Road Trip: Alien Encounter

The subject of aliens is very (and when I say very I mean extremely) touchy for me... and I don't know why. I have always been really intrigued by outer space and what is there. My dad passed down to me the love of astronomy. Sometimes I wish that I didn't live in a city so that I could sit on my roof and start gaze at more then 30 stars. As I said before, the subject of aliens is touchy... and you may be wondering why I say that. Well, I have stayed up really late watching those alien encounter shows way too many times. It's almost as if  start believing that stone henge was created by extraterrestrials for the purpose of direction and mapping. I won't get into the politics or whatever of aliens; but I think that I enjoy being afraid of them? It is really hard to explain. The point is that when I talk about aliens I get emotional and start crying. This has happened maybe three times and is very embarrassing. My friends probably think I am insane. The strangest part about my emotions over aliens is that I am not crying out of fear. It's almost a happy or overjoyed cry with a slight amount of fear. I know... I know... If I hadn't already convinced you that I am insane I probably just confirmed it for you.

So on my road trip I forced my dad to stop in Roswell, NM which is famous for it's alleged alien space ship crash years ago. The best part about the town is that they totally play it up. There are alien museums everywhere! The McDonalds play place is a huge space ship! Sooo cool.

Unfortunately I didn't get to take any pictures inside the museum of all the incredibly creepy alien photos, but here's a little taste of Roswell, NM. I am not saying that you should make a trip to Roswell, but if you happen to be near by or driving through I highly suggest stopping and looking around a while. It's definitely an adventure!

Carli

Road Trip: Smokey the Bear.

On our way home I made my Dad drive the slightly longer way just so that we could drive through Capitan New Mexico and go to Smokey the Bear's memorial museum and grave site. I have been many times before, but somehow it never gets old. It takes just about an hour to go through and is great for the kiddos. Something about a little orphan bear cub that was saved from a fiery home and went on to advocate fire safety is just beautiful (and makes me emotional.... I am a mess.)

The coolest part about the museum is all of the Smokey memorabilia. Most of it is vintage and very cool. Also, not for sale... which is sad because there were a couple posters I wanted to take home. I also wanted Smokey the Bear salt and pepper shakers.

I did pick up this little key chain for me (and one for a friend)! 

And remember... Only you can prevent forest fires.

Carli

P.S. You can check out some other stops from my Road Trip too!

Valley of Fire, Trinity Site, Route 66 Diner, Arches National Park, Salt Lake City, 

Snap Shots

Road Trip: Valley of Fire.

When I realized that we were in the Valley of Fire I forced my dad to stop the car. I mean really... lava rock is so cool (no pun intended). Here are just a few photos from the little side trip. I wish we could have spent more time there, but we had to get going.

 I took a little piece of lava rock home with me.

It's hard to imagine that all of this rock was once lava! and came from way under the Earth's crust! Things like this fascinate me...

On another note. Today I discovered that my family own all the seasons of Planet Earth. We all know what i'll be doing this summer.

Carli

Road Trip: Route 66 in black and white.

This was probably one of my favorite moments of our entire trip. The route 66 diner has been a family favorite for, well, before I was born! Every year when we go to Albuquerque for the balloon fiesta we stop by the Route 66 diner and relive the 50's. My mom and I always get a pumpkin pie milkshake then dream about it for the rest of the year. Since we were planning on stopping in Albuquerque for the night, we thought it would be fun to make a stop at the diner for dinner. Who ever thought of doing that (my dad) is genius.

Because I am not a very good photographer and that the place was crawling with red neon, my pictures didn't turn out as planned... so they are in black & white to hide the crazy lighting. But I kind of like them that way. I think they look like they came from an old roll of film. It's kinda like I was actually there in the 50's!

 Ok I lied... There is one in color.

 Chicken pot pie heaven.

 Story: I ordered the Pumpkin Pie shake but they were out of season and I was sad. I usually am in Albuquerque in October, hence pumpkin pie shakes... I ended up ordering an Elvis shake which consists of peanut butter and bananas. Heaven. My dad thought that it was gross (without trying it). Has the man never had a peanut butter and banana sandwich?! Does he even live on planet earth?! 

So if you ever find yourself in the vicinity of Albuquerque, New Mexico it would definitely be worth your time to go to the Route 66 Diner (on historic Route 66) and then go to Old Town. 

I was really sad when we left the next morning because I have so many memories there.

Carli

Road Trip Snap Shots

Amidst the craziness of moving. I completely forgot about Record Tuesday. I suppose I will post some music later today and call it Record Thursday for just this once... sorry.

Today was our third day on the road. I am so tired of being in the car right now. We are currently in the middle of nowhere Texas and I surprisingly have phone service. Basically I am trying to find something to occupy my endless amounts of road time... Why is Texas so big?! I mean really... Ok that was out of line... In all honesty, Texas should be bigger, and only a native born Texan would say that. All I am saying is that after a day and a half of driving we finally reach the Texas border and still have 10 hours to drive.

The following are some snapshots I took on my phone of our trip. I've been taking lots of pictures with my digital camera (and film camera). The plan is to post all of those pictures and adventure stories throughout the next week. I will also be introducing a new blog series!

Empty... Except for winter clothes.

Emigration Canyon, UT

Driving through Arches National Park, UT

Best lemonade. Seriously.

Route 66 Diner Albuquerque, NM 

(sorry it's a little washed out.)

Valley of Fire, NM

Best. Place. Ever.

A road trip is not a road trip without an ice cream cone from Dairy Queen.

You can check out some other stops from my Road Trip too!

Valley of Fire, Trinity Site, Route 66 Diner, Arches National Park, Salt Lake City, 

Snap Shots

Carli

Up, Up, & Away!

Balloon Fiesta History: The fiesta began 40 years ago in a parking lot of a mall. About 15 balloons were in attendance. It has now grown to over 1000 balloons (that was way too many for Albuquerque to handle), so it dropped back down to 750. Pilots come from all over the world to take to the skies with fellow balloonists. Spectators come from all around to witness the polka dot sky.The fiesta is always the first week of October and lasts nine days. If you are not a morning person I have to say that you may be turned off by the fact that in order to witness this spectacular event you have to awake before the sun. It is probably the most glorious thing you will ever witness. 

My dad has been hot air ballooning since 1972 and has been coming to the fiesta since 1977. I have been going my entire life. I am so lucky to be able to miss an entire week of school to spend my days soaring across the New Mexico sky.

If you have never seen & or heard of a balloon fiesta I highly suggest you look at the following pictures….

This year my dad was not able to bring his balloon due to an accident three years ago. His balloon was tangled in barbed wire during a windy landing. Suffice to say, it has a few holes that cost an arm and a leg to fix. So this year we came a spectators. Soooonot as fun as coming as a balloon crew. I was so incredibly jealous of all the balloon crews. Especially on the first day when I saw this guy holding the ropes which is MY job.  I even became somewhat emotional. The following is a list of things, in no particular order, that I was extremely jealous of because I was not part of a balloon crew. 

1. Staying in a really nice hotel for free.

2. Getting free breakfast and lunch from the hospitality tent.

3. Being able to park onto the field.

4. Being able to sleep in the car until the pilots get their weather briefing.

5. Getting to go to the zoo for a party with food for free.

6. Getting free admission to all balloon fiesta events.

7. Being that really cool kid riding in the back of the chase crew vehicle while everyone else stares in envy.

8. Riding in the balloon.

9. Setting up the balloon.

10. Chasing the balloon.

By the way. It is an awesome thing to be browsing the post cards and seeing your dads balloon on one of them. Rodeo Joe is the black balloon with the yellow longhorn.

Flying in a balloon is so amazing. It feels like you are flying. Once you reach about 100 feet it is silent. You don’t here the busy city noises any more. Just the sound of the burner warming the balloons air. It is so peaceful & awe-inspiring. A balloon ride is something everyone must do.

Carli