[cf the Fifth Dimension’s 1967 hit, “Up, Up and Away.”]
The alarm went off at 5:00 am and, by 5:30 am, Ted and I were started on the 40-minute walk from our hotel to the Balloon Fiesta. (Sunrise was at 7:11 am, just to give you some perspective of how early I can get up if I have to.) A local TV station was broadcasting from the Fiesta grounds and we heard the traffic announcer say that I-25 was backed up a mile-and-a-half at the exit for the Fiesta. That’s why we walked.
The Dawn Patrol, a group of a dozen hot air balloons, ascends before dawn (6:30 am) and stays up until they can see a landing site. Their purpose is to determine wind speed and direction at different altitudes to make sure conditions are safe for the mass ascension. Over the years, the Dawn Patrol has become a balloon glow “event” in the pre-dawn hours.
On cue, the Dawn Patrol turned on its glow lights.
There were twelve Dawn Patrol balloons. Some went high to the right and didn’t fit in the picture.
Here we are, wide awake before sunrise. We are wearing three jacket layers. The morning air is cold in Albuquerque, although it warmed up quickly after 9:00 am.
The sky is lightening, but the sun is still behind the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque.
When the sun cleared the mountaintops, it was like a switch turned on, instantly making the balloons bright and colorful. Look at all the people in the background who got up this early to see hot air balloons.
The balloons seemed to have an order in which they inflated and took off, so some are in the air, some are ready to launch, and some are still inflating in this area. The TV station announcer said the organizers decided several years ago that 550 balloons was the limit for what this area can handle well.
When we walked among the balloons, we were dwarfed and completely surrounded by colored nylon.
The air was very calm, so the balloons didn’t go far. In fact, many of them seemed to rise and slowly spin in place. At the end of the three-hour mass ascension, balloons were often coming down very close to the chase vehicles where they had previously been inflated. Sometimes the crew would manually pull the basket closer to the truck for loading because it was easier than moving the truck through the crowds. The chase teams had an easy day, and we had great views of the balloons.
The red circle shows a crew walking its balloon to their truck.
I overheard someone say that it’s unusual for all the balloons to have a chance to launch before the wind picks up later in the morning. We lucked out, because every balloon was able to launch today.
The mass ascension is off to a good start.
Today’s tickets included breakfast. This was our view of the mass ascension from our breakfast table.
Wow!
Here are some of the specialty balloons that launched today.
These three bees went up as a joined group, then separated in the air, but still flew close to each other as a trio.
The alligator seems to be watching the vampire inflate.
We assume Smokey the Bear was looking for forest fires from the air. That pink spot to the right of Smokey is a distant fish balloon.
The back of this baby’s head said “My daddy is a pilot.” I overheard a toddler say, “That baby has a binky.”
Darth Vader was the crowd-pleaser. You could tell when you got near this balloon, because there was a ring of people with cameras pointed upward at it.
Ted and I have attended St. Louis’s Great Forest Park Balloon Race and Balloon Glow events several times. I think the St. Louis balloon race is the second largest in the nation, but it doesn’t come close to the number of balloons at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. Words cannot describe how beautiful the mass ascension is, but you’ll have a clue if I say that, as much as I dislike getting up early, these four hours were worth it.