Balloon Fiesta 2010

Following closely on the heels of the New Mexico State Fair is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta -- a state fair with balloons instead of animals. We've been several times since we've been in New Mexico and generally enjoy it -- when we forget about the hours stuck in traffic, the frigid temperatures, waking up at 4am, and all the times we go to the fiesta only to find that the weather isn't favorable for the balloons to take off. Nevertheless, we decided this year to take Adelaida and hope for the best.

Hot air balloons are surprisingly sensitive to the weather and can only take off if there is no precipitation and very little wind. My general plan for attending balloon fiesta is to plan to go every day, and continue planning to go until the weather is favorable and the balloons actually take off. This year that turned out to be a great plan -- we went the first day and the weather was wonderful! It was the best weather we've ever seen for balloon fiesta -- clear skies, no precipitation, no wind, and it was actually warm by the time we left the park.

Being in the midst of a huge field of balloons as they are unrolled, inflate, stand up, and take off is amazing! An essential item to take to the fiesta is a camera, and we took over 200 pictures. Here are some of my favorites.

The first line of balloons inflates against a New Mexico sunrise.


Adelaida spots a balloon in the sky.


A balloon flies overhead, next to the crescent moon.


The first wave takes off!


Balloons fill the sky as more inflate on the ground.


Dale and Adelaida squat in front of an inflating balloon.




Once they take off, the balloons look pretty small, but on the ground they are quite large!




We had a great time and took so many more pictures. I'll post more pictures later!