Butterflies and Giant Spiders!

We had some shopping to get done yesterday morning. There's a few things we needed to stock up on before crossing back into Canada and Denver is likely the last really large city we'll be in before the border. One of the stores we went to was the big REI (Recreation Equipment Inc.) location near Confluence Park.

A Day in Downtown Denver

First plan though, was to figure out how to get there. Kent and Lynn's house is about 3.5 miles (5.5 kms) from the downtown core. They have a bus stop really close by, but the fare is $2.25. With the two of us going round trip, it would be $9.00, which is about the price of parking downtown for the day. Unless I could find free parking!

We're liking Colorado!

Some people like the desert, some people like the mountains. Ruth likes both, but I'm much more attracted to the mountains and the trees. I've been wanting to see Colorado for a long time, and so far, we're not disappointed at all.

A great spot to spend a week or two in the motorhome!

After our non ballooning adventure yesterday morning, we made the best of it and got an early start to our destination in Taos, New Mexico. It was only a two and a half hour drive, so we knew we had lots of time to explore along the way. And explore we did!

No balloon ride today...

Despite the best efforts of World Balloon Company in Albuquerque, New Mexico...we were not able to get off the ground! They really tried hard knowing that we were only in Albuquerque for three days. But the weather just wouldn't cooperate.

We got up at 5:30am this morning and so did our couchsurfing hosts Cheryl and Mike. Cheryl made coffee for everyone and we said our goodbyes. Thanks for being such great hosts Cheryl and Mike! Then, we headed out to the meeting spot for our balloon ride.

More to see and do in the Albuquerque area!

But the weather was not co-operating as well as it could. Not really hampering our activities, although it was a lot colder yesterday than what we're used to!

As my father once said... "the only thing you can change about the weather is your attitude towards it."

Albuquerque Balloon Museum

Our hot air balloon ride was cancelled again this morning due to bad weather. We've got one more shot at it Wednesday morning though, and so far it looks like it might happen! In the meantime, if we couldn't go up in a balloon ourselves, we figured we might as well learn as much as we could about them!

Wandering around Albuquerque

Mike and Cheryl, our couchsurfing hosts here in Albuquerque, live on the eastern part of the city that borders the Sandia mountain range. We were looking forward to a hike yesterday morning, and Cheryl took us out for an hour and a half in the foothills behind their home.

The Albuquerque Aquarium and Botanic Garden

These popular Albuquerque attractions are part of the "ABQ BioPark" which also runs the local Zoo and Tingley Beach. There's a $12.50 ticket that allows you admission to both the Aquarium and the Botanic Garden and it's especially worth a day out if you've got children.

Albuquerque Rattlesnake Museum

Okay, this was different. And a lot of fun!

In "old town" Albuquerque there is a museum officially called the American International Rattlesnake Museum!

Cancelled!

Well, we're supposed to be in the basket of a hot air balloon right now. Unfortunately, the weather didn't co-operate and it's too windy this morning so our balloon adventure has been postponed until Tuesday morning. So, slight change of plans, but we've got lots to see and do here in Albuquerque and we'll update you on our activities tomorrow morning!

Bright white sand. Everywhere!

Yesterday, we did a day trip out to White Sands National Monument. I think I had heard about this place before, and it was suggested by one of our readers, Poraka, in our comments section that we should visit. So we took him up on his suggestion!

It's always interesting crossing a border...

Let the bells ring out and the banners fly! We're in the United States of America! But they sure do make it interesting to get across a border. I always say that it's a bit of a circus, and the American border is a three ring circus. Barnum and Bailey would be proud!

Glad we came to visit Chihuahua!

Once again, we are overwhelmed by the hospitality of the people we meet. When all you hear from the media are warnings about danger and being told "don't go there", you start to question things. But then when you set out to explore, you find a city where the vast majority of people are just going about their daily business and everyone is friendly and helpful.

Four hours from the U.S. border

A bit of a long driving day yesterday. But in just three days we have placed ourselves only a four hour drive from our border crossing point! We did 550 kms (341 miles) yesterday, for a three day total of 1,263 kms (783 miles).