International Balloon Fiesta

The inconsistency of good cell reception and internet service has made blogging on the road a challenge. And it’s significantly slowed down the ability to post our adventures in a timely manner. Such is life.

After the excitement of the Balloon Fiesta, we took a quiet afternoon to relax. The next morning, we drove to the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park with our hosts, to walk and run near the Rio Grande River. Not a lot of water or bird activity at the Rio Grande, but plenty of ducks and turtles enjoying the pond near the Visitor Center.

Later in the day, we found ourselves at Kaktus Brewing in Bernalillo. (Interesting cloud formation as we drove along.)

The Balloon Fiesta is a two-week long event, so a couple of days after we attended, we spied a few stray balloons during our morning walk. They actually have designated “balloon chaser” vehicles that drive around the city tracking down those that blow off course. We saw one balloon coming down on a golf course and, sure enough, a balloon chaser pickup truck whizzed by.

On the day we were set to pull out of Albuqueque and head west, I finally captured a few photos of a roadrunner in a nearby arroyo on my last morning walk there.

We’ve definitely been having adventures. And we’ve had our share of non-adventure time, too, of course. The kind that doesn’t usually make the headlines: hours of driving, eating lunch in Walmart parking lots, and trying to figure out our next move. Again, such is life.

We left Albuquerque later that morning, setting our sights on the Grand Canyon and whatever adventures lay beyond.

The alarm sounded at 4 a.m. The first day of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. And we wanted to be there in time for the mass ascension.

We dressed in layers and ventured out into the forty-degree pre-dawn to drive to the local mall where Disney-like lines were forming for the shuttle buses. We had tickets for the 5:30 a.m. shuttle which in reality meant get in line by 5:30, go through a security checkpoint, and board a school bus, eventually.

We finally boarded and joined the crowded route to Balloon Fiesta Park, arriving a bit before 6:30 a.m. It was still dark. When we disembarked, we could see several balloons up in the air already.

The six of us traveled as a pack through the crowds, out onto the field where hundreds of balloons were laid out with their gondola baskets tipped on their sides, in various stages of inflation.

We chose a spot next to one blue and white balloon and watched the process from hook-up to ascension. The heat from the propane blasts felt exceptionally warm and welcomed in the crisp air.

As I tried to figure out a way to organize and share the many, many pictures we took in the chaos between seven and seven-thirty a.m.with a mass ascension of balloons all around us, light dawned. The best way to show how fun and amazing it was, and to replicate some of the chaos, is to throw all the photos at you. Let’s start with the fly-over, just before the mass ascension. Here goes . . .

Had enough yet? Wait! There’s more . . .

It’s hard to wrap your mind around just how big each of these balloons is until you look for the gondola basket hanging below. And there are people in those baskets! If you can, read this post on a full computer or tablet screen to get the best view of all the different balloons.