Balloon Fiesta 2011

Balloon Fiesta 2011

Balloonomania kicked off unofficially Thursday night when Julie flew in…on a plane, of course  The next morning we rendezvoused with Copper Canyon pals Bob and Marian King, and Jerry and Nancy Gayvert. We caravanned in from exit 143, rekindling memories of following each other through Mexico 5 years ago.

The Copper Canyon "6"

 We arrived at the Balloon Fiesta RV park, a dirt and gravel lot about a quarter mile from the balloon field. Shuttle bus service made it pretty handy.

As previously noted, Janice and I had done recon on Thursday, visiting the park where we met ‘Betty’ walking her dog.  She was an RVer and a veteran of many Balloon Fiestas. She encouraged us to sign up to be a balloon chase crew, which all of us eventually did. (Betty and her husband were the main recruiters in the big tent.) As chase crew we got free passes to the Fiesta, plus, Betty added, sometimes you might just get a ride, which otherwise would cost about $350. 

The pictures speak for themselves.  Balloons lighting up in the pre-dawn darkness and then hundreds taking to the air. Beautiful and amazing. This should be on everybody’s bucket list.

Evening glow

Dawn Patrol

The field is grass, about a mile long and a quarter mile wide.  It is separated into grids covering the entire field, spacing the balloons all over.  The public wanders among the balloons as they prepare for launch, little kids collecting trading cards from the pilots. This is a real public-friendly operation.  Balloonists are provided hotel accommodations, a $200 gas card, unlimited free propane and three meals a day. Albuquerque knows how to entice the balloonists, knowing what draws the money into the city.

All shapes and sizes

 We arrived at the field about 5:30 am on Sunday to crew. Our pilot and ‘first mate’, Mike and Becky Marx met us at station U-4 on the field as hundreds of balloons were being unloaded and then set-up for a 7:00 a.m. take-off.  Julie, Janice and I did pretty well for rookies. Mike and Becky, from Prosper, Texas, were simply wonderful people, very skilled in the balloon business.  The highlight for the weekend came when Mike turned towards Julie and said, “Get in, let’s go for a ride.”  Her face lit up like the morning sunshine.  In a matter of seconds she was airborne.   We hopped in the chase vehicle and followed the flight to its ultimate landing, several miles away in a vacant lot in a residential neighborhood.

Julie takes off

Julie celebrates 'first ride' with Mike and Becky

 We also worked for Mike and Becky on Sunday evening during the ‘glow’. Balloons aren’t launched during the evening but they are lit up en masses and provide quite the light show. Strong winds Sunday night curtailed the light show.

By Monday morning, we were whupped, having arisen at 5:00 the past two mornings.. Sleeping in to 7:00, as we readied to hit the road, we watched the morning launch sail over the RV park.  A couple balloons even landed in the park.

Darth Vader lands in RV Park

Sandwiched during our Albuquerque weekend was a dinner Friday night (for 7) at El Pinto, a mega Mexican restaurant serving hundreds. Good food!. Also a visit to Old Town, a typical tourist mecca. Another treat was seeing former Mexico wagonmaster Larry (and wagonmistress Evelyn) Stark.  He was leading a Rally at the Balloon Fiesta and was parked about 10 rows behind us at the park. FYI 2500 rigs came to watch balloons this year.

We decided to take it easy on Monday, driving only about 140 miles to Gallup.  Hopes to visit nearby Canyon de Chelly were shelved as rain and clouds moved in. Leaving this morning, we covered about 300 miles to Kingman, AZ, crossing the entire state despite strong winds and a thunderstorm finale as we approached Kingman.  Tomorrow, we are heading to Valley of Fire State Park northwest of Las Vegas.  Hopefully there will be a space for us.