Mom Betty comes to Albuquerque for the Balloon Fiesta

We had so much fun.

It was all worth the effort of getting up at 4:30 AM and being stuck in traffic for 2 hours to get to the Balloon Fiesta park. Most license plates on cars were from other states.

Darth vader balloon was the biggest attraction. See the storm troopers and other Star Wars characters guarding it.

First day of event at Mass Ascention. My mother-in-law came for a visit

Nimo Balloon. It was all worth the pain of getting up at 4:30 AM and driving in traffic for 2 hours to get to the Balloon Fiesta park. The event attracts so many out of staters.
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a world-renowned attraction and destination for kids of all ages. For more than three decades, the first week in October brings the smell of roasting chiles and the beautiful, magical moving picture show of hot air balloons sailing silently through the crisp fall air. Guests from all over the world come to Albuquerque to celebrate ballooning.

From the invention of the hot air balloon in 1783 with a launch of a rooster, pick and a duck, it has ballooned today to a mass spectacle nine-day event drawing over 700 balloonists from 41 states and 19 countries and a crowd of 900,000. Starting on the first Sat in October, the event begins at 7:00 AM every day with a mass ascension with all balloons lifting off in under two hours. Imagine the colorful, magical spectacle in the clear skies!

The story started in 1972, as part of the celebration for the 50th anniversary of KOB Radio. The first ever festival gathered 13 balloons and 20,000 spectators. The next year in February, the first World Hot-Air Balloon Championship was hosted in the same location. The festival grew each year to the extent that it became the largest balloon festival in the world. The record was reached in 2000, when 1,019 balloons took part in the parade. There is now a 365-acre Balloon Fiesta Park.

Don't miss this special event next year! See the link on more history of hot air balloons
http://www.eballoon.org/history/history-of-ballooning.html