Nine Days of Balloon Fiesta



Where We Were at Balloon Fiesta  Sept. 30 - Oct. 14, 2013



Welcome to Balloon Fiesta

The party is over, but the memories will last a lifetime. The 42nd Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta had to be the best one out of the 5 years we've experienced. We were fortunate to be able to attend the whole nine-day event and to have been there in our motorhome.

The Fiesta Park offers overnight RV parking in several different areas on the property with different levels of amenities.

The RV sites range in price from $30 a night for dry camping located about a mile away from the launch field to $150 a night with limited utilities, but located on a bluff overlooking the Launch Field. Details of the RV accommodations offered can be found under the Guest Info/RV Information tabs at the Balloon Fiesta Website..




Lucky to be Parked on the "Box" (3rd RV from the left)

Bob and I enjoyed an extended stay at the $30 a night dry camping sites. We arrived on Monday before the start of the event and stayed until the day after. 14 days in total. Our early arrival guaranteed us a site on the "box", as the place was virtually empty and we pretty much had our choice of spots. I say pretty much had our choice of spots - at least of those that groups had not been assigned. The mile distance from the launch field was of no consequence, as the park provided shuttle busses that began running every morning at 4:30am. The bonus to be parked on the "box" was that if the wind patterns brought the balloons to the south, they would fly over the RVs and very often would land in the dirt field known as the "box".

A Southerly Wind Allowed Many Balloons
to Land in the Field in Front of the RVs

We enjoyed several mornings at the motorhome watching the balloons fly low overhead and watched many landings in front of us. 





A Gondola is Dragged Along
as the Passengers Hang on for Dear Life

Some landings were a little rougher than others as crew members or bystanders were dragged by the gondola as they tried to stop it and keep it from bouncing along on the ground.



The Passengers and Pilot of this Balloon were
Very Happy to Have Extra Braking Power

Balloonists come from all over the world to participate in one of the most, if not the most, photographed events in history. Kodak was a major sponsor as recent as 2001 when we came to our first Fiesta. I remember vendors walking around the field selling film and disposable cameras. All that went out the window with the advent of the digital camera, including the camera phones. Now virtually EVERYONE has a camera of some type or another, and virtually EVERYONE was taking pictures...many with brand new NIKON or CANON SLRs with no idea that they may have stepped in front of another photo enthusiast and many with their cell phones outstretched high up in front of them with a keen eye gazing at the LCD screen. I peeked over a shoulder or two and was surprised to see very nice images on the screen.


An Enthusiastic Owner of a Spiffy New DSLR
and Airabelle from Canada

Over 500 balloons were registered to participate in the event this year. At one time in years past over 800 - 1000 balloons participated, but the limit has now been set to 750. It was an amazing sight to see even 500 balloons in the sky all at once. It was also an amazing experience to photograph as many as I could. During Opening Day's Mass Ascension, I found myself in the middle of the crowd, turning in a circle, not knowing what to "shoot" next. Plus, there were so many people, I couldn't readily get from one place to another.


The Enormous Crowd Watched the Balloons
Fly Away from the Field on Opening Day

Every day of the event had a Mass Ascension of one type or another scheduled to take off at 7am. The Mass Ascension is just what it sounds like - a mass of balloons ascending nearly at the same time. They would typically start the program at 7 and would usually be finished by 9. There had to be somewhat staggered starts which are monitored and managed by the "Zebras" - the balloon traffic cops that give the "go" signal to the pilots. Under that "controlled chaos", many balloons lift off the ground in unison.

A Group of "Zebras"
Pose in Front of the Zebra Balloon

The Special Shaped balloons had 2 days devoted to them where they were the main attractions of the Mass Ascension. Their first scheduled day had high winds aloft and therefore the ascension was scratched and the event that morning turned into a static display. No balloons flew that morning (Thursday), but all those special shaped balloons were inflated and their staying in one place created many photo ops. On that particular day, Bob and I chose to view the field from a high vantage point just outside the entrance gate.

We had an Amazing View of the Static Display

Soon we decided to go down to the field and walk amongst the crowd and get up close to these amazing creations.

Friday and Saturday mornings turned out to be two of the best fly days of the event.  To get another good look at the balloons, we returned to that high vantage point that had given us such a good view of the static display of the Special Shape balloons on Thursday.  From this point we had the most amazing view of the "Albuquerque Box" in full force. The "Albuquerque Box" is a weather phenomenon that occurs due to the location of the Balloon Fiesta Park. When the effect is in force, the lower level wind currents flow south and the higher wind currents flow north. These perfect conditions occurred these two mornings.  It was thrilling to watch some balloons fly south at a low altitude while others overlapped them going north at a higher altitude as they traveled north back over the field. For more detail of the "Albuquerque Box" check out the discussion at: http://www.theweatherprediction.com/weatherpapers/107/index.HTML.

Balloons were Coming and Going Over the Balloon Museum

On Friday of Balloon Fiesta week, the ABQ box was in full effect allowing the Special Shapes to show their stuff.

A long time tradition at Balloon Fiesta is to eat as many Breakfast Burritos, Cinnamon Rolls, and Turkey Legs as one can manage.  Bob and I had our share of all three.  The carnival-like Mid-Way offered many opportunities to indulge in all three plus more.

  

The Mid-Way after the Morning Mass Ascension -
The Mass of People was Gone



Bob Enjoying a Turkey Leg for Brunch

As if being in the middle of all the balloon activity wasn't enough, I am very happy to have met 3 gal pals with whom Bob and I are planning a trip together in the early Spring.  We couldn't have had better neighbors.  Sandy and Nadine traveled from Oregon in their respective Class B accommodations.  Nadine's sister, Laurie, from Huntington Beach came along with Nadine.   We were lucky the RV park personnel parked them next to us.  Sandy, Nadine, and Laurie:  We really enjoyed your company.

  



Sandy, Laurie, Me, Bob, and Nadine



I really must end this with a few of my FAVORITE photos of the Fiesta.

And Finally....

We had a wonderful time and can't wait to come back again.

We truly enjoyed Being Where We "Were."