Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Day 3

You'd think by yesterday, day 3, there wouldn't be much more to share, but not true. Every day has been new and exciting!!

I watched the dawn patrol balloons take off from the comfort of our fifth wheel. The launch field is about a mile away, but you can see them take off real well from our campsite.

It was another perfect day for flying. Several of the balloons have the New Mexico symbol on them.

Once the sun rises over the mountain peaks, the balloons really glow, especially the brightly colored ones.

Although, this was the third day of watching, I still saw some new balloons.

Perfect entry for a pest control company!

There are six countries represented this year. Prior to Covid as many as twenty countries participated. This is the balloon from Mexico. I heard there are also balloons from Denmark, Germany, Spain and Great Britain.

I saw this balloon on Saturday and thought it was a dog. It's actually a very cute seal.

It's really hard to convey the scope of how many balloons are in the air at one time with pictures. Here is just an example of what it looks like. I shared a video on Facebook earlier that gives an idea of what it looks like as they come over. The big building in the background with the blue line around the top is a General Mills cereal factory. We've been told that if the wind is right, it can be an overwhelmingly sweet smell.

Quite a few balloons have landed in a field behind RVs just a few rows away from us. Yesterday morning I walked over to watch them. I must say, I didn't realize how hard they come down. There are chasers in the field to help pull on the ropes, but most of them still came down quite hard and dragged along the ground. Several had their baskets tip over upon landing as you can see in the second picture below. One guy actually shot out of the basket as it tipped over. I hope he was okay. One of the chasers told me that one basket hit barbed wire, and a lady got scraped up. 

On the Monday evening news, they reported that three balloons had hit power lines. Luckily, no injuries were reported. I'm glad I decided not to go up in one. My risk tolerance is not what it used to be :)

We continue to have a great time. Only one day to go before we leave. 

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Day 2

Yesterday morning we got up at 5 am to go to the launch field and view the dawn patrol, morning glow and mass ascension up close and personal. It was still very dark and quite chilly when we left, but we were able to take the free shuttle and dressed appropriately.

Each morning of the fiesta, several balloons lift off at 6 am to test the weather conditions. I overheard someone saying it is an honor to be chosen for this event, and only very experienced pilots are picked. There were 11 balloons in the dawn patrol yesterday. They inflated and then did a morning glow.

Then they took off. Each of them had a rope light hanging from the bottom of the basket. Once they give the okay, a green flag is raised at the launch field and all of the other balloons start inflating for the mass ascension.

After the dawn patrol, the next balloon up each morning displays an American flag while the National Anthem is played.

We were fortunate again to pick a great spot to watch the hundreds of balloons inflate and take off. I'm not sure if there is any order to it. It seemed everyone just started inflating and ascending. We did see a few near misses and bumping off of each other.

I did a panoramic shot. If you click on it, you can enlarge it. Look closely on the ground on the left and right, and you can see the balloon envelopes laying on the ground getting ready to be inflated. In the background, others are in the process, and some have just launched.

Darth Vader is chasing Yoda!!

I saw quite a few different balloons than the day before. With this many, it's easy to miss them. Also, I think each day is different depending on which crews are available.

A quilted balloon; how cool is that!!

On Saturday morning we saw Airabelle the cow fly over our campsite. Yesterday the crew had her all laid out on the ground and started inflating her. Then she started losing air and collapsed. Instead, they blew up a regular balloon with cow spots on it. I asked one of the crew members what happened. He explained because the cow is so huge, they can't fly her with winds over 11 mph because she acts like a huge sail and makes landing dangerous. You can see the cow balloon laid out on the ground under the round balloon they are inflating. 

 

The fiesta grounds have a few other entertainment options. There is an artisan tent with some beautiful arts and crafts to purchase. There is also a large chainsaw woodcarving area with demonstrations and items for sale. The first guy is making a hiking bear. I think the second guy is working on an owl.

We took the bus back to the campsite and were home by 9:30. The rest of the day was spent watching football and sorting and downloading pictures. Another outstanding day watching balloons!!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Night Glow

On the weekend evenings during the fiesta, there is an event called the Twilight Twinkle Glow. The first balloon glow was held in Albuquerque in 1979 when local pilots inflated balloons on Christmas Eve as a thank you to local residents. It has since become a tradition at the fiesta. We went to the glow last night, and it was spectacular. They claim this is the largest balloon night glow in the world.

It started with a skydiving exhibition. This guy brought a huge flag down with him. 

We walked around the grounds while waiting for it to get darker out. The launch field is the size of 54 football fields. There are venders all along one side of the field, selling all kinds of food and souvenirs. I contributed to the local economy by buying a t-shirt. There was a raffle booth for this huge, magnificent quilt!

We found a spot near the center of the field to watch the glow. I'm guessing there were about 100 balloons there for this event. They started inflating all around us. These balloons average 100 feet high. Here's one being inflated for perspective. Spectators are allowed to go right up to the balloons and talk to the crew.

This balloon was one I had not seen go over in the morning. I love Jesus's smile!

There were four gas balloons taking off for a competition. These balloons are filled with hydrogen and compete to see who can go the farthest. On average, they travel over 2,000 miles and are up there for 70 or more hours. This one had a German flag and writing on it. I think it says The King of Beers.

Once all the balloons were inflated, the announcer did a count down, and they all fired up their burners and glowed. It was a spectacular sight. My favorite part of the fiesta so far!! Pictures don't do it justice. It needs to be experienced in person, and I'm so glad we came. They did the countdown several times so everyone could really enjoy the show. Sometimes, they lit up with a solid glow, other times they pulsed the flame. Awesome!

After the glow, there was another skydiving exhibition. By now it was totally dark. Four skydivers dropped out of the plane with flares. That was pretty cool looking, but all of a sudden, there were fireworks coming out of their feet. Then they started throwing fireworks into the air, and they were exploding all around. After that, they lit up their suits. It was an amazing show. I had no idea this could be done. Again, pictures just don't capture it.

A little while later, the fireworks started. 

I did take some pictures throughout the evening; but I was enjoying the festivities so much, that picture taking came second. I loved this night!!!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!