Kirsty and her fiance, Brian, moved to Albuquerque, NM to work in the Bassett family business, New Mexico Piñon Coffee. We have to say its the best coffee we have tasted. We were invited by Brian's parents to come meet them during the balloon festival. Walt was at the balloon festival 18 years ago so it was nice to go back and see and for Nancy to see for the first time.
We arrived in Albuquerque at 10 pm and stayed awake chatting until 11:30 but then had to get up at 4:00 to catch a shuttle bus to the festival. The balloons typically are launched early in the morning when the wind is the least. We stayed with Kirsty and Brian and pictures of their house are shown here.
Saturday morning we got to the shuttle bus and met some of Brian's family and then spent the time at the balloon festival and were awestruck by how many and how large the balloons are. We took a lot of pictures but here are some just to give a flavor of the festival. Saturday evening Brian's parents invited us to their house for dinner with the Bassett family.
Sunday evening we went to the Twilight Twinkle Glow where they fire up the burners at dusk and the balloons are glowing. It was a spectacular site to see. Here are some photos of the Twilight Twinkle Glow.
Monday morning we went to the Piñon coffee plant. We had been to a coffee roasting place on our trip to Guatemala a couple of years ago but it was nice to have a small group and everything explained in detail to us. We learned how sensitive coffee is not only to the country where it is grown but to the plantation and part of the plantation that the coffee is grown. We find the Piñon coffee to be the best flavor we have had. Trader Joe's does carry it in their stores. Here are photos of the coffee factory.
Sandia Labs was one of the places where the atomic bombs were developed. So they have a nuclear history museum that we went and visited. It was interesting to see the history of this period. Here are a few photos of the museum.
We arrived in Albuquerque at 10 pm and stayed awake chatting until 11:30 but then had to get up at 4:00 to catch a shuttle bus to the festival. The balloons typically are launched early in the morning when the wind is the least. We stayed with Kirsty and Brian and pictures of their house are shown here.
Saturday morning we got to the shuttle bus and met some of Brian's family and then spent the time at the balloon festival and were awestruck by how many and how large the balloons are. We took a lot of pictures but here are some just to give a flavor of the festival. Saturday evening Brian's parents invited us to their house for dinner with the Bassett family.
Sunday evening we went to the Twilight Twinkle Glow where they fire up the burners at dusk and the balloons are glowing. It was a spectacular site to see. Here are some photos of the Twilight Twinkle Glow.
Monday morning we went to the Piñon coffee plant. We had been to a coffee roasting place on our trip to Guatemala a couple of years ago but it was nice to have a small group and everything explained in detail to us. We learned how sensitive coffee is not only to the country where it is grown but to the plantation and part of the plantation that the coffee is grown. We find the Piñon coffee to be the best flavor we have had. Trader Joe's does carry it in their stores. Here are photos of the coffee factory.
Sandia Labs was one of the places where the atomic bombs were developed. So they have a nuclear history museum that we went and visited. It was interesting to see the history of this period. Here are a few photos of the museum.
