Full Moon

We went to White Sands last night for the full moon. They are open late in the summer months to celebrate the full moons. If you have never seen a full moon light up the snow white dunes for miles it is a trip worth making! Last night they had a program of traditional Southwest and Celtic music featuring Connie Dover and Skip Gorman. They sang some old cattle songs and some even older Celtic music. It was beautiful under the stars as the huge yellow moon rose and the haunting melodies wafted around us on the dunes. My camera is not one that gets shots in the dark easily... so these are leading up to the evening. I feel blessed to live where I get to experience evenings like this one.

White Sands

I figured I'd put White Sands in here early on because it is such an obvious attraction for the area. It is pure white gypsum dunes and no matter how hot it is, the sand, once you dig down a bit it is cool. It is the full moon nights during the summer that are the best, when they leave the park open and you are guided by the glow of the moon that illuminates the dunes. It becomes silent and otherworldly. There is a ghost story associated with White Sands that at dusk when there is a breeze you see a bride in her gown searching for her betrothed who had been lost at the white sands. Her long gown swirling with the sand as she searches for eternity... Her name is Plava Blanca and her story goes back to the Conquistadors. The park rangers give great talks out on the dunes. Bring a blanket, some munchies, sun screen, sled/saucers for sliding down the dunes and WATER. A local gent owns a camel (yes camel) and goes to White Sands to walks his camel daily. Stay until dusk when the dunes change from brilliant white to pinks, purples and oranges.