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a group of hot air balloons in the sky

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

Oct 4th - Oct 8th (4 days)

We reserved on-site rally-style camping for about five days during the Balloon Fiesta. It was an excellent choice because the field was just a short walk away. Driving and finding parking would have made it even more challenging since it's already hard to wake up early to see the balloons launch.

Unfortunately, the weather forecast for the week predicted rain every day. The balloons can't get wet, so they tend to be cautious when launching. Despite this, we were fortunate to experience a few good weather days. We made sure to go out every chance we got, hoping we would get lucky and witness the balloons launch!"

a group of hot air balloons in the sky

On most days, the hot air balloons from the nearby field take off and fly high in the sky. However, sometimes they face difficulty maintaining their altitude and come dangerously close to fences and buildings. In previous years, the balloons were often carried by the wind directly over the RV parking area. While none of them came too close to the RVs, they did occasionally land close by.

a hot air balloon in the skya group of hot air balloons in the skya hot air balloon in the skya group of hot air balloonsa hot air balloon in the skya group of hot air balloons in the sky
a person in the air with a parachutea large balloon shaped like a beara large crowd of people at a faira group of hot air balloons in the air
a colorful hot air balloona colorful hot air balloon
a group of people standing next to a group of hot air balloonsa group of hot air balloonsa group of people standing next to a road with hot air balloonsa group of hot air balloonsa group of people in a field with hot air balloonsa group of people walking with hot air balloonsa group of hot air balloons in the skya large group of people at a festivala group of people inflatable hot air balloonsa group of people at a festival

It's hard to describe how many balloons were on the field simultaneously. Even on the fun shapes days, more normal balloons were launching than I'd ever seen at other rallies.

Everyone waiting for the OK to start inflating
a person standing in front of a group of hot air balloons
a hot air balloon in the aira group of people standing under a tent with a large balloon
a group of people watching a bonfirea person on a stage with a crowd watchinga group of hot air balloons at nighta large balloon with a facea crowd of people with a large white and yellow object in the middle

During the hot air balloon festival, they had this "Glow" event where balloons would stay on the ground, but their flames would light up, creating a mesmerizing sight. The thing is, the weather was not always on our side, and it tried to rain every night, but we still managed to catch a few balloons lighting up in the limited time we had. And, let me tell you, those early morning flights were quite an experience, although they were a bit challenging for me as they took off before the sun was up - not my preferred time of day. Nonetheless, we were lucky enough to witness a few balloons taking off together during these early hours, and the only way to see them was when they turned on the flames, illuminating the balloons.

a group of colorful lanterns
a large hot air balloon in the sky with a crowd of people
people with umbrellas in the raina large sign with lights
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