albuquerque, new mexico

community clean-up on october 2, 2021

after a few weeks’ respite at the Bodhi Manda Zen Center in Jemez Springs, chauncey and noah descend to the sprawling desert metropolis of albuquerque. as their luck would have it, they are in town for the famed balloon fiesta, the most festive event of the year in the city, drawing thousands of visitors from around the country and world.

they make their way with balloons gliding overhead (and a few flat bike tires) to Westgate Community Park, where they collect over 5,000 pieces of trash with community members, including Klarissa Peña (the City Councilwoman for district 3) and Matthew Whelan (the director of albuquerque’s Solid Waste Department). this event is made possible by the immense help from Emily Moore (Keep Albuquerque Beautiful) and Jessica Campbell (Albuquerque Parks and Recreation).

another day, on a walk home from downtown, chauncey and sian encounter someone giving away extra burritos from the ballon fiesta, so they embark on an impromptu food walk, handing out 60 burritos to houseless folks.