I am finally getting around to posting a little bit of information about our trips to Albuquerque, New Mexico to attend the ALBUQUERQUE BALLOON FIESTA. We made the trip in 2010 and also in 2011. This is an event that should not be missed if you ever find yourself in the Southwest in late September. Get yourself to Albuquerque by the first week in October. But don’t just be a spectator, go to the big tent and sign up as a volunteer to help on one of the balloons. They always need extra help. It’s a lot of fun and so much more exciting than just sitting on the field watching. Both years we spent all 12 days at the event. We camped out on one of the landing fields with our RV group The Boomers. We volunteered to be on a crew to help the pilot and co pilot launch, chase, pack up and return to the field each day during the 10 day event. You work in the early morning from about 5:30 am until 10am and sometimes at night during the night glows. At night you don’t fly, the balloons just light up their burners for a spectacular show. Due to weather conditions, some days we didn’t launch. Particularly because we chose to crew for a “Special Shape” Those are the larger balloons of all different colors and characters. They are quite a bit heavier than the regular shape balloons so they require a larger crew. One year we worked with Annie the Lady Bug and another year it was The Clown. Below are a few of the photographs I took during this adventure. We’ll go back to this event again, it’s a lot of fun.
Here’s our crew in 2010
2011 Fiesta was just as fun as 2012. We crewed for the CLOWN and the HAUNTED HOUSE BALLOONS. Different Boomers attended this year and we had over 40 rigs in attendance. I’m just posting random photos since I am so late in doing this, It’s old news now 🙂
OFF TO TAOS, NM FROM HERE.
