My First Fiesta



 

2015 the weather canceled the day I went. 2021 I was in Red River and enjoyed it on TV. So, finally in 2022 on the 50th anniversary of the first one I was primed to go to what I am calling my “first” balloon fiesta. Ticket in hand, and a very early wakeup call I drove down and joined the masses waiting anxiously to get in. Once in it was just a matter of waiting and hoping that the weather would cooperate and make the day worthwhile.

 Once settled into what I hoped would be a good spot on the lawn, I patiently waited. The weather was very good this morning             so I was optimistic that the day would go smoothly. Thankfully, from my first time here there was new entertainment in the form of a drone show. It was very well put together from spelling out the Fiesta logo, to showing off the famous Albuquerque box, and touching on all things New Mexico. It was a great small show, but then the anticipation of what was ahead began. When suddenly in a pitch-black field the glow of the flames came out of nowhere it was time for Dawn Patrol. The only way to describe that was beautiful. To see all these different balloons each with their own unique pattern glowing in the dark sky makes waking up that early totally worth it. 

After what was a stunning dawn patrol once again, we anxiously waited and were elated to hear that the flag was green, and mass ascension was going to happen. At this point the sun had begun to rise and I found myself surrounded by balloons in all directions cold inflating so, what better time than to start walking around to see all the unique envelopes. You know the funny thing is you go in with an idea of what mass ascension is going to look like, then you quickly realize how wrong you are. It was almost overwhelming because you see the sky flooded with balloons of all different sizes, colors all around you in the sky. Words and photos don’t do it justice even though the number of photos I took attempted that.

After so many balloons had already gone up, I thought there was no way it could get better than that, once again I was wrong. Suddenly special shape balloons started inflating, and the sheer size of some of these was a sight on its own, then they took to the sky. I was even lucky enough to get to see Airbelle the Creamland Cow get inflated, but not fly. After a few jaw dropping hours the day’s events came to a close and it was time to decompress from the morning that was. This was a day that was worth missing out on a few years prior and watching it on TV last year only made seeing it in person much more worthwhile. 

So, the ultimate question, would I do this again? I live in New Mexico so it’s not necessarily a bucket list item anymore, but I think at the end of the day the answer would be yes. Yes, I get to see hot air balloons almost every day, but there is something to be said of the sheer volume that goes in the air daily here. Now, the one thing I will say is I will have no issue also enjoying from home going forward as well. But if you live here it needs to be experienced at least once, and if you have been thinking about making the trip, I recommend doing it and experiencing it once. 

To see photos of my adventures follow me on Instagram @the_nm_tx or tag me using #thenmtx
To support some adventures and see exclusive content check out www.patreon.com/thenmtx


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