Oct 8th & 9th - Albuquerque

Oct 8th - Thurs - Albuquerque
The winds are generally quieter and more reliable early in the morning so balloons start ascending as soon as it is light - about 6:45. We will be getting up early for a few days!
There are morning events starting as early as 5:45 (we will skip that one!) and evening events starting at 5:45 with not too much going on in between. This results in massive traffic jams 4 times a day as crowds come & go from the fiesta. School buses are provided to shuttle RV residents to the balloon grounds - close to a mile across a major street. This morning we and 3 of our neighbors caught a bus right outside our doors at 6. When we got to the balloon park, Terry & I went to get coffee and we didn’t see them again until we were walking to catch the bus back. But we did bump into 2 other neighbors and spent time with them.
The first event was the special shapes rodeo. 89 “special shape” balloons assembled on the field, inflated their envelopes and ascended in waves. Spectators can walk among the balloons on the field and balloon operators are always looking for crew members for the day. Flight directors called zebras (for their black & white striped clothing) control the launch. Several balloons take off at once and you hardly know where to look. It was very calm so the balloons drifted very slowly across the field and we had lots of time to see them all and take pictures.
Then there were “games” for regular balloons. Pilots take off away from the balloon park, fly to the park and drop markers on a target on the field or try to grab an envelope from the top of a pole. Not too many balloons took part as the winds were not very good to get to the park. Terry and I went to get breakfast and wandered the long row of vendors before we headed back.
Terry worked on the generator and we went to get a spark plug which still didn’t fix the problem. He finally decided to take Wayne up on his offer to use his generator for the rest of our stay. While Terry was busy, I put a casserole together for dinner and baked some brownies. After a very early dinner, we made a quick trip to WalMart for a couple of smaller, inexpensive folding chairs to carry to the fiesta events.
Caught a bus again for the Special Shapes Glowdeo. At 5:45, special shape balloons started inflating but this time they stayed on the ground. We walked around taking pictures. The sun sets about 6:30 and the pilots fire their burners to make the balloons “glow”. It was wonderful. Again, lots of pictures.
But we are not done yet. All the balloons were deflated and packed away and at 8 there was a beautiful fireworks show which we could enjoy in comfort on our new chairs. The first part of the fireworks were typical, but amazing, high flyers. Then there was an incredible “wall” of lower fireworks on another side of the field before the finale at end of the field where they started.
We headed for the bus after the fireworks and discovered a very long line. Terry & I waited for the bus but our neighbors, who would have been way behind us in the line, decided to walk and actually beat us back but not by much. We all sat out for a drink and to rehash the day’s events before calling it a day.

Oct 9th - Fri - Albuquerque
Similar schedule to yesterday. We decided that we didn’t have to go so early so didn’t catch the bus until 6:15! We stuck together this time, set up our chairs and watched the special shapes take off again. We were quite a ways down the field and the wind blew all the balloons right over us. It was just as wonderful the second time. By the time the special shapes were disappearing, the field was cleared and set up for the regular balloons coming in for the “games”. Today the winds were more favorable and there were lots of pilots taking part. We got breakfast & coffee and sat watching the show.
Then we all walked to check out the chain saw carving competition, picked up our chairs and came back to the park. Terry & I went for a bike ride around the park and on a bike path along the road outside the RV parking area. We were going to go to a grocery store, asked our neighbors for directions and ended up having a beer and never going to the store. 2 other neighbors joined us for another drink before we left for the evening glowdeo and fireworks. It was slightly warmer tonight, the fireworks were possibly even more spectacular than last night and extra buses were brought in so we didn’t have to wait long to get back.
Another absolutely wonderful day! It is so cool to be on the bus that gets to use special lanes and watch the traffic gridlock from people driving to the park. Park & ride areas have been set up and continuous lines of buses head in & out to those spots also.
Wayne went to bed and turned off the generator so I better get this posted before the battery runs down on the computer.