We departed Cheyenne, Wyo., and moved to Loveland Colo., where we had a great time visiting the Rocky Mountain National Park. The aspen trees were starting to change colors, as you can see from the pictures I have attached.

We spent time during the week touring both the Rockies and the prairie areas that are readily accessible from Loveland. One morning we were on a short day hike in the national park when we came upon a moose having his breakfast in a small lake. Hope you enjoy the picture of this also.

We next moved to Colorado Springs for two days, mostly to resupply at Fort Carson. We did take an afternoon and tour some of the old town of Colorado Springs.

We then moved on to Santa Fe, N.M., where we spent a week touring this area. Santa Fe has a rich history with many of the Indian Pueblos nearby. We visited two areas run by the National Park Service, Pecos National Historical Park and Bandelier National Monument. Both are ruins of Indian settlements that date back to A.D. 1200, and each are well worth the time to visit. We also spent a day visiting the old town of Taos with its old Spanish square and rich history.

From Santa Fe we moved to Albuquerque, N.M., for the Balloon Fiesta. We attended this with a group from Newmar, the manufactures of our motorhome. We had parking on a lot adjacent to the launch field, so we had front-row seats from our motorhome.

Each morning the balloons would inflate and launch for over two hours and we were able to watch from lawn chairs with a cup of coffee right in front of us. There were more than 500 balloons in attendance, so this was a spectacular scene. We also had field access passes for the event, so we were able to go down to the launch field and wander around while the balloons were inflated and talk with the crews while they worked. We will go again when the opportunity arises. As one of our friends put it: “This is a bucket list trip."

Following our five days in Albuquerque we moved to Gallup, N.M., where we are as I write this blog. We have spent six days here touring the area, where again there are a number of Pueblo ruins and easy access to national parks and monuments. Yesterday we toured the Painted Desert and Petrified Forrest National Park located about 65 miles from Gallup. We were in awe of the logs that were turned to stone. Again, a trip we will make again.