October 2023 Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta
Our first day at the Balloon Fiesta set the stage for the fun that was to come.
As you can see the rig in the picture is not mine. I took mine in to have some things fixed and while it was in the shop the fuel pump went out. Other than the cost of renting a rig I was glad this didn't happen during the trip.
We were on the field that morning to see the drone show, dawn patrol, fly over, singing of the national anthem and to see the pilots do a candle stick burn.
The red arrow shows where the rig was parked.
We had free days and took a few trips to the Sandia Mountains. The first trip was a smooth twisting road, the second was a narrow, rocky dirt road. That is where we found the cave. The cage you see is the entrance to the cave. The third way we seen the mountain was a tram ride to the top. We enjoyed beautiful views, great food and creative drinks.
Ken had to leave early to get back to work. So on Wednesday a bunch of us got on a train and headed to Santa Fe. I have heard the story of the Loretto Chapel and the Staircase. and it was amazing to see.
I ate great food and made a new friend.
There were so many balloons. So many different shapes and colors. I think my favorite times to see the balloons were first thing in the morning when the dawn patrol went off and on the field at night with for the glow. We could see the fireworks and parts of the drone show every night from the campground.
The shapes balloons were great and the work that went into getting them inflated and then packed up was a labor of love by the pilots and crew.
I took two shots of the moon balloon to show the American flag that was attached to the side and I was able to get a photo of a ballunar eclipse.
The Star Wars crew showed up every day. These guys stayed in character and got so much attention. The crowd would part to make room for them to walk through.
Everyone tried to get the picture of the dog setting on a rig. It never landed on a rig, it just looks like it.
There was one special pup, Mellow. She was the best. She loved everyone and nothing bothered her. She was a special part of the trip.
As a bonus we got to see the lunar eclipse.
I made the mistake of putting my solar filter over top of my UV filter.
The effect is a little odd. You can see the eclipse in the green reflection.
This was my second event with Escapees and they did not disappoint. The hosts were amazing and put in a lot of hours. The information before we arrived was great and made parking so easy. The hosts served us catered breakfast every morning at 5am and dinner almost every night. The food was very good and there was always enough. The hosts also organized off sight trips. Just like my first event, the other campers were great to hang around with.
Other than not having my own rig, the trip was perfect. Ken and I made so many memories and we are looking forward to the next trip.
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