Hot Air Balloon Fiesta - USA Teil 3

Hier sind nun die Bilder von dem Ereignis, 

von dem ich schon sooo lange geträumt habe und es nun endlich live erleben konnte, die 

HOT AIR BALLOON FIESTA 

in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Da ist schon ganz frühes Aufstehen angesagt, denn die Ballons der "Dawn Patrol" starten schon bei Dunkelheit. Beim "Morning Glow" werden dann überall auf dem Feld die Ballons mit ihren Propanbrennern beleuchtet.

Sobald die Sonne aufgegangen ist, beginnt die "Mass Ascension", bei der hunderte von Ballons aufsteigen. Abends gibt es dann noch einen "Afterglow" und ein Feuerwerk. 

Insgesamt ein fantastisches Erlebnis!

Here are the pictures of the event,
I have dreamed of for sooo long and now I was finally able to experience firsthand the

Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, NM.

Since the balloons of the "Dawn Patrol" start before sunrise you have to get up very early. During "Morning Glow" large numbers of balloons are illuminated at dawn by their propane burners.
Once the sun has risen, the "Mass Ascension" begins, where hundreds of balloons are rising into the sky. In the evening there is also an "Afterglow" and Fireworks.
Overall a fantastic experience!

Morning Twinkle Glow

Mass Ascension

 

Special Shapes

Afterglow in the evening

QAL - Neue Tulas

Bevor es mit den Reisebildern weitergeht, hier die beiden Tulas der Woche:

Before I will post more pics of our trip here are the two Tulas for this week:

Tula Pink's City Sampler Plock #44

Tula Pink's City Sampler Plock #45

Wer mehr Fotos sehen will,

klickt einfach mal in die Flickr-Gruppe

USA Trip Part 2

Hier nun der zweite Teil unserer USA-Reise. 

Vorbei am Monument Valley ging's nach Utah zum Goosenecks State Park, schon immer einer meiner Lieblingsorte im Südwesten. Zwar waren wir dort nicht mehr ganz allein wie in den Jahren zuvor, aber ein paar Camper können der überwältigenden Schönheit dieses Ortes nichts anhaben.

Im Natural Bridges NM konnte man schön wandern und dann sind wir zwischen den Kobolden im Goblin Valley herumgeklettert.

Die Wanderung zur Delicate Arch im Arches NP lohnt sich immer wieder. Ich fand sie dieses Mal gar nicht mehr so anstrengend, womöglich weil es nicht ganz so heiß war wie sonst im Hochsommer. Belohnt wird man mit einem grandiosen Ausblick an einem magischen Ort, den man einige Zeit auf sich wirken lassen sollte.

Schließlich lag noch der Mesa Verde NP in Colorado auf unserem Programm. Die Cliff Dwellings (Felsnischensiedlungen) der Anasazi-Indianer aus dem 12. und 13. Jahrhundert kann man heute nur noch in Begleitung eines Parkrangers  besuchen und dieser interessante Besuch ist mit einiger Kletterei und Kriecherei verbunden ;-)

Auf dem Weg nach New Mexico haben wir uns noch das wegen seiner historischen Eisenbahn bekannte Durango angeschaut.

Passing Monument Valley we drove to Goosenecks State Park in Utah, always one of my favorite places in the southwest. We were no longer alone there as in previous years, but a few campers cannot do any harm to the overwhelming beauty of this place.
 
Natural Bridges NM is a great place for hiking and after that we had fun climbing between the goblins in Goblin Valley.

Delicate Arch in Arches NP is always worth the hike. This time it even didn't seem so hard to me, perhaps because it was not quite so hot as usual in mid-summer. You are rewarded with a magnificent view at a magical place where you should take some time to let it sink in.

Finally, Mesa Verde NP in Colorado was on our program. Today you may visit the Cliff Dwellings of the Anasazi Indians from the 12th and 13th century only when accompanied by a park ranger and this interesting visit is connected with some climbing and crawling;-) 

On our way to New Mexico, we visited Durango, famous because of its historic railway. 

Monument Valley

Goosenecks State Park Utah

Natural Bridges National Monument

Goblin Valley State Park Utah

Arches National Park

Arches National Park

Mesa Verde National Park

Durango, Colorado

Reisebilder Teil 1

Nachdem wir wieder gut zuhause gelandet sind, will ich euch jetzt ein paar Bilder von unserer Reise zeigen. Da ich - wie immer - unzählige Fotos gemacht habe, bin ich mit dem Sortieren noch lange nicht durch. Daher gibt es hier jetzt mal nur den ersten Teil.
Gestartet sind wir in Los Angeles, nicht unbedingt meine Lieblingsstadt... So bald wir möglich haben wir daher die Stadt der Engel in Richtung Joshua Tree National Park verlassen. Nach einem weiteren Stop am Lake Havasu sind wir, teils auf der alten Route 66, bis Flagstaff gefahren, wo wir schon von unserer Tochter erwartet wurden. Zu dritt ging's dann weiter zum Grand Canyon NP. Die nächsten Etappen waren Horseshoe Bend, Page, Lake Powell/Glen Canyon Dam und der unglaublich schöne Antelope Canyon.

After we have returned back home well, now I want to show you a few pictures of our trip. Because I have taken - as usual - countless photos, I'm still far from through with the sorting. Therefore, here is only the first part.
We started in Los Angeles, not necessarily my favorite city ... Therefore we left the City of Angels as soon as possible in the direction of Joshua Tree National Park. After another stop at Lake Havasu we headed, partly on the old Route 66, to Flagstaff where our daughter already had been waiting for us. The three of us then drove on to the Grand Canyon NP. The next stages were Horseshoe Bend, Page, Lake Powell / Glen Canyon Dam and the incredibly beautiful Antelope Canyon.

Los Angeles

;-)

Joshua Tree NP

Yoshua Tree NP

Route 66

Lumberjack (Northern Arizona University)

Grand Canyon

Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River, Arizona

Lake Powell / Page

Antelope Canyon

Antelope Canyon

Immer noch nicht ganz zuhause

... not at home yet ...

Tula Pink's City Sampler Block #42

Tula Pink's City Sampler Block #43

Reminiscing those good old days

This year I am visiting the United States for the 19th time. The first time I came here I was a teenager and it was a big exciting adventure for me. At that time almost 40 years ago I didn't know anybody who had been to the States before. Or had been on a jumbo jet. Or tasted a Hamburger...
We had been a group of adolescents and young adults traveling with a rented Greyhound bus 16000 km through the western states of America.

Over the years I have been revisiting many of the places I had been back then, some of them for several times.
But on my recent journey I happened to come to a lot of places I hadn't been to since those teenager days. How the world had changed!
Nature still is beautiful but formerly peaceful places are way too overcrowded now.

People carry their cameras or GoPros on a telescoping pole now taking selfies everywhere. So if you want to take a look into a canyon or at a beautiful landmark you should make sure to stand in the first row. Or otherwise your sight might be blocked by mobile phones, iPads or cameras on a stick being held up as high as possible.

I remember the Visitor Center of Death Valley being not much more than a cabin with a little pond outside. (I spent the night in this pond because it was so hot...). Next to it had been a little bar.
The bar has turned into a village with stores, inns and restaurants. Buses parking outside. The visitor center is a huge, air conditioned building now providing information for busloads of people.

There hadn't been bear proof dumpsters or food containers in the parks. In the mornings, when we climbed out of our tents we always found traces of bears having visited our camp. We didn't care. Blessed be the innocent!

When I first climbed the Mesquite dunes there were hardly any other human traces. Now you have to walk a long way to find any unspoiled dunes. On the other hand there are people nowadays who don't even bother to leave the parking lot..... They have a drone that takes pictures for them..You know I really love technical devices to play with. But this definitely is a step in the wrong direction.
The most peaceful place will lose its magic, if there are noisy drones flying over your head.

Water levels have dropped so much that lakes are only half of their former size, and shorelines have moved far away from where they used to be. A campground having been situated right at the shore of Lake Mead now is quite far away from the lake. Marinas had to be moved hundreds of yards.

You don't hear Scott Mckenzie's anthem in the streets of San Francisco any more.

One thing that really has changed for the worse is that people can make reservations for campground sites via Internet or phone. It isn't possible any more to decide spontaneously where to stay for the night. Campground sites are being booked months in advance. That's a shame for travelers who don't want to plan every single step of their trip ahead but want to make camp where they feel like it. So you better have a reservation or hurry to find a space at one of the rare walk-in campgrounds on first-come first-served basis or you might end up boonedocking at Walmart's.

Don't get me wrong. This still IS a most beautiful country with awesome places to visit and I will probably come back for my 20th visit. I just feel sad that it isn't possible any more to enjoy all those gorgeous places peacefully and on your own. And of course I am feeling a bit nostalgic.
Those were glorious, innocent, carefree days of youth. That journey changed my life and I became a longing soul always eager to travel to new places. And I am glad and grateful that I had the opportunity to visit all those outstanding places when they still were unspoiled.
Too many people want to see them now, too. And I can't blame them.

Für Roland

Haha, da haben wir dich ganz schön reingelegt mit den Bildern von alten Rostlauben!

Dies ist der Wagen, mit dem wir wirklich unterwegs sind!!!

Neue Tulas von unterwegs

... still on the route ...

Tula Pink's City Sampler Block #40

Tula Pink's City Sampler Block #41

Eine neue Woche

Bin noch unterwegs...

Tula Pink's City Sampler Block #38

Tula Pink's City Sampler Block #39