Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

Once a year, my city hosts the International Balloon Fiesta.  It's an event that started back in 1972 in a parking lot with only thirteen hot air balloons.  Over the years, the event has grown in size and popularity.  The balloon fiesta now has over 500 balloons!  Balloonists and spectators travel from all parts of the world to participate in this unique event.  This year marks the 42nd annual balloon fiesta and I can tell you it never gets old!  It's such a treat to look up unto the sky and see this every morning for a whole week!

You have to be up early in the morning to see it though.  Balloons inflate and are heated with hot air first thing in the morning when temperatures are cool.  At dawn, the balloons lift off and the hot air inside the envelope lifts the balloon up into the sky.  If the wind and weather are just right, sometimes balloons drift right over my house!

The balloons glide gracefully and silently and it's amazing how high they sometimes go!  If the balloons drift close to the ground, you can see the pilot in the gondola and hear the pilot occasionally using the huge burners to heat the air inside the balloon.   The balloons come in every color, but the really popular balloons are the special shapes.

astronaut balloon

deep sea diver

beaver balloon

humming bird

zebra and angry bird balloons

bees and an angel balloon

There are even more special shapes, like the Elvis balloon, a cow, a stagecoach, and more!