wind is the worst enemy of balloons

apologies for such an overdue post. a long weekend and laziness prevented me from promptly getting to business. but in that time i was able to enjoy some day trip adventures that resulted in a dusty car and some new polaroids. yes, that's right. my awesome mother recently sent me one of my many old polariods i have stored at home in georgia. i wasn't sure if it was going to work but, to my delight it is fully functioning. not without a few quirks, but still much better than no polaroid at all. i'm currently getting adjusted to the way this camera captures light and shadow. so far it doesn't seem as crisp as the whale. let me know what you think.
so nora and i went on a daytime jaunt to del norte, colorado, only thirty minutes or so from alamosa, right here in the san luis valley. below are some shots from our westward journey.


the san luis valley, a high desert, is also home to
some random swamps, like this one above. nora
and i were surprised, but delighted, to find this
marshy land in the middle of the dirty, dry land.


this shot of an afternoon sky is the result of
accidentally squeezing the trigger on my
new(ish) camera

then this past weekend debbie, kate, katie, annie, amy and i ventured to the less than impressive town of snowmass, colorado for the snowmass balloon rally. if you didn't know already i am a big fan of hot air balloon festivals and therefore was eager to make my way to a colorado event. the drive up was amazing. we drove through many passes, constantly being tucked away in the colorado mountains. i had a great time peeing next to a river and participating in sing-alongs in the car. we finally arrived in snowmass, which turned out to be nothing like i had expected. it was a real bourgie (is that how you spell it?) town full of ski lodges and soccer moms. in an attempt to find a cheap lunch we had to settle for ten dollar enchilada plates at a "mexican" restaurant. despite the blown up prices and lack of personality, we had a great time in snowmass. we hung out on the playground and danced vigorously to the sounds of a colorado based bluegrass band. the balloons, however, never emerged. as the announcer put it, "wind in the worst enemy of balloons" and therefore they were unable to let the balloons up. no worries. we still had a great time. and the drive home was beautiful.



after mexican food and margaritas some of
the gang decided to lounge on the local
playground. here debbie and amy nap
on the slides.


the snowmass crew attempted to let one balloon
up even though inclement weather had been
announced. the wind, however, would not
let it rise. here that sad balloon tries to fight it
while a sea of onlookers hope for its success.


i will leave you with this image taken outside the
front of my monterey home. this is where i live.
and i love it.