Sunday September 1, 2024:
We arrived today to begin our 2024 Camp Host position at Assateague State Park on the Maryland Coast. As most of our friends and family know our family has been coming to Assateague Island for nearly 50 years. Thanks to MomMom & PopPop for introducing this to us and making it a generational family experience/memory. For many summers we would spend a week camping here with family, usually during the month of July/August. Over 10 years ago we decided to start Camp Hosting for a month each summer. First we did the month of July (while we were still working) and then moved to either the month of August or September. We prefer September now as it can be a little cooler and the kids are usually back to school, except on weekends.
We always enjoy Volunteering and Assateaque State Park is so memorable in our hearts we always take great pride in being good ambassadors and stewards of this special place…
A few years ago in addition to our Camp Hosting responsibilities we decided to build this photo-op board in the Maintenance Service Yard, We actually built it in 2022 but hadn’t seen it installed until this year in front of of the Ranger Station.
Not bad work for some rookies with help from some seasonal maintenance staff…(Thanks Charlie!)
9/30/24: Departing Assategue Island early and heading to Albuquerque:
We have been dreaming of doing the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta for years and finally this year we were able to fit it into our schedule. It required us to leave our camp hosting position at Assateague State Park two days early though our Host coordinator Donna was fine with it. We had some very long driving days ahead of us hoping to arrive in Albuquerque for our reservation on October 4th and the start of the Balloon Fiesta. The first day we drove across Maryland, Virginia, and the tip of North Carolina. We had some concerns about this route as it had only been a few days since the passing of the most horrendous hurricane induced flooding this area has ever seen. Most of the roads South into North Carolina and the Asheville area were all closed.
The second day had us passing into Tennessee, driving East to West, where we had planned to meet up with our Canadian friends from Ontario, Debbie and Gordon. Our plan was to connect in the Nashville area and then caravan across the next several days. Just as we were nearing there location they reached out and explained they were stopped along the highway with Fault code/dash lights flashing about engine issues. Gordon reached out to Freightliner to try and diagnose the issue and after a couple of hours was told they could continue driving though needed to stop at a Freightliner dealer ASAP.
The next day we both stopped to get gas when Mike noticed a brand new a “Tag Truck Center/Freightliner Service Center” just down the street. When we pulled in we get lucky and they were able to take his rig in for service that afternoon and they allowed us to overnight in their on-site RV slots (with hook ups) for one night. Perfect! They also had a very nice lounge area with showers for us to use!! Such a bonus. Gordon’s rig is serviced, free RV hook-ups, and a hot shower. A great night.
10/1/24:
Continuing our drive West the next day we both decide to stop after another 400 mile driving day just over the border of Oklahoma at Cherokee Casino in Sallisaw, OK. After getting set up, at our respective campsites for the night, we all enjoyed a few minutes to relax in our camp chairs and then decided to venture into the Casino for dinner. This turned out to be a great value and a good overnight spot. Always love safe & free camping…
10/2/24:
Today we drove about 272 miles and eventually checked into Elk City Lake Campground in Western Oklahoma. Not expensive, lake front, with good water and electric for $15.00. Except for the mounds of red ants (which Joanne has to be careful around) it was a great location. The only challenge this night was when opening up our full wall slide Joanne found parts of the slide roller on the floor. This has happened several times though fortunately we carry a spare which we are hoping we can get installed along the way. Regardless this place a a good find for the night!
10/3/24:
A 317 mile driving day which will get us within 2 hours of Albuqueque. The stopover is Santa Rosa Lake State Park in New Mexico. Joanne found this campground on RV Parky and as it turned out, it was perfect! We arrived with no reservations and drove through, spoke to the Camp Host and then went and found two pull through sites. It was about 15 minutes off I40 scenic and peaceful. We all went into town, after setting up our respective camp sites and toured a few well known tourists stops which are just off Route 66. This town use to be a thriving stop over on Route 66 before they opened the adjacent Interstate and it has since landed on some tough times. The famous Blue Hole , with refreshing natural springs, and vibrant blue waters is a local favorite for swimming and diving. It has a rich history where many lively activities, live music, and an inflatable water playground are used by many tourists over the years.
Next up was dinner in downtown Santa Rosa along historic Route 66, where the owner spent considerable time at our table giving us a history lesson of the area and then generously shared a book about his family and it’s family connection to the notorious outlaw “Billy the Kidd” . Great food and folklore for sure…
10/4/24: We only had a two hour drive today to get to Enchanted Trails RV Park and Trading Post in Albuquerque, NM. The drive is fairly easy and Joanne see’s that there is a Camping World right next door to the campground. Mike calls and gets an appointment to have the slide roller replaced (fortunately he carries extra’s). While Mike takes the RV over to Camping World, Joanne catches up on some laundry -(divide and conquer is our plan/teamwork!). Afterwards we get our tickets for the balloon fiesta online. A few things about the Balloon Fiesta:
1) Reserving a camp spot right at the fiesta is near impossible. We had 4 of us (each on 2 devices) and tried right when the second hand hit but we were too late. We reserved sites at Enchanted Trails RV Park and Trading Post in Albuquerque, NM. in January and glad we did as they were full and had some in gravel overflow areas.
2) Using the shuttle service is awesome! Purchase tickets online, as early as possible, as they can sell out and they did for us. The price was $23.00 for senior adults and included both shuttle and entrance into the fiesta. We originally wanted to go in the morning session on Sat. and the evening session on Sunday but when we went to reserve our tickets the Sat morning was already sold out! Next option was tickets for the evening session Sat and the morning session Sun. Our shuttle times were 3:30 on Sat and 5:30 am on Sunday. We left the campground 45 minutes before our shuttle times and it worked out great.
3- There is plenty of “fair food” to be purchased at a premium price. We brought our own food each day and had a picnic on a blanket we brought.
4- Because it was going to be 88 degrees in the afternoon on Sunday Mike and I wore shorts (skort for me) and layers for the top. All 4 of us froze that morning!! Wear pants and plenty of layers- We all wished we had brought our warm puffy jackets!! Joanne did have a blanket packed, in the back pack, for sitting on the ground, which she wrapped around herself f to keep warm!!
5) Please know there is no guarantee when it comes to Balloon launches day or night. If there is any wind, as little as 5mph, the launch event is usually called off. The first day, which we had originally planned on going in ( though tickets were sold out), pretty much experienced this issue. We were “SO LUCKY”. It’s a big investment to attend this special event and you always have the chance of coming away without witnessing the launches. Our timing could dot have been more perfect for both evening and then morning launches.
The fiesta was AMAZING!! There were a lot of people there (We mean a lot!!!) Nonetheless we always could see things in every direction! We al felt two days (one of each session) was more than adequate provided they launch.
Our morning launch saw over 600 balloons take off. 300 in the first phase followed by another 300 in second phase. We were there by 4:30am and it was done by 11:30am.
The experience was “Sensory Overload”!!!!!
Take a look….
So let’s wrap up this incredible experience. Was it worth the wait, drive, cost, and time??? You betcha… The Evening Moon Glow Launch- YES!, The morning “Big Launch – Yes!! , The Incredible Drone Show – Yes!!!, The Best Fireworks we have Ever Seen – Yes!!!!, and the Parachutists – YES!!!!!
We will remember these few days as a very special event and memory of this continuing “Revolutionary Journey”….