Secondary questions in Santa Fe (and Albuquerque)

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The CDT is rife with opportunities for side quests, both on and off-road. We had heard from SOBO hikers from previous years that the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is a worthwhile trip that occurs for about a week and a half in early October, making it a great time for when most SOBOs arrive in New Mexico.

When we arrived in Chama a little soaked and cold due to the onset of a multi-day storm, we still didn’t know if we would make the 3.5 hour drive to Albuquerque. But we decided to send him with the growing group of hikers who had been planning to go to the party. Lark and Dusty were even more spontaneous, stopping at the trail angel’s house where everyone had gathered and jumping in the car practically on the spot!

2 buses later, the team of 11 of us arrived in Santa Fe, where we met up with Treebeard’s friend, Sweet Shop, who packed all of us hikers and our belongings into his minivan (no back seats). This vehicle was miraculous, as was Sweet Shop, who was definitely the MVP of the weekend.

Our first stop was Trader Joe’s (yum). None of us seemed to know how to navigate this fantastic cornucopia of food. We gathered ingredients to prepare a big family dinner and plenty of snacks for the rest of the weekend.

We had dinner at the Sweet Shop partner’s beautiful house, stuffing ourselves with spaghetti and salad. We had to go to bed relatively early, because the next morning we would get up early for the Balloon Fiesta.

At 4:30 am the next morning, we all got back in the car to head to the big city to see the balloons. We were so dazed that I fell asleep during the entire hour-long trip. The goal was to see the hundreds of hot air balloons take off at dawn. They all inflated, but after many moments of waiting after a gray dawn, some of the balloons began to deflate and we knew we were having an unfortunate morning with the weather. The conditions didn’t allow the balloons to rise so it was a bit disappointing. But we were able to see an impressive chainsaw carving competition, attend a fantastic indigenous youth dance performance, visit all the stalls and eat funnel cake. So it wasn’t a failed morning.

However, by noon everyone was very tired, so we headed to an Indian restaurant to refuel with a buffet lunch. We also ran some errands, including going to the thrift store to look for some fancy clothes for the evening.

We had ambitions to go to a club in Albuquerque that night, but the problems of expensive accommodation and tiredness early in the morning pushed us towards another plan: finding a fun place to go out dancing in Santa Fe. This turned out to be almost better than clubbing. We arrived at the Cowgirl, recommended by a local Sweet Shop friend named Sal, who ended up hosting a few of us. The Cowgirl was filled with middle-aged and older locals dancing their hearts out to a live band. Everyone brought the best energy and we had a great time.

Cookie Monster, Pig Pen, Yukon and I ended up staying with Sal that night while the others stayed with the Sweet Shop partner. Sal extended the invitation for another night, so Cookie Monster and I decided to stay and enjoy Santa Fe while we waited out the big storm ravaging southern Colorado and northern New Mexico.

Cookie Monster and I visited the world-famous and extravagant Meow Wolf interactive art museum and cooked food in a real kitchen, something we were missing.

Most of the rest of the crew ended up staying in Santa Fe for a few more days, but we returned to Chama the next day. Several problems later, we did it. It was a whirlwind weekend in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, but we had a great time with this group of hikers and were so glad we weren’t on the trail during the terrible storm. It’s time to get back on the road and enjoy our latest CDT status!!

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