After leaving Cortez Co., we headed further south to Albuquerque NM with the 2015 Balloon Fiesta being our destination. With no mechanical problems like last year, we made it, pulling into Enchanted Trails RV Park Thursday . After getting set up we had a knock on the door. Friends Robert and Diana, who hosted with us at Belfair State Park in Washington state, were staying there as well to see the balloon fiesta. Made plans to connect one evening.
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At very dark early waiting to
board our bus |
There are several options when attending the Balloon Fiesta. The more expensive options were for a special area that includes entrance, a meal or a buffet and a guaranteed chair to watch from. Another is driving yourself to the park, pay for parking then walk about 1/2 mile or more to the entrance. If you have an RV, there are spaces to park for whatever length of time you are staying and you get a great view from a higher point than the main ground (and they run golf cart shuttles to and back). Or you can do what we did, purchase park and ride tickets. We drove about 10 miles from our RV park to a shopping center where we boarded a bus that dropped us at the main gate of the fiesta. Our Park and Ride tickets also included entrance fees.
Friday, we had time before catching our bus to the fiesta, so we headed to Old Town Albuquerque. A quaint historic section, that is quite commercialized. Lots of little shops and boutiques. Had lunch in a Mexican restaurant and then headed to catch our bus.
We attended the evening session on Friday, which starts about 4pm. While you are waiting for the balloons, you can tour the rest of the grounds which include lots of food, some carnival games and rides, a craft sales tent, and the Hot Air Balloon museum.
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| Sky Racers |
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| Balloons starting to inflate |
The highlight of the evening was the Special Shapes Glow. A glow means the balloons do fly, they stay tethered and light up. I believe there were about 200+ balloons that evening and it is amazing how close together they are to each other. You are allowed to walk around the grounds getting up close to the team setting up the balloons. That night also included a laser show and a spectacular fireworks. The evening started out with Sky Racers, motorized pari gliders, racing around big pylons and playing soccer with a big yellow ball.
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| view of food/souvenir shops |
Sunday morning was the next time we attended the Fiesta which also was the last session of the Fiesta. We went for what they call Mass Ascension which starts at 7am. What an exciting thing to watch, where all the balloons go up into the air about the same time. We woke up at 4:30am, had a light bite to eat and cup of coffee, then headed to the mall to catch our bus. We were dropped off at the main gate at 6am, in time to see the Dawn Patrol go up first and give their okay on the weather for the Ascension. With the okay to go, the green flag was raised and all the trucks with their balloons headed onto the grass and started to lay out the 'envelope' get the fans, the propane and the basket set up.
I could not find the number of balloons that lifted off that morning, but we estimated about 300+. No matter what the number, it was something to see. We were snapping pictures right and left and would point one way and say "look", then we would look somewhere else and say "look there too". It was hard not to be like a couple of kids.
This event is something to see and highly recommended. I would also recommend, not purchasing either of the special area tickets (one was $130 per person that included a buffet meal.) Food is readily available or bring your own in a back pack. Get out on the field with the balloons and all the people.
Before catching the bus back to our car, we took a tour through the Hot Air Balloon Museum adjacent to the field. Very interesting to hear how ballooning started in France and see the actual 'baskets' that broke records crossing the Atlantic and the Pacific.
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| Our tour group |
Between visits to the fiesta, Saturday was our 6th anniversary and we purchased another walking food tour, this one of the Nob Hill area of Albuquerque. We visited 4 restaurants in 2.5 hours and enjoyed our time with some truly fun people. The food was good, our only hesitation to give the tour 5 stars was our guide. Erin was personable and easy to talk to, but she offered very little information on the history of the area or the restaurants. Nob Hill is on the original Route 66 and a lot of the buildings which are being recycled, still maintain their 1930 art deco look. So it would have been great to hear stories about the area.
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| Greek - Spanakopita |
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Mexican - Chicken
Tacos |
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| Pasta with bolognese sauce |
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| Cinnamon ice cream desert |
Finishing up our visit to Albuquerque on Sunday, we shared happy hour with Robert and Diana and the two couples they are traveling with. All of us are pulling out and going in different directions on Monday.
We head back to Mesa!
Friday, we had time before catching our bus to the fiesta, so we headed to Old Town Albuquerque. A quaint historic section, that is quite commercialized. Lots of little shops and boutiques. Had lunch in a Mexican restaurant and then headed to catch our bus.
The highlight of the evening was the Special Shapes Glow. A glow means the balloons do fly, they stay tethered and light up. I believe there were about 200+ balloons that evening and it is amazing how close together they are to each other. You are allowed to walk around the grounds getting up close to the team setting up the balloons. That night also included a laser show and a spectacular fireworks. The evening started out with Sky Racers, motorized pari gliders, racing around big pylons and playing soccer with a big yellow ball.
Between visits to the fiesta, Saturday was our 6th anniversary and we purchased another walking food tour, this one of the Nob Hill area of Albuquerque. We visited 4 restaurants in 2.5 hours and enjoyed our time with some truly fun people. The food was good, our only hesitation to give the tour 5 stars was our guide. Erin was personable and easy to talk to, but she offered very little information on the history of the area or the restaurants. Nob Hill is on the original Route 66 and a lot of the buildings which are being recycled, still maintain their 1930 art deco look. So it would have been great to hear stories about the area.
