1. In 1956, the first hydrogen bomb was detonated at the Nevada Test Site, located just across the border from New Mexico. This test, code-named "Turk," was part of a series of nuclear weapons tests conducted during the Cold War to test the feasibility of using hydrogen bombs as a tactical weapon.

2. On October 29, 1863, Confederate forces under General James H. Carleton were defeated by Union forces under Colonel Kit Carson in the Battle of the Pecos River, a skirmish during the American Civil War. The battle took place near the present-day town of San Ildefonso in northern New Mexico.

3. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, one of the largest hot air balloon festivals in the world, typically takes place in early October each year. However, on October 29, 1979, a severe wind gust caused a hot air balloon to crash into a power line near the festival grounds, killing four people and injuring several others.

4. In 1929, the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra was established in Albuquerque, becoming the state's first professional orchestra. Over the years, the symphony has performed with notable soloists such as Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman, and has collaborated with renowned composers including John Williams and Philip Glass.

5. On October 29, 1948, a U.S. Air Force plane carrying eleven crew members and passengers disappeared near the White Sands Missile Range. The wreckage was not found until the following year, and all on board were presumed dead. The incident remains one of the most significant aviation accidents in New Mexico history.