October 6, 2007 AM

October 6, 2007 AM

We wake up again before sunrise. Contrary to the forecast and last night’s winds, the weather is dry and calm. My lucky charm came through again. We save ourselves a long walk to the Fiesta field by hopping on the RV shuttle. We pass a huge line of cars trying to park for the event. Car parking is minimal and most non-RV attendees have to take a park-n-ride shuttle from far away. So nice to have on-site accommodations! We arrive at the field as a dozen balloons of the Dawn Patrol take off to test the upper atmosphere wind conditions. With their propane burners lighting up the balloons in the pre-dawn light they look like floating luminarias.

We stop to get a cup of coffee (and a free fried Spam sandwich) and then head onto the field. There is a sea of humanity on the Fiesta grounds but the field is huge. The size of 59 football fields, so we don’t feel hemmed in at all. The nice thing about Albuquerque’s Fiesta is that it is up close and personal. All the spectators can wander right up next to all the balloons and watch them get setup and inflated. We watch the balloons for the next hour and a half as all 750 balloons liftoff in a series of waves. It is unbelievable that they don’t all run into each other.

Seeing all these giant balloons is simply stunning and I take a lot of pictures. This Balloon Fiesta is supposed to be the most photographed event. Near the end a bunch of special shape balloons join the fun. Most are some roundish balloon face like Tweety Bird or Smoky the Bear. Others don’t look like they would fly. There is a stagecoach, a beer stein, a tree trunk with birds and a turtle. But the crowd favorite is Darth Vader.