It’s always a good time to head to Albuquerque, New Mexico for Balloon Fiesta!

As I write this, the official countdown on the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 2015 website reads: 0 days, 23 hours, 12 minutes, and 12 seconds remaining before lift-off on October 3, 2015.  What an exciting time for balloonists, fiesta organizers, and lucky ticket holders who will be making their way to the launch field for this year’s 44th annual “most photographed” balloon event in the world.

A beautiful globe balloon hits the skies at Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta 2014.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our series on Balloon Fiesta based upon our four sessions we attended in 2014.  And although our two afternoon sessions were cancelled due to impending dangerous weather leaving us with no view of a Balloon Glow, we reveled in the colorful, awesome morning sessions we did see — the Special Shape Rodeo and Mass Ascension on the last day.

If you’re headed to Balloon Fiesta 2015 or any future fiestas, here are some tips that we wish we had known.  Most of them appear in tourist brochures readily available in hotel lobbies and in pages on the official website and make for “good to know” information.

• Dress in layers.  Early pre-dawn sessions begin with the Dawn Patrol firing up and launching into the darkness.  So if you’ve been on the field for a while waiting to capture that must-see event, you could be cold.  Jacket needed.  But once the sun comes up, you’ll be shedding those outer coverings quickly.  Get ready to peel!
• Bring seating if you want to be stationary.  Quilts on the ground, folding chairs, makeshift stools.  Doesn’t matter.  A limited number of picnic tables and benches are laid out at the edge of the field, but first-comers nab those quickly. You may want to bring your own resting place.  (Personal note:  We didn’t want to carry anything but our cameras, so we chose to stand most of the time.  But note to self:  If you want a chair, bring your own.)
• Think about food and drink before you leave home.  Yes, ample consumables are available on Main Street, even for early-morning coffee drinkers like us.  But in the excitement of it all, you may be dead center of hundreds of balloons far away from the
  

  Don’t be angry. Be prepared before you go!

  food vendors.  Pack your snacks with your other bring-alongs like jacket, camera, etc., and you’ll be ready for the long haul.

•  Examine the route and parking lot maps before you leave home or hotel.  The website contains excellent maps in the Guest Guide, so plan your route ahead of time.  Then watch the local TV stations for updates, especially on days of heavy traffic (e.g., Mass Ascension, Special Shape Rodeo, last day of fiesta, etc.).  Also, check the map for where to park if you have special needs.  If you qualify, you can get mighty close to the launch field just by finding the right parking spot.
• Check out other things to do.  Although we attended four sessions as General Admission folks, we found lots more categories and events on the website that we’ll look into if we return.  You may want to volunteer to help a crew, ride in a chase car, buy VIP tickets that offer food service while you view, or enter a competition such as the one featuring photos of various events.
• Attend more than one session.  With so many featured sessions — like Balloon
  

  Dawn Patrol — Balloon Fiesta 2014

  Glow, Dawn Patrol, Mass Ascension, etc., you’ll want to see several while you’re in the area. Not only that, inclement weather may shut down a launch, and you’ll be hoping you could be there for another shot at a successful lift-off.

• Be camera-ready.  First, be sure your camera batteries are charged and ready.  Second, bring more than one lens — you’ll want some all-encompassing shots of the mass ascensions but some close-up details, too.  For photo tips, be sure to check out the ones offered by Ken Slute on the website.  His posts cover camera settings, cropping advice, composition, and more.
• And our best advice — go early!  We can’t say this enough.  On our first morning, we left the hotel at 4:15 AM with time to spare when we arrived at the field.  But on the second morning, feeling secure with our route and knowledge of where to park, etc., we waited until 4:30.  Big mistake.  The last day of Balloon Fiesta is packed, and we missed Dawn Patrol while sitting in long, long lines of traffic.  So, be forewarned.  Leave early.

It’s up, up, and away at Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta 2014.

We hope these tips will help you maximize your enjoyment at Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta, but even if you don’t heed them all, we’re sure you’ll be simply amazed with the event anyway.  So, with that said, our best advice is HAVE  FUN.  Move around.  See all you can.  And take that obligatory balloon-coming-out-of-your-head shot.  Silliness is not only allowed, it’s encouraged.  Because we dare you to find anyone at Balloon Fiesta who isn’t smiling!

This giant galleon never made it into the skies last year, but it made for some fun shots at Balloon Fiesta 2014!

Best wishes for a great experience at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta!

Sincerely,

Bert and Rusha

For more information:

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 2015: http://www.balloonfiesta.com

Facebook:  Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 2015: https://www.facebook.com/balloonfiesta?fref=ts

Additional posts in the Oh, the Places We See series on Balloon Fiesta:

Best advice for Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta:  Go early.  Really early. 

Pulling strings to launch the big ones:  Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta

Yes, cows fly:  Special Shape Rodeo at Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta

Smiley faces all around at Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta

10 things to do if balloons don’t rise:  Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta

Early morning lift-off will leave you breathless!

We’re kicking off our series on the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta with pictures from the 2014 event and the best advice we can give you:  Get up at the crack of dawn (No — BEFORE the crack) and head to Balloon Fiesta Park early.  There’s an old saying:  You can’t soar with the eagles in the morning if you hoot with the owls at night.  And even if you’re young (which we’re not), a 4:00 AM alarm at home or in a hotel “comes atcha” pretty hard.  But you gotta do what you gotta do since seeing a morning balloon launch is nothing short of spectacular.

So much to take in during the wee hours of daybreak!

Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta (The 2015 event is October 3 – 11.) has grown from humble beginnings in a parking lot to the current location known as Balloon Fiesta Park, a 365-acre site.  The park includes a 78-acre launch field equivalent in size to 54 football fields!  With over 80,000 people driving the streets and interstates of Albuquerque, parking in vast lots, crowding onto Main Street for early morning coffee, and then staking out a spot on the field, you can kinda see what we mean when we say, “Go Early!”

Parking lots are packed even as early as 5:00 AM at Balloon Fiesta. Go early!

To be fair, here’s a plug for the folks who run this event.  From the volunteers to the bigwigs — this is one smooth operation!  TV announcers keep you informed of weather conditions and routes to take.  Street maps on the website point the way to Park & Ride locations (which open at 4:30 AM) or park yourself lots.  Specially reserved handicapped parking areas make accessibility a reality. And vendors, entertainers, and service people are up and at ’em with you, leading us to wonder just what time the people who make the coffee get there.  (Be sure to download Guest Guide 2015 for calendar, map, events, etc.)

Assembling on the launch field, spectators set out blankets, chairs, etc. Some, however, prefer the mobility of standing and moving in and among the balloons.

So, if you get up with the chickens, what’s the reward?  According to info on the web, “Balloon Fiesta, with 500+ balloons, is the largest ballooning event on earth, the most photographed event on earth, and the largest annual international event held in the United States.” Nothing to sneeze at, right?

Scenes like this are your reward for rising early and standing on Albuquerque’s launch field before dawn.

Speaking as first-timers who entered with plain ol’ general admission tickets last year, we felt the magic of the event immediately.  First, you stand with thousands on a huge field watching as trucks roll in and balloon teams unroll tarps on damp ground, filling their marked-off squares on the field with equipment.

Balloon enthusiasts are up early unrolling their balloons on tarps laid out on their designated spaces on the launch field.

Then, you hear the sounds of flames roaring upward as everything gets tested prior to use. And, if you’re lucky, someone who’s been there more often than you will explain the layout process, the mechanics of holding steady while huge fans force heated air inside colored nylon, and how warm air inside the balloons helps them soar through the morning coolness to points unknown. (We met several veterans of the fiesta who willingly shared their experiences over their morning cup o’ joe.)

Even routine tests of the equipment become special events to novices like us.

Your eyes adjust to the wee morning light, and you see the colors of the first balloons as the Dawn Patrol comes alive and takes off at 6:00 AM in darkness.

Floating skyward in the darkness, two of the early risers light up the sky.

Everywhere, people snap pictures, point in one direction and then another, and shout as teams lift off.  Launches can take time, but once balloons are up, they’re gone.  So you have to take pics quickly.  And it’s hard to keep track of which balloons are in what stage of the launching process.  You follow the colors, the herd-like movement of spectators, and the hurrays of the crowd at the joy of being in the midst of “the most photographed event on earth.”

Balloons are lined up and filled with warm air in the early morning darkness.

One of the first to lift off last year — the Fiji balloon of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.

And then you just stand in awe as balloons and their riders leave the field, floating out of sight as they appear smaller and smaller in the distance.

Balloons float up and away, silhouetted in the morning sky.

So, look at your map the night before.  Lay out layers of clothes to brace the chilly, early morning air only to be peeled off when day breaks.  Pack up your camera, bottled water and snacks, if you wish.  Roll up a blanket if you want to sit on the sidelines and watch the skies fill with color.  And, by all means, set your alarm.  You HAVE TO get up early!

The reward for rising early? Beautiful lighted balloons against gray morning skies.

For more information:

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta website

2015 Guest Guide with Schedule of Events, maps, admission, parking tips

2014 Photo Contest winners with great pictures of the Dawn Patrol

Boomer Travel:  You’re in luck, if you’re headed to Balloon Fiesta!

• Seniors over 62 enjoy reduced pre-event admission of $10 (Regular admission is $12.)
• Handicap parking on a hard surface is available close to the launch field for the same parking fee as regular lots.  The event posts the availability of a limited number of scooters and wheelchairs.

Be aware, however, that the park is enormous.  Distances from the parking lot, down main street, and from one end of the field to the other can be challenging.

Twitter:  Follow @balloonfiesta for photos, updates and info related to this year’s event!

Facebook:  Several sites for Balloon Fiesta 2015 are on Facebook.