International Balloon Fiesta!

Saturday, October 5, our first day at the Fiesta.

This was the most spectacular, awe inspiring event, and even a years' anticipation could not live up to the thrill of the experience!  We bundled up  and headed out Saturday morning for the 5:45 Dawn Patrol, only to find out that scheduling is at Mother Nature's whim!  But we finally got a green balloon, indicating they would fly, and they lifted off in the early dawn.  The spectacle of the Mass Assention soon after left us in awe.  And little did we know at the time, that each day would be better!  Depending on weather conditions, you never know if they will even lift off, but good fortune was on our side, and we had a fantastic string of cold mornings, good for liftoff, and sunny, mildly windy days.  A perfect combination!

Dawn Patrol lifts off to check the winds

 Then the rest of the balloons make ready to go

The balloons are beautiful, but the shapes are a lot of fun!

Some are so huge, it is amazing they can fly!

Note the size of this cow's feet!

Our view from the bluff above.

Our friends from our Portland Motorhome club met us in Albuquerque for the Fiesta, which has been very fun!

That afternoon, between launches, our group  took a Southwest cooking class  in a cookbook  author and teacher's home, and made a great, though spicy, meal, using lots of chiles!  

Quiche with chile crust and chorizo.

Chile Rellenos and Tamales took a fair amount of work to complete.  We all got in on rolling the tamales, and most of us agreed that once was probably enough!

 And then we feast!

 We ate what we prepared, then dashed back to the grounds for the night glow. This time we went down amongst the balloons, to experience it there.

The evening was topped off with a great display of fireworks, and we took our cold, tired selves back to the coaches to go to  bed early, after a very full day, to prepare for Sunday mornings liftoff.