I thought I would post a couple more photos from our trip to Taos and the surrounding areas since we got to do and see so many interesting things. The most exciting of these events was the hot air balloon ride!! We had to wake up at 5 AM (yes I just said AM) on Sunday, and the balloon “pilot” picked us up outside of our hotel and took us to our launch area. This wasn’t any old launch area… it was on the edge of the Rio Grande Gorge, which is massive. Here are some photos from that morning.
Jimmee holding open the balloon so it would fill with air.
Here we are dropping down into the gorge.
We landed in a pile of sage, but at least it softened the landing. :)
View of the gorge. It was so crazy because the land was so flat and then all of a sudden it dropped off into this really deep pit with a river in the middle.
Besides the balloon ride, we also saw some really interesting houses outside of Taos called “Earthships”, and they don’t use any electricity or water. The houses are built partially underground so they stay around 72 degrees year round, which sounds amazing! They also are built using recycled materials like tires, glass bottles, and pretty much anything else they can get for free from the trash.
They were still working on this one while we were there, and you can see their pile of materials outside, aka trash.
That pretty much sums up our weekend trip. I had a great time and loved seeing a little bit of New Mexico. Maybe next time we’ll check out Santa Fe, which was a lot bigger and had a lot more going on. Taos was definitely a mountain town but still had a lot of great things to see.
Hope you all are having a great week!
A Date with Design 
That is so awesome that you got to go on a hot air balloon! The view looks amazing! You always say you hate roller coasters, but I think if you can handle a hot air balloon ride you can definitely handle roller coasters :)! Was this planned by both of you or did Jimmee surprise you?
Thanks Erin! Maybe I could handle a roller coaster… I loved the hot air balloon. :) Jimmee just told me we were getting up at 5 am, but I had no idea what we were doing. It was definitely a good surprise!
Wow! That hot air balloon rides looks amazing! How cool. I’ve always wanted to go on one of those.
Those houses are so interesting! I’ve heard of houses like that before, and I think it’s a cool concept. :)
~Chelsea
Thanks, Chelsea. As always, I appreciate your comment! :) You and Tom would love it.
I’ve never been in a hot air balloon before, but if I ever do (which I hope to one day) I want to do it over beautiful land like you did! Wow what a spectacular place! Sounds like a great trip! I definitely need to get out of Minnesota more!
Wow! Loved the shots of the balloon rid; it made me want to go on one and have the experience too. I could definitely use some of that 60 degree weather. The idea of wearing a scarf and sweater- ohhhh, how delightful that would be!!