One of the days in Albuquerque was spent doing laundry and shopping. I'd read about the Battat horses for Our Generation Dolls on DOA so had wanted to find a Target store to see if they had any. Well, we found a Target, and sure enough, they had several different horses and colts, and lots of great accessory packages. I chose the Morgan Horse, a matching colt, and two accessory packages - the Picnic and Camping ones. 

I opened the accessory packages right away. There were all kinds of great things - a picnic basket,  cups and plates, cutlery, a water bottle and jug of milk, and all kinds of food. I sorted and bagged everything and put it all away into my Props box. The horses were too big to fit in any cupboards, so they just stayed in their boxes.

The next day, we were passing through the Valley of Fire in southern New Mexico - a desolate stretch of cracked black lava dotted with cacti and yucca - and I thought the roadside stop there would be a good place to unpack the horse and see how it worked with my dolls..... 

I was really pleased..., and so were Leona and Peach....

The Thursday morning in Albuquerque was the 'Special Shapes Rodeo'. It had rained overnight, but the sky was partly clear, although there was a huge cloud mass hanging over the mountains to the east. We again took Efreet and Bonnie out with us, as the others watched from the RV. 

The first row of balloons was already inflating as we got out there....

Efreet went over to watch them inflate Darth Vadar and Yoda....

The sun finally came out, and what a difference that made!

A sky full of balloons...

The air currents here in Albuquerque are very unique, and perfect for hot air balloons. Winds at ground level go south, so all the balloons head south as they rise. But then at a bit higher elevation the wind reverses and blows north, so as the balloons rise higher, they float back over the field in a northerly direction. It's called "the box" and allows the balloons to keep passing back and forth overhead. In fact after most of the balloons had taken off, several started coming back in for a landing from the north.

We loved it all so much that we decided to stay for the evening 'Special Shapes Glow-deo', where the balloons are inflated, and tethered, and their burners make them light up. But the hurricane effects moved in, and we had intermittent storms all afternoon. By evening it cleared momentarily, and there was a green flag flying, but then another shower passed through, and the whole thing was cancelled. The crowds were so disappointed.

On a positive note - we did finally get to discover what lies at the end of the rainbow....

Early the next morning, we were at the Balloon Fiesta Park - and I do mean EARLY. All the hot air balloon flights at the Fiesta are first thing in the mornings, starting around 6:30 am. Parking lots open at 4am. So what we do, is spend the first part of the night at a Flying 'J' Travel Plaza, set the alarm for 3:30, get up, dressed, and drive to the Balloon Park. That way we beat the crowds and the line-ups. By 4 am, dozens of volunteers with flashlights are on-site to guide everyone to their parking spaces, starting with the lower parking lot right at the entrance gates, and filling the parking lots one after the other. We are usually among the first fifty or so vehicles in the lower parking lot. Once parked, we pull down the shades and go back to bed, with the alarm set for 6 am.

The first morning it was very overcast, and there was a yellow flag flying, which meant the ascension was on hold as officials were waiting to see if the conditions would become favourable. The kids looked out from the RV, and there were quite a few balloons inflating on the field already. It was going to be extremely crowded, with thousands of people, so we could only take two dolls along. Peach, Owen and Leona decided it would be best for the little ones to go with us, while they would watch from the RV in the parking lot. 

The weather was expected to be very iffy the next few days, because of the remnants of a hurricane, but after waiting a bit, conditions improved and the green flag went up. It was a 'GO'!

One of the special things about the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta - in addition to it being one of the largest hot air balloon festivals in the world - is that spectators are allowed right on the field amongst the balloons. The public can wander among the balloons and watch close up as they inflate and take off. People gather around their favourite balloons as they inflate, then cheer loudly as it finally lifts off.

Efreet can't believe the crowds, or the number of balloons inflating! Where to look? Where to go? 

Up, up, and away....balloons start lifting off....

That morning it was the 'International Ascension' in honour of balloon teams from the 
many foreign countries participating, and most of the balloons were the 'standard' shape. 
But there were also quite a few special shapes.....

Santa Fe is such a beautiful city! I love the combination of art and history. Many of the old adobe buildings downtown house exclusive shops and art galleries. My girls really enjoyed looking around

Bonnie loved all the colourful wares at a Mexican Importer...

Finally, enjoying a much-deserved ice cream after a long day shopping and sight-seeing....

The ladies had a great time out and about, exploring downtown Santa Fe. 

 The first place they went was The Plaza, which has been the central heart of the city for almost 
400 years. The Palace of the Governors, which is the oldest continually used public building 
in the USA, hosts an Indian Market, where native craftspeople come to sell their wares....

We bought Bonnie a little native baby doll....

Leona loved all the colourful wares....

Peach bought herself a pretty Navajo pot....

The next day was spent in Santa Fe. We love Santa Fe. It's so different than other major cities. There are no high-rises or office towers. Buildings can only be five storeys tall and must be in the historic adobe design. There's a great little parking lot right downtown in the Historic district, across from La Fonda Hotel, and a mere block away from Saint Francis Cathedral. The lot has spaces for RVs, and it's the perfect 'home base' for a day exploring Historic downtown Santa Fe.

"Okay, enough sight-seeing already. Let's go shopping!"

*Note - I've stopped updating the trip album in Favourite Photos 2014, until I know how 
many photos in total there will be. I had originally thought two albums would suffice, but 
it's looking more and more like it may take three or four. So, the album is on hold for now.

Well, before our Hallowe'en break, we were heading south out of Colorado. The following day we entered New Mexico. The landscape became much more varied, and drier. We stopped to take a look at the Rio Grande Gorge near Taos, where over the millennia, the river has carved a very deep gorge across the flat dessert landscape. Owen and Efreet came out on the bridge with us....

Taos is a town in north central New Mexico at the base of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, and includes the thousand year old Taos Pueblo, after which the town is named. Taos is well known as an 'artist colony', having attracted many artists since the late nineteenth century. Famed American artist, Georgia O'Keefe spent many summers there, at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu near Taos, painting the New Mexico landscape. Bonnie, who is into art in a big way, insisted on visiting Ghost Ranch.....

Leona and Efreet went with Bonnie, to hike around the Ranch, and see some of the sights....

Georgia O'Keefe is one of Bonnie's favourite artists, and she especially loves all her huge close-up paintings of flowers. So when she got home, Bonnie was inspired to paint a large flower herself....

Today I'm celebrating the fourth anniversary of my Antique Lilac website! Four whole years already! Where did the time go? I guess it's true what they say...."Time flies when you are having fun!"

I went 'pink' for my Birthday card again, because the only flowers I have blooming at the moment are the geraniums on my kitchen windowsills. But I included a snowflake sheer in the background because it was snowing this morning. North of here, everything is white. Winter has begun!

It's been a fun doll year, with lots of opportunities for great doll photos. I find I'm still mostly preoccupied with my smaller dolls. Maybe it has to do with getting old, and trying to recapture the innocence and joys of youth? A time long gone. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed taking a more contemporary group of dolls along on a trip. Never expected that. 

What's coming next?  Well, there's one final commission to do, and then I'm totally free to make what I want. That's a good thing, as I have several major ongoing health issues, so I'm not certain what the future holds. I'd love to have all my dolls in something special, but there's quite a few still waiting. Then there's still all the costumes I've wanted to make ever since I started, most of which have still not materialized. I also really need to address some clothes for my tiny little animal characters before my eyesight gets too bad to see what I'm doing. I think I need some elves to come and help me - or maybe I should teach my dolls to sew their own clothes!  Now, that would really make a dent in my fabric stash!

I think I better stop announcing plans for the upcoming year.  Most never happen anyways, because other things come up instead, so the list stays pretty much the same year after year.  One thing I would really like this coming year though, is to have my office/doll room repainted, and the display cases rewired for the new lights (which I've had almost two years now) Then I'd like the display cases reorganized to hold my BJD collection, so I can see them all every day. Right now all my larger dolls are hidden away behind a curtain in the dining room china cabinet, and it would really be nice to be able to see them all again. Maybe then I'd actually make new costumes for them. As they say "out of sight, out of mind".

Anyway, this week I need to finish a gift for my granddaughter's birthday. I started a year ago, and am quite far, so if I apply myself, then I can finally get it done. Tomorrow we also continue with the second half of the fall trip pictures.

So here's hoping for another great year!! Happy Birthday Antique Lilac!

My kids had a great time going out Trick-or-Treating. Everyone wanted to go 
to Leona's house, because she was handing out super-size chocolate bars...

When they got home, everyone emptied their loot on the kitchen table....

Mmmm chocolate!!  Yummm!!!