Discover the enchantment of hot air ballooning

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — For 39 years adventure seekers have been flocking to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the world’s largest hot air balloon festival. You can experience the adventure of a lifetime witnessing more than 500 hot air balloons in the air during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta®, October 2-10, 2010.

Wrap up your summer by planning a fall getaway to the amazing Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta® in the hot air ballooning capital of the world. Better yet, enter to win a trip for two October 4-6, 2010. The getaway is valued at more than $1,500 including:

  --  Two nights at Nativo Lodge, a Heritage Hotels & Resorts property
  --  Two days admission to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta®
      including VIP access to the Gondola Club Hospitality Suite
  --  A balloon ride for two with Rainbow Ryders Hot Air Balloon Company
  --  Admission to the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon
      Museum
  --  A $200 Visa card to be used for airfare, gas or shopping

Visit www.ItsATrip.org/balloon-festival to enter the sweepstakes by September 6th.

For nine days every October, the New Mexico skies are filled with color as 500+ balloons float over Albuquerque’s high desert landscape. There is excitement and adventure to be found both in the air and on the ground. Hundreds of balloons launch at Balloon Fiesta Park each morning. Visitors walk amongst the balloons as they inflate and are welcome to ask questions and meet the pilots – you may even be asked to help out a crew member with the inflation process!

Besides enjoying the spectacle of Mass Ascensions, Balloon Glows, Special Shapes, and exciting hot air and gas balloon competitions, hundreds of booths offer a taste of local cuisine, arts and crafts from across the country.

Albuquerque offers many other affordable adventures from above including the world’s longest aerial tramway, year-round ballooning, soaring in a glider, skiing and amazing views from the 10,000-foot Sandia Peak.

For more information on Balloon Fiesta, visit www.BalloonFiesta.com and for information on Albuquerque, visit www.ItsATrip.org.

The mission of the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau is to stimulate economic growth by marketing Albuquerque as a visitor and convention destination. For more information, please call 505.842.9918 or visit our web site at www.itsatrip.org.

No book has ever before specifically focused on the birds of prey of New Mexico. Both Florence Bailey (1928) and J. Stokley Ligon (1961) published volumes on the birds of New Mexico, but their coverage of raptors was somewhat limited. In the ensuing years a great deal of new information has been collected on these mighty hunters’ distribution, ecology, and conservation, including in New Mexico. The book begins with a history of the word ‘raptor’. The order of Raptatores, or Raptores, was first used to classify birds of prey in the early nineteenth century, derived from the Latin word raptor, one who seizes by force. The text then includes the writings of thirty-seven contributing authors who relate their observations on these regal species. For example, Joe Truett recounts the following in the chapter on the Swainson’s Hawk: ‘From spring to fall each year at the Jornada Caves in the Jornada del Muerto, Swainson’s hawks assemble daily to catch bats. The bats exit the caves – actually lava tubes – near sundown. The hawks swoop in, snatch bats from the air, and eat them on the wing’. Originally from France, Jean-Luc Cartron, has lived and worked on several continents, finding his passion in the wide-open spaces of New Mexico. He became fascinated by the birds of prey, and has studied their ecology and conservation for nearly twenty years. Raptors of New Mexico will provide readers with a comprehensive treatment of all hawks, eagles, kites, vultures, falcons, and owls breeding or wintering in New Mexico, or simply migrating through the state. This landmark study is also beautifully illustrated with more than six hundred photographs, including the work of more than one hundred photographers, and and nearly fifty species distribution maps.

Looking for an unbiased review? Click here.

As summer cools down, the Village of Hatch heats up with the annual two-day Hatch Chile Festival celebration of its world-famous crop, attracting more than 30,000 visitors from all over the United States.

Festival goers September 4-5, 2010 can sample famed chile recipes, watch the crowning of the chile festival queen, join in a chile ristra contest or just sit back and enjoy artisans, parades, food, carnivals, contests, music and much more.

Brought to you by the Hatch Valley Chamber of Commerce, the event takes place at the Hatch Municipal Airport, one mile east of town on State Road 26. Admission is $5 per car load.

Special activities Saturday begin with the chile festival parade at 10 a.m., and include the queen coronation, a horseshoe tournament, music by Simon Balkey and the Queen’s Auction.

Special activities Sunday include more music, including the Las Cruces High School Mariachis; more contests; and more fun.

Located off I-25 between Las Cruces and Truth or Consequences, the Village of Hatch serves seven unincorporated communities with a combined population of 5,000 people. With four banks, two grocery stores, a pharmacy, a few retail stores, and a smattering of restaurants, Hatch offers all the amenities of small-town life.