Quiet Las Vegas Weekend

After playing tour-guide Thursday/Fridat, I had a quiet weekend.  Was hoping to visit with relatives, but things did not work out.

Saturday,  I kitted up for a bike ride.  Stopped in a bike shop to get map(s).  Very nice new free maps were available for the Southern Nevada and Henderson, NV.  Grabbed the hybrid out of the van and ready for a bike ride on the Pittman Wash Trail in Henderson.  Alas, I had 2 broken spokes on the rear wheel. 

 Had dinner at the hotel cafe - decent order of spaghetti and meatballs.  Champagne brunch at the hotels Grand buffet. 

Met up with a couple guys from my Army Unit for lunch.  Was a little too much food, but good food at BJ's with a pint of beer. Great to see and visit with Nick and Alex (see photo). 

The afternoon/evening was spend napping and working on photos from the trip.  Headed back towards Albuquerque about daybreak. 

Stopped about 15 miles South of Hoover Dam to take a couple photos of the Colorado River downstream from the dam.  Late lunch in Flagstaff.  Was just getting dark as we got off I-40, heading to my house.

Tourist in Las Vegas

Friday was the day to settle in at Las Vegas and cousin Don could get everything ready for the pipe show.  First on the agenda was breakfast at Blueberry Hill.  Having a breakfast there has been a tradition for Don and a couple of hist pipe-making friends - Victor and Nathan.  Pictured here is Don with his order of blueberry pancakes.

After breakfast, we went back to the hotel room.  Needed to gather my cameras for the drive red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.  This in a great place to get out and way from the glitz of Las Vegas - and its only about 15 miles from the "Strip".  I have been there many times, but was looking forward to an opportunity to take more photos of the area.

Red Rock Canyon is a fee area managed by the BLM.Your National Park Pass gets you into the area.  A shameless plug - its only costs $10 for us seniors - 62 yo and older.  What a deal!

Drove the scenic road - a one-way road.  Watch out for cyclists, hikes, and (first time I have seen) a tour on Segways).  It was a beautiful day - not a cloud in the sky and a little breeze to freshen the air.  Actually, I would have preferred some more clouds in the sky, they would have added sine interest in the photos.  (Middle photos was taken in Red Rock Canyon)

Back from the room, it was time for a nap for me and Don did some work, pricing his pipes.  The last thing in our agenda for the day was some dinner and downtown Las Vegas' Fremont Street Experience.  Its an awesome way the the city has re-vitalized the downtown area, bringing in business off the "Strip".  For all of the time I have been coming to Las Vegas - must be about 25 years), most visits have included a stop  downtown - even before the "Experience".

First on the agenda for the evening was some food.  Grabbed a burger and beer at Binion.s Cafe. Then, on to the show.

What is the Fremont Experience - its a downtown party.  Fremont Street is now a pedestrian street.  There a 1500 foot section covered with LEDs with a powerful sound system.  Every night, the crowds are treated to a 6 minute LED and sound show.  there are street performers,, and you can walk up, get a beer (plastic cups only, please) and enjoy the experience.

There is even a zip-line for an exciting view of Fremont Street.  Its was a zoo getting in and out of there on a Friday night.  We took a cab from our hotel, so we didn't have to worry about the traffic and a place to park.

Don topped off the night with beer and conversation with his pipe friends, I crashed into bed. (Bottom photos is if Fremont Street Experience)

On the Road Again

A cousin of fine offered a ride with him the the West Coast Pipe Show in Las Vegas.  It had been several moths since I was on an over-night trip, nothing I had to do at home, I accepted the offer.

Was a long day - near 600 miles on the road.  Started from my house in Rio Rancho about 6am.  Stopped in Flagstaff, AZ for late breakfast.

Checked out Hoover Dam to look at the new visitor center.  I had been at the dam several times, and saw the new facilities in 2011, but did not go into the visitor's center.

I shot some stills and video during the drive,  Cousin Don shot some video, too, making a video record of the trip.  I also set up the GoPro camera on the dash.  Sill have to download that card to see what I got.  Don't use the camera much, and may not had captured much.

Got into out hotel (Palace Station) and unloaded the vehicle.  Met some of Don's pipe friends at Jack's Pub in the hotel.  Had a pint of been and ordered a burger & fries.  Service was poor.  Ordered burger MW, and it came MR.  Couldn't get the server to pay any attention to us.  By now, the smoke and noise was getting to much for me.  Don took care of the bill for me, I headed to the room for quiet and sleep.

It's a Wrap

Yesterday was the last morning for the 2015 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.  As usual, I stopped at IHOP for breakfast before driving over to the park.  I arrived early for my "Oh-Dark-Thirty" shift.  Opened the tent and turned on the lights.

Was not too long when Dave (N0LVA arrived.  He told me the combo for the trailer and we started setting up the station.

Bands were terrible.  We did tried by calling "CQ"s.  There were a couple QSOs we could here, but seemed like no one heard us.  Wish we had the laptop with JT65 software.  We were able to hear digital traffic.

Winds were a little "iffy" early.  There was no Dawn Patrol. Eventually, we got the green flag for the last mass ascension of the 2016 Balloon Fiesta.

We were wondering where John was, as he was also supposed to be at the tent.  Eventually he called and we found out he had fallen the previous evening and broke a bone.  That left Dave and I (me nearly 69 and Dave 72 yo) to disassemble to ham radio station and our exhibit, and finally packing everything into the club trailer.

Both of us have knee issues, to had to take many breaks.  It was nearly 11am when we walked back to our vehicles.  I needed to do 2 errands on the way home.   Stopped by a FedEx office to return a kilt I had ordered (size exchange).  Finally, Smiths for some groceries.

Home about noon, I crashed into bed.

Brisk Morning at Balloon Fiesta

Was glad I had a couple days off from volunteering.  Gave me some time to rest, recover, and get some other things accomplished.  This morning, I had another early morning shift at the NM5HD tent.

Stopped by IHOP for breakfast. Arrived Balloon Fiesta Park a little before 4am.  Traffic into the park was heavier than Wednesday morning.  Was able to get about the same parking spot.  Had to wait for the gate opening.  Headed over to the tent and opened it up.

Soon, Frank arrived.  Little bit after was our committee chairman walked in.  Set up the station, prepared to be on the air and meet our public.

Winds were just too high for balloon launch until about 8:45. I spent some time tuning through 7 M and 20 , but no much activity.  Was at hoping at least to find some action on the county Hunter's Net.  No luck.  When the sky lightened up, I noticed another antenna (dipole), looking for perhaps 75/80M.  We checked into a local 2M net.

Thinking it would be a short launch window, we packed up the station to beat the traffic leaving the park. There will be another crew at the fiesta this afternoon.  Tomorrow (Sunday) morning I will be back for the last half day of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta..

Thanks to an "expert" on the blogger help blog, I was able to re-post the Saturday report.  From the help blog, it looks like a lot of people had problems with blogger.

Pissed at Blogger

This morning I tried to write my blogging post about the last day of the Balloon Fiesta.  First, I could no post a photo.  Next, all photos disappeared from both of my blogs. Nnow, my last posting http://naugabike.blogspot.com/2016/10/brisk-morning-at-balloon-fiesta.html  has disappeared.  Instead, I have 2 copies of  http://naugabike.blogspot.com/2016/10/first-time-at-balloon-fiesta.html.

What gives, blogger?

First Time at Balloon Fiesta

After some false starts, Wednesday, I had my first shift at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.  As I expected, I could not sleep
Tuesday night.  Think it was the anticipation and worrying about over-sleeping. Read and tried to sleep/nap.  Got up, dressed, grabbed my cameras and headed to IHOP for breakfast.

Glad I donned a medium weight jacket.  Was a little chilly (mid-40s) when I headed out.  Stopped to gas up the car and arrived at the Balloon Fiesta Park about 4am.  One of the fiesta officials came by and plugged in our tent.

The Wednesday crew started showing up.  Grabbed the electronics out of the trailer and set up the Special Events Station W5B.  One on our club members told me what to look for.  Soon, it was about the time for balloons of the "Dawn Patrol" to take to the skies.  Their function was to check the winds before the mass ascension for the rest of the balloons.

As the sun started rising over the Sandia Mountains, balloons were lifting off.  There was a constant flow of balloons rising into the sky and heading to the north,  As I watched the ascension, the first balloons to lift off seemed to the those of traditional shape.

Later in the ascension came the larger and special balloons.  I captured photos of some of these unusual balloons.  Here is a cow, just for my friends in Wisconsin.

It was a good thing we had a full compliment of volunteers to man the High Desert ARC tent.  Like a kid in a candy store, I was excited watching all of the balloons.  Most of my time was closer to the launch field to take photos.

Band conditions were the pits like they have been all year.  There also were some problems with tent power - kept tripping the breaker.  Don't think we made any contact in HF.  Two nets were conducted during the morning.  I think they were both on 2M.

It was a perfect morning for flying.  One of the things I learned about the Albuquerque air currents often create a "box".  Winds aloft were to the North.  After flying North, they dropped altitude and the surface winds often brought the balloons back to the Balloon Fiesta Park for landing.

Once the mass ascension had been running for over an hour, people started leaving the park. The club shut down the HF station and one of the nets concluded. Two of us members stayed until the second net was over.  By about 11 am, most of the balloons had landed and it was our time to close up for the day.

While I was tired, I also was hungry.  Stopped by a couple stores near Cottonwood Mall killing time until the clubs Wednesday lunch.

Exhausted, I got home and crashed onto my bed.  Slept for a couple hours. got up and transferred photos from the camera to the hard drive.  Processed some of the better photos and posted some on
Facebook.

Photos:  Dawn Patrol,  Specialty Balloon,  Special Events Station W5B and High Desert ARC tent