Albuquerque, New Mexico – Hot Air Balloon Fiesta – Sep 30 – Oct 3
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
We had great expectations for the Hot Air Balloon Festival, but were not ready for the superhyperactivity of it all. I don’t know if superhyperactivity is a word or not, but it fits this years Balloon Fiesta. It really does overwhelm your senses with the grandiosity of it all, and while it is going on you sort of expect it to wind down, but they just keep releasing more and more balloons.
We could not have topped off our trip with a better choice than the Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. I took over 2,100 pictures and about 15 movies of the spectacle, but don’t worry, I won’t show too many of them.
Morning pilot ascensions – Each morning, usually before dawn, they have 10-12 balloons fill up and take off. This will give the other balloons an idea of the wind currents, or lack of wind, the direction and speed of the levels of air current as the balloons get higher and higher. Fabulous.
Then on the first morning as the balloons were preparing for the first Mass Ascension, there was a military plane flyover, over the field. You can see their lights if you look closely just to the upper left of the balloon.
Mass Ascensions - They broke a record this year, releasing 438 or so balloons in a one hour period, and we were situated so that every one of them took off right over our heads. They continued releasing balloons for at least another 30-45 minutes after the 60 minute time for the record. There were reportedly over 600 balloons there for the weekend that we were there and almost all of them went flying. They did these ‘Mass Ascensions’ on Saturday , Sunday and Monday morning . What a thrill to be there and join in the excitement of it all.
In the image below there are about 25 balloons on the ground, and about 30 in the air. Imagine how it looks when you can see 400-500 balloons in the air… I don't know if you can see them all even if you click on the image to enlarge it, but they are there as described.
It really is impossible to capture in one picture since they cover the sky from the horizon in front of you to the horizon behind you. All you can capture are snippets of the total image when you stand there in amazement, getting a seriously sore neck from looking up over your head, and all around behind you.
Here is a series of images, the first being from directly behind us, and the next is further to the right.
The following images continue turning to the right
And continuing to the right
Continue turning until I have turned a little more than 180 degrees so the last image is directly in front of us.
There was a nice surprise for a young lady in the crowd named Silvina…..
Each evening they inflated the balloons again and lit them up from the inside with gas flame so the balloons were glowing.
As mentioned, with over 2100 images there are many, many, many detail images of the various balloons, but there is no way I can put them on this blog. I may add more later, but for now this is all I can manage.
GO TO ALBUQUERQUE FOR THE HOT AIR BALLOON FIESTA if you ever have the opportunity. A word of warning, make your reservations early, as things fill up fast..
Be home soon. We need a rest from our vacation.travel.
