USA

What happens when you take a bunch of colorful balloons and add a bunch of colorful characters? We found out, when we volunteered to work for a Brazilian team at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.

One week in October… when the winds are just right… the mass ascension fills the skies over New Mexico. No, it’s not the Rapture. It’s the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Mesa Verde almost didn’t make the list. When Karen and I were devising our Southwestern itinerary, Mesa Verde fell outside our planned national park loop, and anyway, Karen had been there before.

A weekend in Colorado Springs. I’ve never thought much of the city and was frankly a bit spooked by the large military presence and the largest Christian right-wing group, Focus on the Family, having its own ZIP code there.

The first major stop on our trip was in Rocky Mountain National Park. We arrived at a very popular time, the elk rutting season, when males bugle to attract the females.

For the next leg of Next Stop: World, we’re taking the classic family summer vacation out west. Without the family. Or the summer.