Summer of 2023. Our trips to Prince Edward Island and Albuquerque

We took two trips this summer in our motorhomes. One was to the north and east, and the other to the west.

When we went east, we traveled from Florida north to the finger lakes region of New York. Sadly, the smoke from Canadian wildfires was so bad that we decided to leave and head east. With many stops along the way, we made it to Prince Edward Island, which was one of our goals.

For the second trip, we planned to go to the Albuquerque, NM area for the annular eclipse, which happened to coincide with the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. We had been to the Ballon Fiesta twice before, and it's always impressive. Possibly because of the eclipse, attendance broke a record with almost one million visitors, and there were 546 hot air balloons, including 107 "special shape" balloons.

Another highlight of our western trip was the Crazy Horse Monument. 2023 is the 75th anniversary of the beginning of construction of that monument. Twice in 2023 there were "Volksmarches" at the memorial, where folks can take a 10K or 5K hike. The Volksmarch attracts up to 15,000 hikers in a year. We weren't sure the 5K option went all the way to the top so we opted for the 10K walk. Part of that walk was through forested area, and parts were on gravel roads. The start is at 6000ft in elevation, and the top is 6500ft. The average time for the 10K walk is 2hr-50min and we took about 4 hours, with lots of stops for pictures and drinks to stay hydrated.

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Midnight Magdalena Winery - Jonesville, NC
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A pretty sunset at one of the campgrounds along the way
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The Canadian wildfire smoke obscured the sun
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The air quality index measurement we saw in New York
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The sugar-making shack at the von Trapp family Lodge in Stowe, VT
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The Summer home of Robert Frost in Ripton, VT
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A rail bike that we rode near Lake George, NY. We had to pedal about 3 miles.
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We made it back
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the glass bowl Kay made at the hot shop we saw as we rode the rail bike
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The bowl Steve made
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The finished bowls after cooling
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The Flume Gorge in New Hampshire
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Kay is exhausted after reaching the peak of Mt Washington. Imagine how tired we'd be if we actually hiked up instead of riding the cog railway
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Portland Head lighthouse - probably one of the most photographed lighthouses
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Bug light in Portland, ME
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Lenny the chocolate moose in Portland, ME - The only moose we saw
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The cairn Kay and I built near a lighthouse in Prince Edward Island
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Wood Islands lighthouse on PEI
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The lobsterfest dinner - Summerside, PEI
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Mustard field in bloom on PEI
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We saw this as we drove by on PEI - clever advertising
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Hopewell Rocks at Bay of Fundy. High Tide. At low tide you can walk under those rocks
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At the start of our 10K walk from 6000 ft elevation to 6500 ft up the Crazy Horse Monument
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Nearing the top of the Monument. Not bad for "flatlanders" not used to the elevation
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Standing under the 9-story high face of Crazy Horse
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The thumb on the Crazy Horse Monument
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Badlands National Park in South Dakota
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Another view of the Badlands
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Elvis is in the building
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An image from the drone show at the Balloon Fiesta
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Several balloons in the air at mass ascension
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One of over 100 special shape balloons
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Yoda
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Tweety and Sylvester
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Taz - Tasmanian devil Hot air balloon inflating for the "Glowdeo"
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A view of the Glowdeo
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Photos I took of the eclipse
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Tree of life in the Sky City of the Acoma Pueblo outside Albuquerque
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Santa Fe hotel and statue of Po'pay - Native American leader of Pueblo Rebellion
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Chili Ristras we saw on Santa Fe walking tour
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Miraculous staircase in Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe - No visible supports
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Inside restored Kiva at Pecos Pueblo near Santa Fe
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Merry Christmas to All!