After we left Moab, we drove to Farmington, New Mexico with nothing particular in mind other than a place to stay before we could get a room in Albuquerque. It worked out well because we did some laundry, got caught up on the blog and just generally relaxed. We had no idea how much we would need it.
On Monday we arrived in Albuquerque and decided to check out how to get to the Fiesta field and the museum where we had scheduled a special event. All the people we spoke to said you need to leave your hotel early; like 3:45 a.m. early. The long lines of traffic getting into the field, the waiting lines to pay for parking, and even finding a good spot to watch after you got into the park made this crazy suggestion sound like good advice. After all, this event draws over 750,000 spectators to Albuquerque each year and somewhere between 800 and 1,000 balloonists. We were also advised to buy some inexpensive chairs because when you arrive that early you can’t stand until the first event starts at 6 a.m.
Dutifully we were sitting on the field, early with temperatures in the low to mid 50s and damp ground under our chairs. It didn’t matter that we each had four layers of clothes on, it was still cold and damp. The instructions were to go anywhere you like and if you are in the way, the balloonists will tell you to move. So we just picked a spot, got some hot coffee and donut holes and waited.
One by one the Dawn Patrol balloons started to come to life not too far from where we had set down our chairs. After these 7 balloons were inflated, they lifted off into the dim sky right over our heads and then circled the field.
Suddenly the field came alive with balloons all around us unfolding, filling with air, and testing flamers. In every direction there were balloons to see including a Smokey the Bear about 10 feet from our chairs. Then around 7:15 they all started to lift off in waves coming from every direction. The Coke balloon lifted off with the American flag flying at its base in the barely sunlit sky while the Star Spangled Banner was performed. Not sure if it was a wave a patriotism or just a chill but I know I reacted.
These are some of the balloons we saw:
Rows and rows of Balloons like this would inflate and then given the signal they were off 
Take notice how close we were to the balloons 
The sky just full of balloons no matter where you looked you saw balloons 
After about 300 or so balloons were in he sky they began a competition to test maneuvering skill requiring the pilot to drop what appeared to be a beanbag with a long tail onto two targets in the field as they flew over. There was an X and a triangle. A few of the more experienced pilots got pretty close to the ground while others seemed to be way too high. Then after dropping their beanbag, they would land down field which was also fun to watch. There people on the ground that have to grab the ropes to try to stop it, which I’m sure is harder than it looked. These balloons were really traveling fast even though they didn’t look it.
The 1st balloon in the “Fly In” competition 
more balloons as they are preparing to drop their beanbag markers 
Some balloons will get within a few feet of the ground 
Landing of a balloon 
Not the smoothest landing
Tomorrow is another early day, but not as early. The crowd is not as large as usual because of Covid and neither is the number of balloonists, which was great with us. But as Jim said several times today, more than two balloons seems like a lot to us.
Last balloon for the Fly In competition
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