Hot Air Balloons

On the 19th September 1783 Pilatre De Rozier, a scientist, launched the first hot air balloon called 'Aerostat Reveillon'. The passengers were a sheep, a duck and a rooster and the balloon stayed in the air for a grand total of 15 minutes before crashing back to the ground.  Several months later, the first manned attempt was successful for a total of 20 minutes.  In 1793, the first balloon flight in North America occurred.  Today, on Earth day, 2012, my first hot air balloon flight lasted 1 hour, 13 minutes, traveling a little over 8 miles on a gorgeous sunny day! Yesterday, on a whim, I decided it was time to try a new adventure.  I called Rainbow Ryders, Inc. from the number on their webpage and they had an extra space available.  So this morning, I got up super early in the dark so that by sunrise I could be at the launching place.  It was chilly at that hour, so everyone had on coats.  We parked, walked to a nearby dirt lot where the company vans and trailers were pulling in - and proceeded to watch the fascinating process of setting up a hot air balloon.  First, they unloaded a huge nylon sheet to lay out the balloon on.  Then came the big packs rolled out with the balloon stuffed inside.  Then the basket was brought out and set up with poles, gas tanks, lines, etc.  Huge flames shot up in the air as they tested out the gas lines before the balloon was laid out. Once the balloon was stretched out on the cloth, they tied the basket off to the front of the van, and set up huge fans to start blowing air into the balloons.  As it started to fill, you could see inside the balloon, and the crew members walked in to start setting up the lines. Once the balloons are filled, they attach the lines to the basket and pull it upright.  Then it's time to climb into the basket.  There are foot holds in the side of the basket to assist your climb and then you just swing your leg over and hop in - no graceful way to get in - just "up and over" as they say!  When everyone is in, the pilot gave us a quick lesson on the landing position - we had to line up single file in the basket, hold the hand loops on each side, and bend our knees.  Pretty simple. And with that, he started up the gas blower - which puts out quite a bit of heat - and we gently started drifting upward.  I was amazed at how gentle it was - no swaying or shaking or tilting.  Before we knew it, we were high above the trees and heading for the river.  Because of the difference in temperatures of water over land, we had to break through "the dome" to be able to come down straight over the water.  Our pilot, Craig Kennedy, has been doing this for over 20 years. So while some of the other balloons struggled to hit it right, he made it look easy! Craig gave us a few tips on ballooning:  If you brush your nylon balloon against another balloons nylon in the air - that's called a kiss.  If you hit your basket against their ballon, that's called "oh shit!"  If you go right to the surface of the river, just skimming the surface, that's called a "splash and dash"! So we made it over the Rio Grande River.  Sighted and worried a few Canada Geese protecting their eggs, and caught a thermal updraft to rise over 600 feet off the ground.  Once their, we lost the currant and just hovered in the air at about 3 mph.  Craig pulled a line and very slowly twirled the balloon around so that we all got to see the full 360 view - Sandia Mountains in the east, volcano plugs in the west, the Rio Grande stretching out - and Albuquerque beneath us.  His grandson was with him - and was responsible for sending out little plastic toy parachutes. They use these to check the wind and drafts - watching it all the way down to see which way they turn.  Watching him maneuver was amazing.  Being so high up in the clear morning air with the sun blazing over the mountains was incredible!!  I wasn't a bit nervous and even leaned a bit over the side to get a picture.  It feels very safe and moves very slow.  When the blower wasn't going - which is very loud and really hot - everything was silent.  Except for all the dog barking.  Apparently sound rises - and over a few neighborhoods it sounded like we were near a kennel full of dogs.  Albuquerque is a great place for hot air ballooning.  With 300 days a year of sunny, good weather and it's unique valley position - Albuquerque is a great place for ballooning.  Every year in October, the Balloon Fiesta is held here.  It is the largest balloon convention in the world.  Albuquerque is referred to as "the box" which, according to Wikipedia, is a set of predictable wind patterns that can be exploited to navigate balloons.  At low elevations the winds come from the south.  At higher elevations, it comes from the north - allowing balloonists to navigate a vertical box by ascending, moving south, ascending further moving north, descending and repeating the box. We, however, were traveling in a somewhat straight, southerly direction.  It was fun to watch the other balloonists begin to land, and then to begin our own descent.  According to the pilot, you can't pick your landing spot until you're down to 300 ft - because it's too easy to drift in another direction.  We slowly descended and began to scout for a good spot.  Craig said that we were looking for an open space  - preferably dry, and if it was a field, preferably with an open gate - which meant no livestock to scare and easy access for the chase crew to bring the van. He managed to head us into the back lot of a house under construction.  The landing was a bit bumpy but not too bad. Once the chase crew arrived with the van and trailer to secure the balloon and deflate it, we climbed out of the basket and got to help pack the balloon back into it's carry bag.  Then we were taken back to the launch site and given a "survivor" pin and a certificate.  After everyone had paid, we all toasted our success with a cup of champagne while the owner of the company recited the Irish Balloonists Prayer: The winds have welcomed you with softness. The sun has blessed you with his warm hands. You have flown so high and so well that God has joined us together in laughter and set us gently back into the loving arms of Mother Earth. It was such an awe inspiring, fun, amazing trip!  My first thought when I got out of the basket at the end was: I want to do it again!!  Anybody wanna go with me? Jules

A commentary on food

Windy, colder weather in ABQ this weekend.  So I decided to stay in and focus on other things.  One of my growing passions is clean, healthy food.  When you eat clean (organic, non-processed), healthy, natural food... you automatically lose weight, your health improves, your skin smoothes out, you age slower, and you feel so much better.

Americans have become used to eating cheap, processed, quick foods.  Processed foods have become so endemic that we don't realize how much of them we eat - and we have given up control over ingredients and what we absorb into our bodies to the giant companies responsible for making them.  Anyone can figure this out - if you just care to look.  Start looking at the ingredients of some of the processed foods in your cabinets.  And by processed foods, I mean not only crackers, bread, baked goods, sodas, cereals and desserts, but also canned pasta sauce, soups, frozen foods.  Start looking at all the chemicals and things you can't pronounce on the labels.

Did you know that the processed food industry funds and submits their own studies on new foods and additives to the FDA?  There is no independent study done.  No one is saying, "Is this really good for people?  What are the long term benefits or harm?  What does it affect in the body - does it cause weight gain?"  Nope.  They don't care.  They add addictive chemicals to processed foods so we crave them more, so we purchase more.  So they make more money.  One of the things I learned when we owned a coffee shop, was that the method for creating flavored coffees is to spray them with propylene glycol - which causes the flavor to adhere to the beans.  I recently found out that it is also in the fake blueberries in processed blueberry muffins.  Oh yeah, and Propylene glycol is also used to de-ice planes; keep pipes from freezing, etc.  Not something I want to put in my body.

Just by eliminating processed foods, and adding organic, natural fruits & vegetables; choosing meats from local, organic sources from farmers who do not use antibiotics or hormones (that's a whole 'nother subject) - you can change your health and lose weight.    No diets needed. And you eliminate your risk of metabolic diseases (diabetes, obesity, kidney disease) and also cancer!!

So most people know this in the back of their minds.  But why do so little of us do anything about it? I started by getting interested in eating local, sustainable food.  I found groups dedicated to slow food - i.e. cooking at home.  And the more I followed that path, the more I have learned.  And the more I learn, the more I look around.  I have a friend who has MCS (multiple chemical sensitivity) who has opened my eyes to the amounts of chemicals we are exposed to in household cleaners, makeup, VOCs from new furniture, paint, flooring; perfumes, air fresheners, etc.  Why have we allowed this?  We don't need all these chemicals.

I recently acquired the documentary, Hungry for Change.  I highly recommend it!  Here's a just a few tidbits:  Americans consume 150 lbs of sugar a year.  Aspartame (in diet sodas, etc) causes visual disturbances (pilots won't drink diet sodas prior to flying because of this), causes loss of bone mineral density and cognitive problems.  Laughter and deep sleep will reduce stress.  Keep funny movies around to laugh at.  Diets don't work.  They cause the body to think it's in starvation - so you end up gaining more later as the body prepares for the next famine.  Instead of saying I can't have that - say I can have it, but I don't want to eat it.  Just keep adding in the good stuff until it crowds out the bad stuff!

Other documentaries I can recommend are : Food Inc.; Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead; Forks over Knives.  And look into the Gerson Therapy - they have been curing patients of cancer for years!!!  Without chemo and radiation.  According to the American Cancer Society, 90% of all cancer is preventable by diet alone.  Read that again.  90% of all cancer is preventable by diet alone.  All we have to do is make the choice to NOT put chemically processed foods, etc in our bodies.  To make our health and our bodies a priority.  To love ourselves enough to make that choice.  It does take some effort in the beginning to learn about new foods, to plan ahead so that you don't grab junk food in a pinch, to budget... yes it costs a little more to eat healthy.  However, you save money by not being sick.  You save money on all the drugs you would be buying to mask the symptoms of unhealthy eating.

You can start just by noticing the ingredients in everything you eat.  By adding more and more fresh fruits and vegetables.  Try juicing or making smoothies with them if you have a problem with texture. Try watching some of the documentaries I mentioned.  A friend of mine in Atlanta was discussing diets and what to eat with me just last year.  I mentioned that the information is out there - you just have to look for it, on how to eat right.  His response was that there is so much conflicting information, how could you sort through it all or know who is right.  And he has a valid point.  So don't stress over having a program.  Just start adding the good things until you crowd out the bad!

Good eating!
Julie

Spring comes to Albuquerque

Spring has arrived in Albuquerque.  It is very different from springs I have known in the South, in the Northeast, even in the Midwest.  It is both gentler and fiercer.  The colors are more muted than the vivid greens, purples, yellows, pinks and whites of South Carolina. But here in the high desert, they are vivid enough against the grays and browns of winter.

The days are mild and sunny - high 70's; the nights are cool.  There are days of vicious, gusting wind - spraying sand and dust through every crack in the windows, in your eyes, whipping both your hair and your breath away.  There are other days of snow showers in the morning, and rain or sun in the afternoon.  There are days of sun in the morning, rain showers and wind at lunch, and sun again in the afternoon.  With the warmer days of spring, the prairie dogs have become quite active.  They are too quick to catch on camera.  My iphone camera doesn't have zoom - so I've been unable to catch them darting about, or their little heads peeking from the holes - watching for me to pass by so they can come out and gather the lettuce, carrots and grapes that people have left for them.  Maybe if you have a magnifying glass, you could see one in the last photo below.

The birds sing just as loudly.  The pigeons love to gather on the roof tops of the apartments or under the eaves and coo and gurgle.  They've built nests in unlikely places.  They dart and strut around the prairie dog holes - causing a flurry of chirps from the prairie dogs.

The sage brush is greening up.  The cottonwood trees are unfurling their leaves.  The cacti are forming buds and starting to bloom.  Elsewhere in the city, there are familiar signs of spring- in yards where people have planted forsythia, lavender and pink flowering trees, daffodils ( a few here and there).  It's the rows and rows of daffodils that I miss the most.  They're my favorite flower next to roses.  Their fragrance just screams SPRING to me.  And takes me back home to soft, emerald green grass and hot, spring days.

Still...while vastly different, spring has arrived here in Albuquerque.  And it is welcome after a cold winter.