Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

The second weekend in October, we traveled to Albuquerque to see the famous International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. Katarina's godmother Cathy and her family hosted us at their home. We appreciated their hospitality, and the girls loved their Halloween decorations, their menagerie of pets, and the chance to play with Cathy's nephew and baby niece.

We arrived late Friday night and had to get up early on Saturday morning to head to the Balloon Fiesta grounds. We didn't try to catch the Morning Glow at dawn, but we were glad to be there for the Mass Ascension. The balloons have to launch first thing in the morning because once the sun is above 30 degrees from the horizon, the sun's heat creates unpredictable air currents.

Soon after our arrival, we were separated and couldn't find each other. There were too many people around for our cell phones to work, and even though we all stayed near the butterfly balloon, we were unable to locate each other in the crowd.

Once most of the balloons either launched or deflated, and the crowd thinned, we were finally able to meet up again.

The Sandia Mountain Range provides a beautiful backdrop for the festival.

Before leaving the fair grounds, the kids climbed aboard the official fiesta fire truck!

That afternoon the kids were sick from exhaustion, so we just napped and cheered on the Irish. On Sunday, we again woke up early to see the hot air balloons. This time, we didn't head to the crowded fiesta grounds, but instead watched the flying balloons from a few different parks around town.

We headed back to Cathy's house, as the wind was blowing the balloons in that direction, and discovered that the Sleeping Mexican balloon had landed in the arroyo behind Cathy's back yard!

The Sundog Ballooning crew welcomed us to their landing party (We even beat their chase crew!) and allowed us all to climb inside the gondola before they deflated the balloon.

Then we helped them beat the air out of the balloon and stuff it inside a huge sack.

They asked us to sign their number, so they could remember who arrived at the landing of their very first Balloon Fiesta.

After the balloon was put away, the pilot told the story of the invention of the hot air balloon, which culminated in a champagne toast. As a memento, they gave us the cork shaped into a hot air balloon.

After all that excitement, we went to church.

Goodbye, Cathy! Thanks for a great weekend.