A Dream Deflated: Albuquerque Balloon Festival
At 7:45 this morning it looked like I had flown out to New Mexico just to stand in the cold and be disappointed. Word had just come in on the Balloon Fiesta grounds that it was too windy to launch. So it seemed likely all I’d be seeing on my one day in town was pieces of fabric on the ground.
My flight last night was delayed getting in by 2 hours, which meant I had 3 and a half hours to check in to my hotel, sleep, and get myself to the shuttle bus by 5:30AM to see the Mass Ascension. Not exactly the thing dreams are made of.
But I’d done my homework and though there are many free places to watch the balloons, if you really want to get a feel for it, at least once you should be in the midst of them as they take off.
So at 6:30AM I found myself on the dimly lit grounds, threading my way through the food stands and hoping I hadn’t missed Dawn Patrol (the early balloons that go up to check conditions). I hadn’t. Nothing had gone up!
And at 7:45, the balloon operators I was hanging out next to let us know that no balloons were going up that morning.
Noooooooo. I was torn on waiting a little longer in the hopes they’d at least inflate the hot air balloons, but eventually decided to cut my losses and stay on my site-seeing schedule. On the way back to the bus though, I decided I should at least briefly wander through the art & craft section.
I got distracted by sign about the grilled cheese donut with bacon and green chile and decided I needed to try it. It wasn’t bad.
While I was munching disconsolately, I heard a cheer go up. They were inflating one of the hot air balloons. A giant cow.
Within minutes the field started to come alive with gaily colored shapes rising from the grass.
And suddenly the whole atmosphere got festive! There was a roaring buzz of the flames heating the air. People were running back and forth, calling out as new characters and designs were spotted.
It was incredible.
Yoda was there.
So was Spider Pig.
I would have loved to be there when they all took off, but it was something just to be wandering around underneath those giant balloons and taking it all in, exhaustion and cold feet forgotten. It lasted for about 10 minutes and then the balloons started to sink.
Here’s hoping the evening balloons sail en mass right past my hotel 😉
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I went to the balloon fiesta two years ago! The Mass Ascension was cancelled on our first morning there too, but it went up the next morning (despite forecasts for even stronger winds!) It was a truly amazing experience, and I’d love to go back again.
My wife and I are the owners of the “Fresh Squeezed Lemonade” stand that you so sweetly wrote about thank you for the kind words and for visiting our booth.
Thank you! I enjoyed the donut (even more than I thought I would!) and it kept me from missing the launch. 🙂