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October 9
Today was the last day of the balloon fiesta. We woke up fairly early once again, and even though it was overcast in the morning, it must've been a perfect day for flying. By the time we left nearly every balloon was in the air, there must've been 150 balloons. After this last viewing, we headed north to Santa Fe. I should probably mention that after three days of dry camping, including the need for heat during the evening, our fan hed completely worn down our battery. Fortunately the neighbour had a generator, and was able to get us up and running in a couple minutes.
Once we arrived in Santa Fe, we quickly re-introduced ourselves to water, and felt a whole lot better. After a quick lunch we drove to Kashe-Katuwe for a hike. It was nice to get back into the wilderness again. Our hike was reasonably short, less than 3 miles round-trip, but it involved a passage through a narrow slot canyon, followed by a steep climb to a crest that ran along the top of the Butte. We saw some very neat formations similar to the mushrooms that we had seen near Page Arizona.
We drove back into Santa Fe, made some plans for tomorrow, then headed to the Boxcar restaurant where we watched the Blue Jays clinch the ALDS in extra innings of game three, go Donaldson, go Jays go.
October 10
We drove north to Taos, about 1.5 hours from Santa Fe. We gained elevation the whole way. The highest mountain in the ski area, which you can hike to, is over 13,000 feet. A couple of the mountains already had a dusting of snow.
We drove the Enchanted Circle, which took us through a number of towns and ski areas. At one point we saw a number of bighorn sheep on the side of the road. They weren't frightened by cars, but did run when the cyclist went by.
We started out on a hike to the bottom of the canyon but when Karen saw 7 tarantulas and 2 snakes, she bailed.
Before heading into Taos, we drove to the Rio Grande gorge bridge. Very impressive, it seemed to be around 1000' above the river. It was a little unnerving that the bridge would shake when the transports went over it. Perhaps the neatest - or most tragic - thing about it, was the Crisis Hotline phone on each side. We did a bit of browsing in Taos before heading back home, following the Rio Grande most of the way.
October 11
We went to the Bandelier National Monument for most of the day. There were countless holes in the canyon walls, both large and small. Within the park, there was an area of cliff dwellings along a short hike, a few of which we were able to climb into. Most looked like they could accommodate only one or two people, but they were very protected from the elements, and were several feet off the ground - we were able to use ladders but they used hand- and footholds carved into the rock. About a km up the trail was Alcove House, which was 140' (43 metres) up, and required 4 good sized ladders and a number of stairs to reach.
We followed up with a hike to the Upper Falls, about 5 km round trip. It wasn't too strenuous but followed the small, shallow river until it dropped about 100' at the waterfall. There is a Lower Falls, but it is no longer accessible since a flash flood in 2011.
Next we drove to the Valles Caldera, a 20 plus km wide crater, created by a volcano 500 times larger than Mount St. Helen's. It is mostly a wildlife area now, but it did feel a bit strange driving across a volcano.
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