Stillwater Canyon Trip, Day 6

Our final day of the trip was pretty relaxing. After breakfast, we broke camp and moved our bags to the beach. We washed the thick Colorado mud out of the canoes and kayak, and settled in to await the arrival of our jetboat.


Football on the beach after chores were finished


Jetboat arrival

The jetboat was our way back to Moab. They loaded canoes, gear, and people from our group and several other groups. Then we motored up the Colorado river. The boat moved fast enough that in the hot desert sun I put on long pants, a fleece, and a windbreaker. I felt disconnected from the landscape as the shoreline zoomed by.
Traveling by Jetboat

When we arrived at the Potash dock, there was a school bus waiting for us. The jetboat drove itself up onto a trailer, where it was pulled by the cab of a 18-wheeler back into town. We collected our gear, said our goodbyes, and began the long drive back to Fort Collins.

It only took 6 months, but this concludes my series of blog postings about my Stillwater Canyon trip from last May.

More Unrest in Budapest

There has been alot of violent protests in the Hungarian capital after our visit. The most recent clashes occurred on the Elizabeth Bridge, which spans the Danube between Buda and Pest. The photo below, taken from our hotel room, shows this bridge...
 

Rick Steve's Videos

Rick Steves has a video podcast with clips from his show. The download times are long, but they are all pretty interesting. The most recent episode talks about Salzburg and Hallstatt. It includes footage of a classical music concert in Mirabell Hall (where we saw a similar concert) and scenes from the town of Hallstatt (including a shot of our hotel).

Mass Chaos! (Ballon Festival: post 4 of 4)

Most of them haven't even launched yet...


Balloons everywhere


There's over 160 in this picture alone. 

In the Air (Balloon Festival: post 3 of 4)

Almost 700 balloons take off during a mass ascension.


In additional to the traditional shapes, there are lots of unusual ones. Find the basket underneath the dairyland cow.


Did somebody radio air traffic control?


Sunrise at last!

Liftoff! (Balloon Festival: post 2 of 4)

Almost finished inflating...


Liftoff!

Preparing for Lift-off (Balloon Festival: post 1 of 4)

Last Wednesday I was able to squeeze in a visit to the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, the biggest event of its kind in the world. We got there at around 6:30, and stayed for about an hour and a half. I apologize for the multiple posts, but Picasa seems to be limiting to me to 4 photos per post.

Laying out the balloon


"I love the smell of propane in the morning"- test-firing the burners


Large fans blow hot air into the balloon


Inflation in progress

Our Stay in Český Krumlov

Talking about our day in Český Krumlov, a town in the Czech Republic, is "out of sequence". But I wanted to put up a link to a news article, because I don't know how long the link will be valid.

The article explains "Disability Day- a Day Without Barriers." This was an event that took place in Český Krumlov while we were there. It's the reason why we had the surreal experience of wandering through a medieval town after dark, listening to the sounds of Pink Floyd's The Wall reverberate off the castle walls...

Still More from New Mexico

For some reason, my blogging software wouldn't let me post these photos all at once.

Red Hot Chili Peppers


View from our hotel last night. This is the first time I saw the Sandia Mountains without clouds.

My conference is now in full swing (I'm blogging this during my luch break), so this should be the last of my Albuquerque photography and blog posting.

More from Albuquerque

Yesterday my alarm went off at 5:00 am, and I staggered out of bed to go see the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. Unfortunately, I opened the curtains to my hotel room and saw nothing but rain. The good news is that I got to go back to sleep. Later in the day, I took a short trip to Albuquerque's Old Town area.

San Felipe Neri Church




Scenes from Old Town

In addition to wandering through the art galleries and a few gift shops, I also visited the American International Rattlesnake Museum, which is actually much more interesting than it probably sounds.