Mass Ascension is a Must See!

Sunday, 10/6, dawned clear with perfect weather for the balloonists. Dawn Patrol lifted off a little after 6am. Rog and I took chairs and our coffee and claimed a spot on an unused access road on the north side of the launch field. It gave us some elevation and a perfect view of all the action. What we missed in being up close and personal on the field, was more than made up for by being able to see wave after wave of huge, colorful balloons inflate and launch. Mass Ascension is not to be missed!! 

Dawn Patrol ascends.

You light up my life! Lol.

Mass Ascension in underway!

So pretty!

Directly overhead. 

Make of the symbolism what you will. Lol.

Still more going up!

Individually and en masse, the launch is fun to watch.

Our favorite Fractals again.

Big Dog in the air with lots of company!

The locally famous three Honey Bee balloons always launch together.
 They've been part of the Fiesta for decades.

The field is starting to clear, just a few more waiting to launch.

One of the reasons that Albuquerque is such an ideal location for the Balloon Fiesta is a wind pattern known as the Albuquerque Box. Essentially, air currents at higher elevations blow north and at lower elevations blow south. Typically, a hot air balloon ride is a one-way ticket. Chase vehicles track the balloon and when they descend, everything gets packed and trucked back to the starting point. The Albuquerque Box enables many lucky balloonists to start and end their flight right on the launch field! It also allows those adventurous souls to fly down the Rio Grande river channel and "dip and dash" - descend and touchdown on the river and then quickly ascend. They have to be quick or it could turn into a "dip and dunk". Lol.  

Dip and Dash in the Rio Grande.

Sunday was a perfect example of the box in action. The balloons rose from the field and then headed north over our RV lot (yay!) and then after a few miles they descended enough to catch the winds blowing south and returned, again right over our RV lot, and executed a perfect landing back on the launch field.

Watching the balloons catch the box and return to the launch field.

Coming down!

Lots more returning to the field.

One of my favorite shots.
Gorgeous colors and a beautiful day!

We spent all morning in awe. What an incredible sight, hundreds of beautiful balloons in the air at once. We did a whole lot of oooohhing and aaaahhing and look at that one over here and did you see that one over there. Lol. The specials were so much fun. Here is just a sample. What's your favorite???

Such a fantastic show! Balloonatic or not, this is definitely worth adding to your bucket list. I wish you were here to share the experience, because one thing I can promise you is that pictures just don’t do it justice. Regardless, you are going to be seeing a lot more of them! 😊