Last of the Balloons

The weather cooperated Friday night, so we finally got to see the Special Shapes Glowdeo. Unfortunately so did thousands of other people. It was really crowded!

 

The balloons are especially colorful when they fire up the propane burners.

 

 

 

The Wells Fargo wagon was HUGE.

 

As was this devil wearing sneakers. We were too close to get a picture of the whole balloon, it was so big.

The wind was right the last couple days of the Mass Ascension in the morning, so we had lots of balloons come over the RV parking area again. Every day we spotted different ones we hadn’t seen before. It sure looked like they would land on the RVs. but they always made it past. There was one report of a balloon landing in a tree, and one that made a hard landing and caused some minor injuries, but no one was seriously hurt this year.

So now that it’s over, what did I really think of the Balloon Fiesta?

First of all, we had a great time visiting with the other Lazy Daze owners, some of whom we had met at previous get togethers, and others we met for the first time. It was a really good group of people, and we enjoyed the happy hours, pot luck dinners, gawking at the balloons together in the early hours of the morning, etc.

Albuquerque is a nice city, with Trader Joe’s, Camping World, and every other store we needed. We were also pleasantly surprised to find that there are 400 miles of bike trails in the city. We went riding several times last week, on paved trails along a canal and the Rio Grande. We also hiked the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, but never found the time to drive or take the tram up to the peak. There are plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities in the Albuquerque area.

The Balloons! What can I say? Even after 9 days of watching, I never got tired of seeing them. And the logistics of putting on an event like this every year is mind boggling, but the organizers do a fantastic job. The porta potties always had toilet paper, trucks came around frequently to water the dirt in the RV parking lot to help keep the dust down, and for $20 a truck would come by to pump out your tanks or fill the rig with water.

Now the downside. The dust from sitting in a dirt lot for 10 days, and the traffic noise from being so close to Alameda Blvd. (We were in the second row back from the road.) Also lots of diesel fumes from the water trucks, generators, and other vehicles driving by. We were very fortunate we had just a few drops of rain the entire time we were there. I imagine it would be quite muddy, which now that I think of it would have been a nice respite from the dust. Having said that though, I wouldn’t consider staying anywhere else and having to drive to Balloon Fiesta Park. The traffic was horrible before and after the events, so it was nice to be able to walk across the road or just watch from our lot.

We’re glad we got to see the Balloon Fiesta, but for us this was a “been there, done that” kind of thing and we most likely won’t attend another.

Here is one last shot of Jim on top of the rig taking pictures, taken by our neighbor Gil.

We are now at Bluewater Lake State Park, near Grants, NM, enjoying the peace and quiet.

And More Balloons

The past two mornings were the Special Shapes Rodeos and we saw lots of different balloons, but the winds had shifted so they didn’t come right over us. This morning it wasn’t windy enough, so most of the special shapes just inflated on the field but didn’t fly. I have walked over to the launch field before seven almost every morning because it is so much fun to watch them inflate and take off. This is how the law enforcement get through the crowds.

Last night was our night to crew one of the balloons during the “Glowdeo”, where the special shapes inflate and fire up after dark but don’t launch. Unfortunately the winds were too strong so they cancelled the event, and we didn’t have to work. I was looking forward to it but it is supposed to take place again tonight, although it is fairly windy again this afternoon so I doubt it will happen.

Here are more balloon pictures. We have LOTS!

 

This guy made a pretty hard landing next to the RV’s.

And this kangaroo came down in the cemetery next to the RV parking.

 

If not for the dust and road noise, we are in a great spot for balloon watching.

More Balloons

The weather has cooperated, so there’s been a big balloon launch every morning, with most of them coming right over our rigs. You would think it would get old after a couple days, but it is amazing to watch every time. And there are new and different balloons that we missed seeing on previous days.

And it’s fun to watch them go down in the RV parking area. The big special shapes balloons seem to have a harder time staying up.

This morning was interesting because they had a contest where they tried to toss a bean bag onto a target in a field, but only a few of them actually made it. Must be quite a challenge getting those balloons to go exactly where they want them.

A couple nights ago we went over to the balloon field to watch the “Twilight Twinkle”, where they just inflated the balloons and fired them up on the ground.

We stood and watched for a long time to try and see all three bees light up together, but they kept getting one or two lit at the same time, never all three at once.

On another note, Jim finally bought and borrowed a couple of the right tools, and was able to get our new solar panel connected. We don’t know yet if it’s working properly, since he had to run the generator for the drill, and it was sunny so we were fully charged, but we should be able to tell a difference tomorrow.

And on a sadder note, our good friend Debbie arrived from Minnesota Friday, with her cute little dog, Elton. He had been stung by a bee and his foot got infected, so she took him to the vet as soon as she got here. He had also been coughing for a few days, so they did a chest x-ray. Turns out he has lung cancer, so this has put a damper on her enjoyment of the fiesta. And we feel bad, too, since we got attached to him the past couple winters that we’ve traveled together. He is eating and acting fine otherwise, and the vet said it was a slow growing cancer, so we’re hoping for the best. He is a sweetie and a rescue dog, who spent the first year and a half of his life in a box, so it is especially sad now that he has a good home. Such is life…..

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

 

We are parked for 9 days in a dirt lot with thousands of other RV’s, almost 30 of them other Lazy Daze owners. Not much of a campground but we are right across from the launch field, so the past two mornings during the Mass Ascension, all the balloons come right over us. It is really an amazing sight to watch! We’ve taken way too many pictures, and even Jim got up before 7 yesterday to watch. He mostly stayed on the roof of the rig to get even closer. I woke up before six yesterday so decided to get up and walk over to the launch field, about a mile away. I was astonished at the number of people out and about at that time of morning. They allow you to walk right out where the balloons launch, and it was interesting to observe them getting set up to take off.

 

 

We really liked the special shapes balloons, and there will be one morning and two evening events with the special shapes exclusively. We are supposed to crew on October 7th, and this is the balloon we will be helping with. It is some kind of German apple wine. By the way, if you sign up to crew, you receive a pass for free admission to all the events. Not a bad deal, since it’s $6 a day to get into the park.

Here are some of the better photos so far.

 

I thought this one was going to land on our roof.

 

We wondered about this dead cat, and then today we saw their truck, which explained it all.

More special shapes.

Not sure this bee went down where they planned.

I’m sure we’ll have lots more photos as the week goes on!