Balloon Fiesta

Well... we had one of those rare, magical days. Although the forecast was for cloudy, we had plenty of blue sky between the clouds to let the sun shine in. Click on the pictures for a full-size view.

Our friend Debbie had invited us over to her backyard, which is only a mile or so from the balloon field, for easy access balloon watching. As it turned out, the winds were out of the south and sent all the balloons towards Bernalillo. So after checking the TV at Debbie's, we abandoned her (she needed to pack for her trip to Pagosa Springs anyway) and headed north through Corrales.

On the north edge of the village we began to intersect the stream of balloons going slightly west of north from the take-off field. We noticed a likely side road heading east but were past it too quickly. Being forewarned, we took the next turn, which conveniently was a paved drive.

It was great--easy parking (at least for us early arrivals), pavement for easy wheelchair wheeling, and surrounded by what turned out to be excellent landing areas. The sky was filled with balloons, but soon one came bearing down on us. I began to think I should move the car. Instead it landed a short distance away. I had to stop shooting video to run over with Blake and add weight to the basket so the balloon wouldn't run into a fence. The kindly balloonists of the Fleur de Tucson even volunteered to take Frances for a ride :-)))

Soon after the pace quickened and we had balloons coming in one after another. They landed in the empty lot across the street, in the cornfield behind us, and, most sought after, the large patch of open green lawn up the road. We took zillions of photos and will have more to come... but first a nap!