Vacay Day 2 - Mass Ascension

The rest of our vacation was spent at the 2014 Spirit of the Winds Albuquerque International Balloon Festa. This should be on everyone’s bucket list. It was so incredible.

Saturday we attended the Morning Session which consisted of:

5:45 AM – Dawn Patrol Show

6:30 AM – Opening Ceremonies

6:45 AM – Mass Ascension

7:00 AM - AIBF Chainsaw Carving Invitational

We were up at 3:45 to catch our school bus to the Balloon Fiesta Park but it was so worth it! WE were going to attend the Evening session, but after we got back to our hotel and woke up from our nap (!) we didn’t feel like going.  I personally felt like I had been hit by a truck. So we decided to just chillin the hot Tub and go out to dinner at Pappadeaux! This turned out to be a great decision, because the weather was too crazy for the balloons to blow up that evening.

Dawn Patrol  -  “The Dawn Patrol began at Balloon Fiesta in 1978, when two California balloonists developed position lighting systems that allowed them to fly at night. Dawn Patrol pilots take off in the dark and fly until it is light enough to see landing sites. Fellow balloonists appreciate the Dawn Patrol because they can watch the balloons and get an early idea of wind speeds and directions at different altitudes. On mass ascension days, about a dozen Dawn Patrol balloons perform the Dawn Patrol Show, a choreographed inflation and launch set to music that has been part of the Balloon Fiesta since 1996.”

4am is EARLY!

Ride on the Magic School Bus!

Mass Ascension – “Mass Ascensions, a launch of all the participating balloons have been a feature of Balloon Fiesta since its earliest days and is the most spectacular display of sound and color in all of aviation. During mass ascensions, balloons launch in two waves. Launch directors, also known as zebras because of their black-and-white-striped outfits, serve as traffic cops, coordinating the launch so balloons leave the field in a safe and coordinated manner. Weather permitting, balloons begin to launch at about 7:00 AM on mass ascension days, led by a balloon flying the American flag to the strains of The Star Spangled Banner.”