We had a wonderful time visiting Albuquerque with our friends Kurt and Diane. Seven months ago we splurged and bought 3-night's VIP tickets for the 42nd Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. With the help of Sharon and Dave who introduced us to Fred and Fran, who just so happened to be RV greeters at the Fiesta, we had the high ground overlooking the launching area and the view was the best in the park. Thank you Sharon for hooking us up with Fred and Fran.
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| Fred and Fran Hammer - Fran showing off her "gift" for volunteering |
Did you know this is the world's largest ballooning event? This year they had 548 balloon teams, 106 special shapes, 280 pilots competed in flying competitions and 32 countries were represented.
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| Glowdeo |
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| The lunar eclipse made the Fiesta even more special |
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| View from our VIP RV site |
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| The pictures will only give you a sneak preview of just how overwhelming it was |
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| One of the many special shapes - isn't it beautiful? |
Yes, we were awake at 5:45 for dawn patrol, the 6:30 morning glow and the 7:00 mass ascension. We saw the special shape Glowdeo at dusk and the fireworks show we were able to watch sitting outside our coach.
We visited the Balloon Museum and saw exhibits ranging from the first successful flying machine to the largest flying ships. We saw balloons that crossed the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, that went around the world, that flew into the stratosphere and crossed the English Channel. Amazing!
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| Having fun at the Balloon Museum |
We visited Old Town and Madrid (Madrid is where they filmed Wild Hogs - so we watched the movie the night before).
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| Remember Maggie's Diner in the movie? |
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| Fun place to eat |
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| Mine Shaft Tavern - the bar is made from lodge poles and it was originally a stand up bar for the miners because they were stooped in the mines all day |
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| Sitting on old tractor seats just outside Tinker Town Museum |
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| Tinker Town Museum - some of the miniature sets were once displayed at Knottsberry Farm in CA |
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| Musicians playing on the green |
Because we spent time in Tijeras, I have to mention "The Singing Road". The National Geographic Channel along with the NMDOT installed metal plates under the pavement that play "America the Beautiful" for motorists on a stretch of Route 66. You can see and hear a video of the Singing Road by clicking here:
America the Beautiful
Thanks for stopping in.
Your picture of the balloons in the air is really incredible. We also went to Madrid and then we had to buy the movie so we could see what they did to the town.
ReplyDeleteGotta love having too much fun, Maggies was boarded up when we were then.
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