It's Fall in New Mexico...State Fair, Balloons, Green Chile, and Golden Aspen Delight

Wednesday afternoon, Ron and I took a drive to see the fall foliage in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  We drove the Enchanted Circle road from Taos (counter clock-wise) to Angel Fire, Eagle Nest, Red River and Questa and back to Taos again.

The Aspen was all dressed up in golden leaves. The sunny weather was a delightful 59 degrees F.

Moreno Valley at top of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Driving through Bobcat Pass to Red River

Here is a video of a road trip on the Enchanted Circle (clockwise) and expanded points in between.

 We stopped for dinner at Old Martina's Hall in Ranchos de Taos across from the famous San Francisco de Assisi adobe church.   The food was good, plentiful and reasonably priced (for Taos).

Old Martina's Hall Restaurant in Ranchos de Taos

My daughter, Amanda, checking out the doll collections
at the New Mexico State Fair last month

Fall in New Mexico also means State Fair in Albuquerque (September each year), green chile harvest and roasting, and of course, the International Balloon Fiesta that occupies this week in Albuquerque.



Roasting green chile fills the air with a sweet smell. 

There are more than 500 balloons registered at this year's Balloon Fiesta. The Mass Ascension yesterday was great and I can see the balloons from our house in Albuquerque.  Today it was too windy and they didn't go aloft.