About 5:30am, they send up the Dawn Patrol. This is a group of 10-12 balloons who go up to "get an early idea of wind speeds and directions at different altitudes."
It was suggested we arrive early, so we got there about 4:30am. And it was COLD! We had tickets to the Gondola Club, where they had a hot breakfast buffet under a tent and round tables set up on the lawn. But at that time, everyone was huddled around the patio space heaters or lining up for hot coffee & cocoa. Breakfast was a feast but it got cold in minutes.
Then the opening ceremony begins with a flyover.
And then we walked onto the field while the balloons were inflating and preparing for liftoff.
Notice the lady in the striped costume, above picture, bottom left -- she's a volunteer who assists with the launch and clears the area around the balloon of people. They're called Zebras!
Being on the field was like walking in a big city of skyscrapers, only they were colorful balloons. It was MAGICAL!
Despite the cold, everyone was excited and happy. It was a unique corporate experience. Usually in a crowd like that there's jostling and general grumpiness but we were all like little kids, full of joy.
The whole morning was just breathtaking.
I hope you enjoy scrolling through my photos of this magnificent event.
In one of our conversations with a pilot, he said it's so quiet up there, you can hear people talking in another balloon.
The sky brightened as the sun rose and filled with hundreds of colorful balloons.
Jesus' ascension happened over 2000 years ago, so that's not what we're looking at here :) This balloon is actually from Brazil and is a replica of the famous "Christ the Redeemer" statue in Rio de Janeiro.
But it's nice to imagine He was blessing the fiesta!
We were so fortunate - the weather was perfect that weekend. We heard the weekend before it wasn't and the balloons couldn't take off.
I know this is a lot of pictures, but I couldn't choose!
I have one more set of balloon pix to share (the evening glow of this group; it's gorgeous!). But first, click where it says "older post" or (here) and see pictures from one of our side trips - "The Very Large Array."
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