Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

We just finished up an amazing 12 days in Albuquerque New Mexico, taking in all the fun and excitement of the Balloon Fiesta, which is the largest gathering of hot air balloons in the world. Every fall balloonists come together for what ends up being one of the most spectacular sights we've ever seen...when hundreds of beautiful hot air balloons take flight. 

We consider ourselves lucky to have met Dave & Leslie last spring, who told us they had two hot air balloons, and invited us to crew for them in Albuquerque. We jumped at the chance. As the time got closer and we heard they could use another couple to crew as well, we invited our friends, Bob & Molly to join us. Dawnna, a balloon pilot from Colorado, and her crew chief Marilyn were also part of our crew. Dawnna also got a chance to fly both of Dave's balloons. Before long we realized the eight of us got along great and a bond of friendship and camaraderie quickly formed. Dave built both "Wicked" and "Pi" in his living room. It's obvious he's very passionate about ballooning and was a great teacher, explaining every aspect of the sport to us. After a few days we proved to be a pretty worthy crew.

Rather than go on and on about how great it was, we'll just post some pictures for you to enjoy. 

Since we took hundreds of photos, I tried to pick out some of our favorites. 

These photos were taken while on the ground at Fiesta Field....

All of us got to fly throughout the Fiesta. What a great feeling to float weightlessly through the air! The next photos were taken while we were flying....

This is "Wicked" being inflated...

I took this photo looking straight up inside "Wicked", which we flew in the first day of Fiesta...

This is "Pi", Dave & Leslie's 'happy apple' balloon, while we were just starting to  inflate. Bob & Molly flew with Dave in Pi and Jean flew in Pi. 

And here's Pi in the air, being happy!

Pi, coming in for a landing back on the field.....

Balloon Fiesta was an experience we'll never forget. It's hard to show in pictures just how many balloons were on the field and in the air at once, or just how spectacular that was to see. Our experience was made even better because of the company we kept and the crew we became.