In planning our route, we intended to head east after Colorado, but we didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to attend the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, which had been on my bucket list for years, so we changed course and headed south to New Mexico.
Before the two-week Fiesta began, Donya and I went on a hot air balloon ride above the city. Large fans are used to inflate the envelope (balloon) and then propane heaters warm the air, which causes the envelope to rise into an upright position. After the envelope is fully inflated, the gondola (basket) is righted and held to the ground by crew members while passengers climb aboard. The pilot continues to heat the air, and upon his command the ground crew releases the tethers and away we go – up, up and away! The wind dictates which way we go – there is no steering mechanism. The pilot can only control the ascent and descent by releasing heated propane gas into the balloon.
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is held each year during the first two weeks of October and is attended by thousands of people from all over the world. Events include a dawn and evening balloon glow where hundreds of balloons are tethered to the ground while the pilots light up the envelopes by releasing heated propane gas. The main event is a mass ascension of over 500 balloons from the Balloon Fiesta Park. We had to get up very early in order to beat the traffic and get to our parking space before it filled up. We opted to view the balloons from a nearby public park rather than fight the crowds in the Balloon Fiesta Park.
Some of our favorite special shape balloons


