The International Balloon Fiesta takes place in the first weeks of October in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The pictures don't quite do the event justice. I have posted a time lapse video from my Aunt's garden that gives a glimpse of how many people are involved in this. Waking up to hundreds of balloon floating over you is a pretty neat experience.
The balloons take off before sunrise, so I was chugging tea at 5am and suiting up to try to beat the traffic to the launch park. Seven layers later, I did not beat the traffic, but being only two miles from the park it wasn't too bad.
The Balloon Fiesta Park is so large that it had golf carts taxiing people from the parking lot to the entrance. I chose to power-stride my way down to get some feeling back into my toes. You would not believe how 'ballooned' the fiesta-goers were as well. Then again, it was not so surprising as most of the food stands consisted of burritos, deep fried burritos, cheese curds, french fries, chili burgers and the likes. Supply and demand, I guess... welcome to New Mexico! Pinon Coffee was the only healthy stop I could find (at least their beans aren't refried?). Anyways. After a few hours running around with a smile stretched over my face, I became sore and decided to pack up and head out. The morning launches are the most exciting parts of the day, so I didn't feel that I was missing out by skipping the chainsaw carvings. I've never been so happy and so cold at the same time. I did return the next night to witness the "Special Shape Glowdeo" where the balloons light up for a little show– although they stayed anchored to the ground. The Balloon Fiesta was one of the surrealist festivals I've ever been to, not to mention fall is a fantastic time to be in the Southwest. It was worth every over-priced parking pass, entrance ticket and deep fried chicken cutlet. I will be back for more.
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