The special shapes balloons are so much fun to see that they deserve their own post. Many of them were flying during the first two days I was at the fiesta.
My 3rd Day at the Fiesta Field
The Special Shapes Rodeo was scheduled for Thursday, October 12. Sadly, the balloons couldn’t fly because of high winds. Luckily for everyone it was safe for the balloons to inflate on the field and set up for a static display. There were many spectators walking through the field getting up close to these creative balloons.
Kelli and I had a great time walking through the field of balloons. We stopped to watch Kermie the Frog inflate. There were families and children looking up in awe at the the giant Frog. While I was capturing the activity of the crew setting up the balloon Kelli was busy handing out Evil Twin balloon trading cards to the kids.
Kelli also did some pin trading with some of the balloon teams while I was busy taking pictures.
After we had seen most of the balloons we headed for the vendors area to grab a bite to eat. I enjoyed my first ever Green Chile Hamburger – Yum! We wandered through the Artisan’s tent and then stopped to watch the chainsaw carvers at work. A dazzle of Zebra’s caught up with us for a final photo.
Attending the 51st Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is an event I will never forget. The balloons were spectacular and everyone I met was friendly, helpful, smiling, and having fun. I also enjoyed spending time with my brother Joe and his wife Kelli when we weren’t at the fiesta. We caught up on family stuff and enjoyed some amazing New Mexico cuisine meals together. Thanks Joe and Kelli!
I recently returned from the 51st Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. The theme this year was “A View from Above”. This was my first time at the fiesta and the theme for me was “A View from Below” because I chose to stay on the ground and look at the balloons above me and all around me.
More than 550 hot air balloon pilots and their crews gathered in Albuquerque, New Mexico from October 7 – 15, 2023 for this year’s event. For nine days balloon crews, volunteers and spectators got up in the middle of the night to be at the Fiesta Park before 6:00 a.m. I was one of the many spectators there to take part in this magical event.
My brother Joe and his wife Kelli were wonderful hosts while I was there. They live in the Albuquerque area and have been involved with the Fiesta since the 1990’s. Joe volunteers as a Launch Director each year and his wife is a balloon pilot. They are part owners of the Evil Twin Balloon with their friends Don and Connie. I chose a photo of their balloon as my header photo.
My first Day at the Balloon Fiesta
We woke up each day about 3:40 a.m. and left the house around 4:15. Joe had early morning Launch Director meetings and Kelli had pilot briefings.
Tuesday, October 10 was my first day attending the Fiesta. While Joe and Kelli were at their meetings I started the day by meeting the Evil Twin Balloon crew and being wowed by the glow of the Dawn Patrol balloons. What at great way to start the day!
Once the balloon crews started preparing their balloons for flight the field was filled with activity. As I walked around in search of my brother Joe there was so much going on I didn’t know where to look. Balloons were being inflated on the ground as others were launching into the sky. It was sensory overload as the clear blue sky filled with colorful balloons of many shapes and sizes.
Trying to keep up with a Launch Director
The launch directors are called Zebras because of their black and white striped shirts. Their job is to make sure the balloons take off safely. Once I found my brother Joe I had a hard time keeping up with him as he ran around the field giving the pilots the go ahead to launch their balloon.
I turned around to capture my brother Joe at work but when I saw him standing with his hand over his heart I knew they were playing the National Anthem even though I couldn’t hear it.
I was exhausted and my feet hurt at the end of the day but WOW! This day ranked right up there near the top of my list of memorable events in my life.
My second day: Working as a member of a chase crew
Wednesday morning we were up early and ready for another beautiful day of ballooning. I spent the morning working as part of the chase crew for the Evil Twin Balloon. Many thanks to Kelli, Don, Connie, Kelly and the rest of the crew for showing me what to do and allowing me to be part of the team.
Kelli and Don, the two pilots of the Evil Twin
Don was piloting the balloon that day. I started out by helping take the balloon out of it’s storage bag while Don and some of the others prepared the basket to be connected to the balloon. I watched as they inflated the balloon by blowing air from a powerful fan into the balloon. I captured a couple of shots of the inside of the balloon as it was being inflated. Don had two passengers that day.
When everything was ready and the launch director gave Don the ok to launch the Evil Twin was up in the air. The chase crew piled into the van to follow the balloon to wherever it landed. Kelli was driving the van and was in radio contact with Don. We were soon at their landing site. We helped get the balloon back into it’s bag, loaded everything into the trailer and were soon back at the Fiesta Park for a celebration and a group photo.
It was another WOW day at the Fiesta! I had a great time being part of the Evil Twin chase crew!
Coming soon! More fun and adventures at the Albuquerque International. Balloon Fiesta.
For this challenge our guest host Janet from This, That and the Other Thing.has asked us to “share photos of something you normally overlook or something you think other people would overlook.”
It’s not the Destination, It’s the Journey
Ralph Waldo Emerson
During all our years of wandering Henry and I have traveled the back roads to discover places that many travelers overlook. When planning a road trip we try to find interesting and fun things to do in between our major destinations. We’ve discovered delightful small towns and during our camping days went miles out of our way to camp in a campground with a beautiful view.
In 2009 we made an RV trip that took us through Iowa. There were two places on our Bucket List in Iowa that I’m sure many travelers overlook. Both of the destinations had movie themes.
The first was the Field of Dreams Movie Site near Dyersville, Iowa where the movie with the same name was filmed. It was magical being there standing in the cornfield, walking around the bases, and imagining Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other ball players coming out of the cornfield to play baseball. I posted more about our visit here.
Field of Dreams Movie Site in Dyersville, IowaIt was easy to imagine the players coming out of the corn to play ball
We were traveling in our RV and couldn’t find an RV park close to Dyersville. I searched all around the area before I found a Corps of Engineers park on the Mississippi River in Petosi, Wisconsin across the river from Iowa. We love camping close to bodies of water so it was perfect for us. If we hadn’t wanted to see the Field of Dreams we would have never discovered the Good Old Potosi Brewery or the Grotto we passed as we drove from the campground to the Field of Dreams.
Good Old Potosi BeerGrotto in Dickeyville, Wisconsin
Our second Iowa destination was the town of Winterset. Not only is Winterset the setting for the movie “Bridges of Madison County” but it is also the birthplace of John Wayne.
We didn’t have as much trouble finding a place to stay there. We stayed in our first ever city campground and we loved it. We set up the camper, put our payment in an envelope, and dropped the envelope in a drop box. The park was nice and the location was perfect for exploring the covered bridges and John Wayne’s birthplace.
Roseman Covered Bridge, Madison County, IowaJohn Wayne’s birthplace in Winterset, Iowa
Flash forward to 2013 when we took our RV to Alaska from Georgia. We loved every place we went but our favorite place was Haines, a small waterfront town. The view from our campsite was spectacular, the people in Haines were friendly, the scenery and wildlife were amazing, and we loved the laid back atmosphere there. Where else can you visit the Hammer Museum and eat fresh Dungeness Crabs straight from the boat?
To reach Haines by road travelers drive south on the long, scenic Haines Highway from the Yukon Territory in Canada before entering Alaska. Most RV’ers we met had been to Skagway but overlooked Haines because of the driving distance between the two towns. We opted to take the one hour trip by Alaska Ferry from Skagway to Haines. I’ll be forever grateful to the guy from Anchorage who was camped next to us in Skagway and suggested we look into the Ferry. We were sad to leave Haines but enjoyed the beautiful scenery as we drove north on the Haines Highway to continue our Alaska adventure.
This is the view from our campground in HainesWe saw many Bald Eagles while in Haines. This one was at Chilcoot Lake State Park, Haines, AK
Sometimes in our travels we like to go for scenic drives and if we see a gravel road that looks interesting, we’ll drive on the road just to see where it goes. We stumbled upon this view of the Crazy Horse Monument when we took a turn on a gravel road in Custer State Park in South Dakota
View of Crazy Horse Monument from the top of the Coolidge Overlook in Custer State Park
We’ve discovered many more overlooked destinations in our travels. There are many great places along the way if you can just take the time to look around.
We fell in love with Alaska nine years ago when we traveled from Georgia to Alaska and back towing our fifth wheel trailer. We’ve been wanting to return to the Last Frontier ever since.
Our wish finally came true at the end of August this year. This time we flew to Anchorage, took a tour bus to Seward and boarded the Viking Orion for a 10 day cruise ending in Vancouver. We returned to a few places we had visited by RV and saw some amazing new places. The scenery was stunning and there were many wildlife sightings.
These are just a few highlights of our journey.
Turnagain Arm between Seward and AnchorageBrown Bear at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center on the SewardHighwayin Portage, AlaskaSeward, AlaskaLeaving ValdezHubbard Glacier, Yakatat BayHumpback Whales bubble net feeding – Icy Strait Point, AlaskaMendenhall Glacier, JuneauCoastal Brown Bear, HainesSea Otter Cub on Mama’s stomach – Sitka, AlaskaBald Eagle – Sitka, AlaskaBlack Bear in Eagle Creek – KetchikanInside Passage somewhere between Ketchikan, Alaska and Vancouver, British Columbia
John from Journeys with JohnBo has challenged us to focus on our journeys and the modes of transportation that got us there.
I am grateful for all the many places that planes, trains, automobiles, trucks, ships, boats, ferries, and buses have taken me. I have been fortunate to see most of the United States, several Canadian provinces, parts of Mexico, several European countries and several Caribbean countries.
For this challenge, I am focusing on our two journeys to Alaska. Our first visit to Alaska was in 2013 when we traveled from Georgia to Alaska and back towing our fifth wheel. Henry drove the truck 14,454 miles during our 106 days on the road.
We just returned from our long awaited second trip to Alaska. This time we flew to Anchorage and rode a bus to Seward to board the cruise ship Viking Orion for a 10 day cruise to Vancouver. We traveled in luxury and saw several new places we couldn’t visit by road.
Below you can see the two major modes of transportation from our two different Alaska journeys. Both journeys were spectacular with amazing landscapes and lots of wildlife.
While our truck was our main mode of transportation on our first Alaska adventure, we had to take a couple of ferries to get where we wanted to go.
We took the truck and RV on the Alaska Ferry from Skagway to HainesThis small ferry took us from Dawson City, Yukon, across the Yukon River to the Top of the World Highway
There were places our truck couldn’t take us so we took a plane ride and landed on a glacier, took a ride on the Alaska Railroad, and took three amazing wildlife cruises.
This year, after two cancellations, we finally were able to take our Alaska cruise the end of August. Our journey involved planes, moving sidewalks in the airports, a beautiful ship, an Uber, sightseeing buses, a tender ride, two wildlife cruises, and lots of walking. It was wonderful seeing Alaska from the water. We really enjoyed returning to places we loved the first time as well as seeing places that were new to us.
Stay tuned for more from our latest Alaska adventure!
Wandering Dawgs 