Santa Fe, New Mexico - Part 6

This is the last post of our Santa Fe stay!  We couldn’t have asked for more from the first destination of our RV Adventure.  We enjoyed all that the Santa Fe area had to offer and there is much more to explore in New Mexico. We are sure to go back and explore other areas, especially the Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains, White Sands, Bitsi Badlands and Chaco Canyon. 

Balloon Fiesta

The reason we picked New Mexico as our first destination was that for more than four decades, the first week in October brings the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.  We have read articles about it and seen it on the travel channel. And Sharon really wanted the opportunity to photograph so many colorful balloons in one place! Also, having gone up in a hot air balloon in Africa over the Serengeti with our friends, Dan and Karin, we just had to experience this event ourselves. 

Early Morning Inflation of Balloon in Africa

There we are on the back right high above the Serengeti

This male lion came out of the bushes while we flew above

What a landing!

Breakfast Table set on Serengeti

Champagne too!

Breakfast on the Serengeti: Left to Right: Mike, Karin, Danny and Sharon

This year’s Balloon Fiesta was called Spirit of the Winds.  For nine days, pilots and guests from all over the world come to Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta Park to celebrate hundreds of balloons taking flight and sailing silently through the crisp, clear desert sky.

From its modest beginnings in 1972 with 13 balloons launching from a shopping mall parking lot, the Balloon Fiesta has grown to multiple events launching year-round at the custom-designed, 365-acre Balloon Fiesta Park. Balloon Fiesta, with over 600 balloons, is the largest ballooning event on earth, the most photographed event on earth, and the largest annual international event held in the United States.

Imagine 54 football fields, all put together. That's the size of Balloon Fiesta Park's 78-acre launch field! And at this Park's "playing field," there are no losing teams and no viewing stands. Guests walk the field and are part of the action.

View of launch field from Museum

You can imagine what a logistics nightmare this event would be, but we found it to be very well orchestrated from parking, shuttles, public safety, to hospitality, artisan’s tent, Main Street for food and merchandise, and to the amazing schedule of events and attractions. There was no time to be bored. 

We attended the Balloon Fiesta for three days, October 5 for the Dawn Patrol, Morning Glow, Mass Ascension, Car Show and the evening Balloon Glow; October 7 for the Dawn Patrol and Flying Competition; and October 9 for the Special Shape Rodeo.

Day 1 – The Gondola Club – Mass Ascension and Evening Balloon Glow

Arriving at the Gondola Club before sunrise

There is general admission, but since this was our first time, we purchased Gondola Club tickets early for a VIP experience!  The Gondola Club offers the best seat in the house with one of the most picturesque locations at Balloon Fiesta Park. The morning session tickets included special parking privileges, shuttle to the Gondola Club tent for a full gourmet hot breakfast buffet, and private outdoor patio seating with heaters to view all of the activities during the cold mornings; we also had luxury bathrooms with flush toilets! We got up early and drove an hour from Santa Fe to Albuquerque to arrive at 4:30 a.m.  We enjoyed the view from our front row seats along the launch field, until the sun came up and we were able to walk amongst the hot air balloons, see the exhibits, vendors and museum. It was a full day!

At the Gondola Club with Sandia Mountains in background

Albuquerque is located in a high-altitude desert and has the Rio Grande running through the middle of town. To the east of the Park are the 10,678 foot-high Sandia Mountains and ancient volcanic cones are to the west.  This geography creates a special effect called the “box,” where wind currents allow pilots to fly in almost any direction, often landing right back where they started.  Albuquerque’s high-desert location also translates into endless blue skies, great visibility and crisp mornings warming up to pleasant afternoons.

Mike by the heater, all bundled up!

Start of Morning from the Gondola Club

Winds are too fast but balloons inflated to upright position

Our view from the Gondola Club

The Launch Field

Mass Ascension

Dawn Patrol is a group of selected balloons that launch prior to sunrise on the days of Mass Ascensions. The Mass Ascension is the premier morning event. Just before sunrise is when the weather is the coolest and the winds are the calmest which is ideal for ballooning. Hundreds of balloons are launched in two waves and can last up to two hours.  The dazzling barrage of colors filling the sky is overwhelming. Today was supposed to be a Mass Ascension however after the Dawn Patrol tested the winds, it was decided it was too windy for the balloons to fly today.

Many of the balloons however did set up and stay tethered to the ground. We were of course disappointed that we were not able to witness the grand ascension of all of these beautiful balloons, but to walk amongst them and see them up close and hear the thrilling roar of hundreds of propane burners simultaneously igniting was awesome!

The Raising of a Hot Air Balloon #113

Play the video above....
oops, I guess I can't rotate the camera during video taping!!

 

America’s Challenge Gas Balloon Race

Another event going on was The America’s Challenge Gas Balloon Race.  As opposed to the “Hot Air Balloons” most are familiar with, these balloons are filled with lighter than air gases and are built for speed and distance. The first race was held in Albuquerque in 1995.  Gas balloonists from around the world compete in a race with the challenge to “Go the Distance!”  The America’s Challenge race continues to break distance records.  We saw the pilots launch this morning and were able to follow the racers on the local news. The winning balloons will usually fly about three days, landing somewhere on the east coast of the United States.

Balloon Museum

We decided to tour the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum today and learned why Albuquerque is the Ballooning Capital of the World! 

Since the first balloon flights in 1783, there have been many feats recorded in the story of Balloon flight. Hot air and gas balloons have been used for adventure, scientific experiments, the arts, warfare, espionage, and the exploration of space.

The exhibits helped us understand how all this happened. Emphasis is on the development of exhibits that combine historic artifacts with modern multi-media technology to create a sense of excitement as well as an educational environment.

Main Street

We walked the one-third mile Main Street to look at the exhibits, souvenirs, pins and patches, and other merchandise. We had lunch at one of the Mexican concessionaires, but Sharon ordered her burger with green chiles, too hot for her to eat! And we visited the Artisans, a juried artisan tent showcasing the works of artists who have perfected their skill in a particular category.  We came away with beautiful copper chimes and another clay chime to hang outside the RV, as well as a hot air balloon whirly-gig. 

Fiesta on Wheels Car Show and Wood Carving Contest

In a grassy area just off Main Street, the Fiesta sponsored a small car show.  Most of the entrants were restored 40’s and 50’s with a few contemporary muscle cars and street rods thrown in for good measure.

Chainsaw Sculpture is a relatively new art form that has taken off all over the world.  Eight professional carvers coming from all over the US competed and produced some of the most amazing sculptures we have ever seen.  The sculptures were raffled daily to benefit the Albuquerque Area Firefighters Random Acts Charity.

Evening Balloon Glow

We also stayed for the Evening Balloon Glow.  It was a magical night landscape where you can wander through the glowing balloons. The balloons are tethered to the ground and when the pilots ignite the gas burner, they glow from the inside like giant flashbulbs, showing the wonderful colors, logos and shapes.  The Balloon Meister (yes that’s right) signals with an air horn and all the pilots ignite their burners simultaneously.  Some stay lit and some pulse the burners in short bursts.  

This was one of the most awe-inspiring displays we have ever seen, until Sharon lost track of Mike.  It was only a minute, but with 30,000 people milling around in the dark, it was tense!  

Day 2 – Dawn Patrol Show and Flying Competition

Since we missed the Mass Ascension on the first day, we decided to drive back down to Albuquerque the next day to purchase more Gondola Tickets so we could attend another day. We actually thought this would be another mass ascension but it was the Dawn Patrol Show and Flying Competition which turned out to be just as good as a Mass Ascension.  

The Dawn Patrol Show is a choreographed display of color in motion.  Dawn Patrol balloons participate in a pre-dawn show that also helps the pilots determine wind conditions aloft.  

We believe the pilots were disappointed they couldn’t launch the other day, so they really wanted to make an effort to give us a spectacular show today and that they did! We estimated 350-400 balloons launched this morning!

Crazy solo pilot hanging without a basket with the burner on his back!


The Flying Competition was very interesting to watch. Competitions are about flying finesse, control and accuracy.  It is a chance for pilots to test their skills against the best in the world while winning points and prizes.  It seems so simple, just drop a weighted marker on a specified target within Balloon Fiesta Park.  The drop heights range from just inches to 200 feet above the ground.  It is a challenge for each pilot to lower the balloon over the target while navigating the winds and drop the weighted marker into the boat below. There would be one balloon at a time, or a grouping of balloons trying to hit the target!

Day 3 – The Chasers’ Club – Special Shape Rodeo

We purchased Chasers’ Club tickets for this day!  It is named after Chase crews who help the pilot inflate and deflate his/her balloon for each flight. The benefits of this club were not as nice as the Gondola Club VIP experience.  We soon decided we should have just gotten the general admission tickets.  The Chasers’ Club did not include special parking privileges or shuttle to the Chasers’ Club tent. It did include breakfast, but it was very limited.  And we did not have our own luxury bathrooms! All the outdoor seats were wet with dew, but luckily we brought our special “Gondola Club” cushioned seats that were a perk from the Gondola Club! And there were no heaters to protect us from the cold at 4:30 a.m.! When the sun came up, we ventured out onto the launch field to watch the Special Shape Rodeo which was spectacular!

Special Shape Rodeo

The rodeo of special characters was amazing – we just marveled at the collection of whimsical characters.  The Balloon Fiesta showcases such intriguing shapes as a pair of bees, a stagecoach, Snow White, Angry Bird, fire truck, a cow, a pig, and many more! The engineering of the size and shape and how to make them fly is such a feat!  Of course Mike was partial to the fire truck, firefighter and the fire hydrant, all of them 8-10 stories tall! Sharon liked the jester, Tweety and Angry Bird and Snow White was amazing to watch while it became upright.

 

Zebras are Balloon Fiesta's launch directors. They help launch the balloons every morning. The reason they are called Zebras is that they wear black and white striped shirts. Zebras make up half of all of the officials on the field. There are about 120 officials that run the events during the week of Balloon Fiesta.

We also stayed for the evening "Glowdeo" which is a static display of the Special Shape balloons.

For more information on the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta go to www.balloonfiesta.com.

Parting Shot

Before leaving Santa Fe, we met our friend, Kerry for lunch followed by her favorite place, The Kakawa Chocolate House, and visited some art galleries in the rain. It was the perfect ending to our first adventure!

This concludes our memorable six-week stay in Santa Fe.  Stay tuned for the next phase of our RV adventure, a 1,000 mile detour to Red Bay, Alabama to get our RV serviced at Tiffin, the manufacturer of our Phaeton motorhome. Then on to Texas for the winter months!

Adios,

Mike & Sharon

“The best day is….today!” 

Author Unknown