The morning we went to the launching of the balloons in Albuquerque, we decided to drive there instead of taking the bus.  Traffic was jam packed by 5:30 am and it took over an hour to get there.

On the way we could see the first few balloons that they send off to gauge the wind and conditions.  It was still dark, the moon and stars were out and the balloons were glowing as they rose in the sky.

By the time we parked and walked to the grounds, many were starting to fill and take off.

Some of the specialty balloons that we saw in the Evening Glow session that never left the ground were now taking flight.  Seeing that huge astronaut floating in the air was too fun.

The fields were full of balloons setting up and taking off and when they were up, more would come in and start their launch process to join the rest.

When they say police are everywhere – well, there was even a billy cop in the sky.

The colors were just breathtaking.

The number of balloons were more than I could have imagined.

So many smiles just looking at all of them.  I decided that while we might normally be overwhelmed with the crowds of people, the overriding emotion from everyone in attendance is just happiness in seeing all the balloons so it didn’t give any of the big crowd anxiety.

Where else can you see a blue whale and a large chicken hanging out together?

In the photo below, see if you can find: humpty dumpty, a cow, nemo, scarecrow and of course countless other gorgeous balloons.

I highly recommend going to this event if you ever get the chance.  It was awesome.

Love Sally