Roadtrip – Albuquerque, NM – 2009 Balloon Festival

(Fig. 01)

10/15/2009 Trip Notes: This was the goal of an eight day roadtrip through Utah, Arizona and New Mexico that Connie and I made with our neighbor Marc Resnic back in 2009. We spent two full days at this event and took in several of the main events, including the 5:00 AM Dawn Patrol, the evening Special Shape Balloon Glow, and the final days’ Mass Ascension. The early morning Dawn Patrol brought a beautiful sunrise (Fig. 02) with temperatures near the freezing mark. Not quite as prepared as most (Fig. 03), we ended up buying gloves and hats. My hands were so cold I could hardly operate my camera. On our second day we attended the evening Night Glow, where they light off various tethered groups (Figs. 04 & 05) scattered throughout the grounds. On the day of the Mass Ascension (Figs. 01, 06, 07, 08) there were more than 200 balloons in the air all at once. Be sure to check out the special slide show that I created that shows the lengthy process of getting one of the large balloons into the air. It is much more work than one would think. Check it out here … Anatomy of a Balloon Flight.

(Fig. 02) Dawn Patrol

(Fig. 03) Dawn Patrol

(Fig. 04) Balloon Glow

(Fig. 05) Balloon Glow

(Fig. 06) Mass Ascension

(Fig. 07) Mass Ascension

(Fig. 08) Mass Ascension

One of the things that surprised us the most was the vast number of balloons shaped like cartoon characters, animals, or other recognizable subjects. The two collages (Figs. 09 & 10) below provide a small representation of the many different subjects we saw. These unique balloons actually created a wonderful “fun” factor that was enjoyed by children and adults alike. (Fig. 09)

(Fig. 10)

The 2-page PDF file below provides information and pictures from a road trip back in 2009 that took us to Allbuquerque, NM and the 2009 Balloon Festival. Use the “scroll bar” on the right to scroll down to the next page. To view for reading, click on the “Full Screen” icon located at the very right of the Scribd menu bar at the bottom of the page. Directly below this file I have included a slideshow with some additional pictures of our visit.

Albuquerque - Balloon Festival - Blog Master by Kenneth Clarke

(Fig. 11)

The slideshow below is designed to run automatically in place. Clicking anywhere in the black background area that surrounds the picture being shown will PAUSE the show and bring up the Pause, Forward and Back menu at the bottom of the slideshow window, allowing you to start, stop or manually forward pictures one at a time. To view the slideshow full-screen, click in the middle of the running show. When the new browser window appears, click on the left side of the menu where it says "slideshow".

Slideshow Description: The slideshow above contains 100 pictures that were taken at the 2009 Albuquerque Balloon Festival.