10-08-09

The Wal Mart parking lot was surprisingly quiet for being right in the middle of Albuquerque and close to the Interstate 40, Interstate 25 interchange.
When I opened my curtain my RV neighbor was taking pictures of the sky. I remembered that I learned the night before on the internet that the annual Hot Air Balloon Fiesta was taking place. I grabbed my camera and rushed outside. It is a huge festival. Balloon Fiesta Park is even on my road atlas.
I spent much of the morning cleaning the bus and checking its mechanical systems. I planned to stay in Albuquerque for the day. Coincidently there is a man in town who is considering donating his motorhome to Los Caminos Del Rio, the program I’m headed to Texas to volunteer for. Being that I’m in town and familiar with motorhomes it would be convenient for me to check it out. Plus I could use a day to recuperate. After hitting 7 national parks and Hoover Dam in 8 days I could use a break.
I went into Wal Mart and stocked up on supplies. I hadn’t bought groceries for well over a thousand miles. Everyone in the store was cheery. As I put things in my cart I grew cheery too. Everything I got was about a dollar cheaper than I had ever seen it. When I checked-out, my total was low. I think it was the first time ever that I had gotten groceries and not felt bad about how much they cost.
I noticed an orange sign about a block from where I was parked. It said something “BURGER”. I walked down to check it out. It was Whataburger and what a burger it was. Not only was it the burger I had been searching for for miles, the people were all smiling, all of them, the employees, the manager and the customers. I looked around intentionally to find someone who was not smiling, but every last person was smiling. “Why is everyone in Albuquerque smiling?” I thought. “The balloons, the burgers, could it be the 320 days of sunshine a year?” James Brown was playing, “I feel good!” and I too felt good.
I went to go see the motorhome that perhaps would be donated to Los Caminos Del Rio to help them protect and preserve the Rio Grand. It was certainly not a camper, perhaps RV and motorhome were not good enough labels either. It was a motor coach. A 2004, 38’ Holiday Rambler Admiral in beautiful shape, with all the bells and whistles. I could tell right away that it was very well cared for. The tires were covered, the windows were covered. It was clean and shiny. I met the owners and learned that he waxed it each year which usually takes about a month. I checked it out, took some pictures and emailed them to Texas.