Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta - Morning Ascension - October 8th

Another bright and early morning for the Balloon Crowd.

Another morning for me to have the king-size bed all to myself. Yipee!!!!

The day was clearer. As the sun gently awoke in the east, snow blanketed the mountains, and the clouds framed the sky.  It was a glorious Saturday morning. The field was full of activity - people walking around, balloons inflating, the Star Spangled Banner sung as the first balloon ascended proudly flying the American flag. It was a beautiful sight to behold.



Now that the Space Shuttle is grounded, NASA is tasked with a traveling show for public relations and educational purposes.



Just in case it rains again, the Storm Troopers are on standby.

Auntie Debra is a balloon supporter.

Auntie Debra & Uncle Carlos snuggle to keep warm.

Airabelle, the cow, is still sleeping.

This is "Udderly Ridiculous".

"Does anyone really know what time it is?"
This is Tic Toc from Brazil.

"Does anyone really care?"
This is what Tic Toc looks like on the flip side.

And for our Georgia Tech fans, here's Yellow Jacket from Brazil.



Sh-h-h,  Hiding "In Plain Sight".
This is Lindy from St. Louis, MO.



"Fish are our friends . . ."

". . . not Food!"
This is Tu-Balloon from Brazil.

Pencel Boy (Reno, NV) may be coming to the Havasu Balloon Fest!



The team starts to lay out the Wells Fargo Stagecoach.

If Uncle Carlos doesn't move - he's gonna get smashed.

Almost up.

WOW!!!! Look at the size of this balloon! 

The home of the Stagecoach is Albuquerque. NM.



Here's the Wells Fargo Stagecoach, the Select 55 (w/ Gary Moore), and Carousel (Orchard Lakes, MI).




Buzz-z-z-z-z-ing the friendly skies of Albuquerque.



The balloon on the left is Joey from Ireland. The balloon are the right is Lilly Little Bee from Jeffersonville, VT.

A kissing moment. How sweet.



Do you think this Joey looks like me?



Here's a better photo of the Baby Bee - Joelly.



Yellow Jacket meets Stinky from Brazil.



Daddy hanging out in front of the Select 55 balloon.



"Good Morning Sunshine . . ." This is Lady Sun from France.





May the clouds smile on your day.  This cloud is a friend of Lady Sun.



Look into these eyes and you may be hypnotized.  This is Super FMG from Canada.

Matrioshka, from Dakota Dunes, SD, is peeking around the red balloon to see what's going on at the Media tent.

Jannik was able to connect with a friend from his hometown in Germany.  This is Lena. She's also a foreign exchange student living with a host family in Colorado Springs, CO.



Betty Jean (from Peoria, AZ) has eyes for Mr. Basketball (from Brazil).  It sure seems like there are a lot of balloons from Brazil.



Looking up into the "belly of the beast".

Sugar Bear from East Leroy, MI becomes a part of the crowd.

"
"Spyderpig, Spyderpig - Doing What a Spyderpig Does . . ."
Spyderpig lives in Albuquerque, NM.

The is Mr. Pump.   Someone in the crowd hollered, "Here Piggy, Piggy, Piggy."  He quickly responded with, "They call me MR. PIG!!!!"   Mr. Pump is from Brazil..

What's a helicopter doing up there? This is a balloon only zone.

Mr. Z from Albuquerque, NM smiles on all the festivities.

To top off the morning's events were the Navy Seals flying the American Flag.
It was a proud, patriotic moment.

At the Balloon Fiesta, there are two main events. The "Morning Ascension" and the "Night Glow." Rain cancelled out the "Night Glow" on Friday night, but there will be one tonight. So it looks like lunch.  Everyone came back to the hotel to play with me.




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