Balloon Fiesta October 5-9, 2011
Here is a link to Album 1 of photos, here is a link to Album 2 of photos.
Wednesday, October 5th – I got up at 4 a.m. today and got dressed. It then began to rain and lightening and thunder. I called Scott the pilot I was crewing for to see if he was going to fly today. He checked the weather report and said that the storm will not blow over by the time they need to inflate so he is cancelling today due to the weather. It turns out that the entire balloon event was cancelled. I put my pajamas back on and went back to sleep.
I called Ellen, a gal I had met that lives nearby, about 9 a.m. She came to get me about 11 a.m. And we went and had lunch, then I went to her house and took a shower and did a load of laundry. It was good to have both of those things taken care of since it was about a week ago that they were done. I then came back to my camper and just relaxed which was good since I had been up at 4 a.m. Since Saturday and then I was working my volunteer shift until 7 p.m. I was able to go to sleep early and just rest, it felt good.
Thursday, October 6th– I got up at 4 a.m. and went to the balloon field to see if the balloons were going to launch today and if I would be needed for the crew. The winds were really strong today, and no one was granted permission to fly. However, since it is Special Shapes Day, the special shape balloons that wanted to inflate were given permission to do so, but they could not launch. Many special shapes did inflate, but shortly after they were inflated and upright, the winds got stronger and they brought the balloons down quickly. I then got some lunch and went back to the camper to take a nap before working this afternoon.
Snoopy and Friends
Penguin on Vacation
There were fireworks again tonight. There have been fireworks several nights and they are absolutely spectacular! Many of the fireworks I have never seen before. They are different shapes, and also multi-colored. Every night of fireworks is a different show.
Humpty Dumpty
Friday, October 7th – It was really cold this morning, I think it was about 38 degrees and drizzly. I wore 5 layers of clothes and I got to be at the pilots briefing again this morning like the previous mornings. It’s really interesting to be a part of this entire event. Today was another special shapes day and since it was cold and rainy, not many balloons inflated. I did work at the balloon discovery center in the afternoon and also in the morning since there was not anything else to do.
Saturday, October 8th– It was really cold again this morning, about 40 degrees. I wore 5 layers of clothes again and bought a pair of gloves since my hands were cold. Scott was able to inflate and launch his balloon today and I know he was glad since he and the other pilots were not able to fly for the last 3 days due to the weather and rain. Scott said that he lives in the foothills of the Sandia mountain range and that he had ice on his truck window this morning. We could see the mountain from the balloon park and when it got light out we could see that beginning about 1/3 of the way up the mountain to the top that there was snow on the mountain. In fact, one of the NM ski areas, I think it was called Wolf Creek had their first day of skiing today, they had 36 inch base of snow.
Snow on Sandia Mountain Range
After the balloon launched, I went to the balloon discovery center again and worked until 11 a.m., then went and got lunch and went back to my camper for a nap. Then I worked again in the afternoon and early evening, and watched the fireworks from my camper. It’s hard to believe that tomorrow morning the balloon fiesta will be over. It’s been so much fun and I have learned so much about ballooning. I’ve also made some nice friends and we hope to do this again next year. Scott said that if I come back I can be on his crew again. In the morning, Scott and Keralyn gave me a dream catcher with blue and white beads, the color of his balloon and they thanked me for helping them. I thanked them for the gift, but told them I am the one thankful that they let me help and also gave me 2 rides in the balloon.
Sunday, October 9th – I got up at 4 a.m. for the last time. It’s going to be strange to be able to sleep until I wake up without an alarm clock. I put on my 5 layers of clothes since it was about 40 degrees this morning and still damp. I met Scott and the crew at his truck, went to pilots briefing, then we inflated and Scott launched. I then went to work at the balloon discovery center again, and I watched the balloons launch as I walked and then even when I was working, we all took breaks to watch the launching and seeing the balloons floating in the sky. It seems there are always different balloons that we didn’t notice before. More special shapes also launched. 
About 10:30 a.m., when all the spectators were out of the tent, the volunteers began to take all the displays, signs, etc. down and we packed them into the POD so they would be ready for next year. We said our goodbyes, and went our separate ways.
I found a food vendor that still had some food and I bought some to have for lunch, dinner, and breakfast. I went back to my camper and took a nap and just relaxed.
Being at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta was a wonderful experience, one that I have wanted to be at for many, many years. I’m hoping I can come back again.
I posted more photos in the photo gallery, I made a 2nd album with balloon photos. I had updated it on Tuesday afternoon, but then on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday I took some more pictures, especially of the special shapes, so I thought you might want to see some of them. Mary and Denny the volunteers who worked the balloon discovery center at the same time I was were camped about a row away from me in the RV Park. They also crewed for a balloon piloted by a lady named Debbie. They were at the south end of the balloon field, and I was at the north end. We exchanged photos that we took since we got lots of different ones being at opposite ends of the fields. Some of the balloon pictures we got were the same, but many were different. With 500 balloons on the field it was almost impossible for us each to get all of them. It was nice to be able to share photos and also our experiences of having our first balloon crew and flight experience.
