Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta
Oct 2022
Surprisingly, we happened on access and tickets to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. It is pretty hard to get camping reservations so close to the actual event. The camping passes book out about a year in advance. However, Russ was reading one of his Facebook group posts and saw that someone had camping passes and tickets up for grabs. He sent her a message thinking there wasn't much chance in getting these. However, the lady messaged him back and said that we could have them. When he asked how much she wanted for them, she graciously said, "Just make a donation to your favorite charity." So, we ended up with with camping passes and event passes.
The camping, just to be clear, is rally style and in a huge parking dirt parking lot. There are lots of RVs of all kinds there. While some of the premium spots has some hook-ups, we did not. You could use your generator at specified times during the day, but we really didn't need to. It was cool enough with the windows open.
Unfortunately, the weather was not kind to the 50th Anniversary celebration and events were canceled almost every day. There was lots of rain and wind which don't mix well with ballooning. I felt bad for the organizers who put in so much time and effort to make the Fiesta a memorable event. Everyone made the best of it, however.
We did get to see one dawn patrol and morning glow, and one evening glow. Dawn patrol is when balloon pilots take off in the early morning, before the sun is up, to determine wind speed and direction at different altitudes. The glows are when the pilots fire their burners in the early morning or evening. This causes the balloons to light up from within. Sometimes the pilots do an "all glow" where the burners of all the balloons are lit at the same time. It is fun to see. You have to get up early to see thee dawn patrol and morning glow these happen before 6 am.
Dawn Patrol
Mass ascension is when all the balloons launch, usually in two waves. This is coordinated by the launch directors, or zebras, on the ground. These are guys and gals wearing black and white striped outfits that serve as traffic cops on the field to ensure safe coordination during the launch. We saw one mass ascension from our campground, and one from the balloon field. All of the other days we were there, it was cancelled due to rain and wind. It is pretty impressive to see so many balloons in the air at once.
This event, which started in 1972, is the largest balloon festival in the world.There were over 500 balloons participating in the fiesta this year. Many of those were traditional in shape, but all very colorful. We really enjoyed the special shaped balloons. I've included a few pictures here to give you a little taste of the variety.
Special Shape Rodeo
I'm glad we got to experience the balloon fiesta. There were lots of people, and the weather wasn't great. However, being up close to the balloons was special. It was a fun way to initiate our new motorhome.