Number One — Jalon Nichols

1 of 40

Listen, you gotta be very clear when you manifest or make wishes or tell the universe anything. So when I said I wanted to go to the Hot Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque—what I should have said was “go to the hot balloon fiesta and see the gorgeous hot balloons in the sky”.

Cause just like The Wizard of Oz learned too late, the wind is no good for such a thing.

This event is something every New Mexican should see once — and I have yet to.

This festival lasts for 9 days, and my best friend was turning 39 during the 8-9th weekend. It had been perfect weather for the first 7 of the 9 days. Lol. Guess which 2 days we went. 😂😂😂

Anyways, this years to-dos didn’t start the way I wanted it to, but it still ended up being perfect.

But that’s okay! Cause, more importantly, I got to go back to New Mexico. My true home. The place I landed when I arrived on this great planet. New Mexico is more than just Albuquerque and Santa Fe — it’s mountains, forests, hot springs, and of course deserts, And nothing makes me fall in love with New Mexico all over again than driving all over it. In and out of reservations, mountains that start from far away to all of a sudden, you’re in them to beautiful unmatched sunsets, red chilies everywhere, and some of the nicest folks in the world.

So…for that, this trip was perfect.

Number One Mix Tape