Camping at El Malpais National Monument
Larry woke me up early this morning and said that Flo wanted to watch the hot air balloons take off. I had a head ache and really didn’t feel like getting up. He was excited so I dragged myself out of bed while he took Flo for a walk. I got dressed and got the Minnie ready to go. We stayed over night in the parking lot of the Albuquerque Square Dance Center and the launch area wasn’t far away. Once the Minnie was ready Larry and I had breakfast on the road. We parked in the Sandia Resort and Casino RV parking lot. We were surprised that there was room. It was a perfect spot because it was high and you could see great. We watched the balloons for a couple of hours. I was glad that Larry got me up once we were watching the balloons. We saw a lot of beautiful balloons and magnificent shaped balloons.
A Bumble Bee balloon flying with friends
A cute Alarm Clock balloon
Look at all the balloons in the sky
A Little Girl and Little Boy balloons
After watching the balloons we continued our adventure. It’s suppose to rain for the next couple of days and the chances are lower west so that’s the direction we decided to go. We’re going down by Grants at El Malpais National Monument. When we got to the monument we stopped at the visitor center to get some information. There’s a small campground which is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and is free and works on first come first serve. There are hiking trails, picnic areas and vault restrooms. The term El Malpais “the Badlands” is used locally and in the southwest to refer to lava flows. After we left the visitor center we drove down a mile and a half gravel road that took us to the Sandstone Bluffs Overlook, which was a pretty place to see the sandstone mountains and lava fields. It was starting to rain so we weren’t at the overlook too long. When we got to the campground there was only one other camper there. It's a pretty campground and most of the sites are small but they have a covered picnic table with a slab and a fire ring with a grill on it. While I was setting up the Minnie Larry took Flo for a walk. When they got back she decided to stay outside. I stayed with her for a little while until the wind came up. She wanted to stay outside but she didn’t want to stay out by herself so she barked to come in. I took a nap and Larry read the brochure we picked up at the visitor center. When it was time for dinner the wind had come up so I just put something together. After dinner I made some oatmeal raisin cookies for our dessert. When the cookies were finished baking we took Flo for a walk. While we were walking Flo’s right hip was bugging her so we didn’t go too far. Larry and I hope that Flo will have a better day tomorrow. We had a super day.
A view from the Sandstone Bluffs Overview
El Malpais Campground
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I would love to hear friendly comments on anything at all. Ruth