One thing about the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta...the Morning Sessions start early !
The first Park & Ride Shuttles are at 4:30am, and I recommend that you be on it.
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Photo by Mark W. Laughlin
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The other thing...dress warmly. The early October mornings in Albuquerque can be chilly. The wind chill on Sat 5-Oct was about 33 deg F (1 deg C) !
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Photo by Mark W. Laughlin
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We arrived on the wide, open field a few minutes after 5am. At that hour, crews from some of the 580 (580 !!) registered balloon teams were busy scurrying around in the pitch dark, positioning and starting to set up their equipment.
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Photo by Mark W. Laughlin
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The only light out there is the occasional headlight from a vehicle, or maybe my flash. We had to stop sharply to avoid stepping on one of the Dawn Patrol balloons.
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Photo by Mark W. Laughlin
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But the big hit of the pre-dawn show was the "burner warm-up's"...they definitely get your attention.
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Photo by Mark W. Laughlin
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As the sky began to brighten lust a little, we could see the line of 15 or so Dawn Patrol balloons beginning to inflate.
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Photo by Mark W. Laughlin
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A properly warmed burner shoots out a 2-3m long blue-white flame, jetting hot exhaust gases up into the balloon. Hot air wants to rise, and so that lifts the balloon...
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Photo by Mark W. Laughlin
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But the whole point of the Pre-Dawn Show is that the flame makes for a cool site as it lights up the balloon from inside.
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Photo by Mark W. Laughlin
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And so the balloonists retard the air-flow to the burner just a little, turning the flame a brighter orange, really lighting up the balloons, here right on cue, all together.
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Photo by Mark W. Laughlin
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By the way, notice all the people ? They said that on weekends, they get attendance of 100,000+. From other photos I will show, I would not be surprised at all if they exceeded that number on Saturday, and on Sunday !
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Photo by Mark W. Laughlin
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And finally, the group takes off. One of the points of doing the Dawn Patrol is checking out the weather and the winds aloft, so 500+ balloons following about an hour later will have better intel about conditions.
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Photo by Mark W. Laughlin
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Of course, flying in the pre-dawn sky requires certain safety devices...
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Photo by Mark W. Laughlin
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...and up they go.
Look up a balloon festival some place near you,
or better yet, start making plans for October 2014,
when Albuquerque will be at it again.
As my dear wife said several times,
"It's Awesome !"
Have fun,
- Mark W. Laughlin
Next...
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Photo by Mark W. Laughlin
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...I'll show you what happens when the sun comes up !!
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Annually, in October, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
http://www.balloonfiesta.com/
Hot Air Balloon Festivals around the World !!
Look one up near you...
http://www.hotairballoon.com/showall.taf
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Photo by Mark W. Laughlin
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