YESTERDAY AND TODAY IN ALBUQUERQUE

New Mexico is a wonderful state. I love its vastness and it's Southwestern Beauty with so much Indian and Mexican influence. One if my old and dear friends lives here in Albuquerque. Her name is Charlotte. She and her husband and extended family have all settled here. Yesterday the weather wasn't very cooperative. It was very cold and windy with very high gusts of wind. So we decided to stay inside and spend part of the day at the air balloon Museum. Quite fascinating with the history of one of the first air balloon adventures in 1897 where the Explorers wanted to try to reach as far up in the North Pole as possible by floating farther and beyond  some of the more difficult portions of the terrain to reach their goal. There's a lot of documentation on it and without going into too much detail they only managed to move about 300 miles past their point of launch due to winds and moisture levels that affected the balloon. They were creating helium through mechanics created  at the site of the operation.  Also they we're using silk products for the balion fabric. Anyway, too much to share. Attach some pictures and the next post. Today my friend Charlotte took me up to the petroglyphs which are drawings/etchings on volcanic rocks from the 1300 to 1500 AD era by the native tribes that lived in this vicinity.  The lava rock  has existed since the huge volcanic eruption many eons ago. Supposedly they use these etchings and drawings on the rocks to send messages or describe some of their tribal experiences  and rituals, both physical and spiritual. I've also attached a lot of pictures from our day today and some of the signs they post in order to understand their history.  It was a two and a half mile jaunt.  It was a beautiful day with those clear beautiful blue skies that are so famous in this neck of the woods. I spent another part of the afternoon at Old Albuquerque which is an older section of town which has been renovated and kept going as a major tourist attraction with lots of authentic shops and restaurants and historical places. I have had a beautiful day today and it really enjoyed my time. Hope you like the pictures.