Up, Up, & Away At The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

(Albuquerque, New Mexico) 75 degrees, clear blue skies

We made it!  For the past five days we have been thrilled by this amazing event.  It started off a little slow due to a lot of rain and high winds but the last two days were spectacular.  Our site was reserved almost a year ago and was located right next to the Balloon Museum and launch site in the VIP area.   It was $85 per night (no hook ups) and included two passes per person each day onto the field.  This was our first extended boondocking experience. 

This area is so convenient to all the balloon events.  It was an easy walk to the launch site.  Otherwise, if you stay in at surrounding campgrounds the traffic can be very intense.  Some of the balloons float right over your campsite.  Cool!

Our daughter flew in from Indianapolis and it was so wonderful to share this event with  her. 

Jen with the world at her fingertips

Our camphost friends at the National Forest, Sharon and Mike,  also met us there with two of their friends who live in Albuquerque, Kathy and Dave. They have attended many fiestas and have worked as volunteers in the past.  They really showed us all the ropes and cooked us a wonderful dinner on our arrival. 

The girls (Sharon, me, and Kathy)

The festival is made up of five separate events.  Each morning around 5:30 am the Dawn Patrol launches and checks out the wind patterns and reports back to the festival officials.  

On this particular morning 10 balloons went up.  The weather was very cool and the winds were low.  That's a good indication that the event is "a go". 

Dawn Patrol

 

The other balloons on the field get ready for the Krispy Cream Morning Glow by assembling and inflating their balloons.

Then everyone waits for the final decision.  One pilot told me that this sport is "a lot of hurry up and wait". At one point it was thought that the ascension may be up to the pilots discretion.  A bystander said that means "the bold go, the old stay, and there are not any old, bold pilots still alive".  :)

The zebra patrol are the launch directors and control when a balloon can go up.  They are all dressed in black and white and each one adds their own creative touches.  If you hear a whistle blowing that means a balloon is about to launch.  They do a marvelous job of managing the launch. The balloons are all inflating very close together and its amazing how they get each one out and up into the air. 

Zebra Patrol

Around 7 am the Mass Ascension begins.  It is amazing and being able to walk among all the balloons and watch them go up is breathtaking.  We estimated on Saturday there were probably 400 balloons in the air at the same time. 

In the evening everyone comes back for the Evening Glow and Fireworks.  There is not a launch at this event.  Instead, the balloons are all inflated and stay in their designated area.  The "glow" of the gas lights up the balloons as it get darker.  It was fun to walk around and see all of them.  At certain times the balloons all "glowed" at the same time.  We had a great time.   

Afterwards, there is a great fireworks display.  Tomorrow I'll post some more pictures and tell you a  about the special shapes event.