We got up at 4:00 am. to get ready to head off to Albuquerque, NM for a once in a lifetime experience. It was in the high 30's when we left, so we were sure to bundle up. The fiesta takes place on a huge plain where there is plenty of parking and a lot of concessions and demonstrations. There is really no security, so you can walk right up to the balloons and baskets and talk to their owners about the process.
Hundreds of balloonists representing one-third of the world’s countries launch their magnificent flying machines to float gently over the beautiful New Mexico landscape. The Fiesta includes such events as evening fireworks, mass ascensions, balloon glows, the Special Shapes Rodeo, and the America’s Challenge Gas Balloon Race.
The Fiesta is a Photographer's Dream:: here are some of my many shots, from early pre-dawn "glow" to the "mass ascension" at 7:00 am. It was truly a fantastic expeirence.
My friend, Owen Ormsby, from New Jersey.
Smokey Bear
Pepsi is one of the sponsors of the fiesta.
Who said cows can't fly?
Brazil was represented by a huge haunted house balloon which took quite a while to inflate.
A replica of the Breitling balloon, the first to circumnavigate the globe, was also represented. (silver)
Even Darth Vader from Star Wars made an appearance!
Carmen Miranda was immortalized in this colorful balloon.
What a morning! I wish you all could have been here, especially the kids, because they would have loved it.
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