4CU 004 : 2011 Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta!

[Ken J]

We do have a couple of cancellations if anyone still wants to join us.......

Ken J.

[Ken J]

You will be awaked in the morning why the wooshing sound of the first balloons up before sunrise and various aircraft circling the field – look out your window and see the bright colors of a few balloons in the dark sky that go up before the mass ascension to check out the conditions prior to launch. You may want to tune your AM radio to 770 to hear all the coverage. Prior to launch you will see many balloons glowing with their vibrant colors during the early morning balloon glow. When the ground crews get the all clear message walk over to the field where you will be right next to 100’s of balloons inflating and taking off into the sky – don’t forger to bring your camera - after a little while the sky will be littered by every imaginable shape and size balloon. Of course you really don’t even have to leave your trailer as the balloons will most likely come right over you. Watch for the bee’s, the cow the scary face and many many more.

Once the balloons are gone – its time to walk over to the many vendors and check out their wares – have one of New Mexicos famous breakfast burrito’s – yum yum – if you feel like it you can walk over to the chain saw carving at the north end of the field, or on Sunday check out the cool cars at the car show on the field - by this time it is mid to late morning and time to come back to your trailer to relax a bit – read the paper that is delivered to your trailer each morning, go check out the sites of Albuquerque, ride the tram, go for a drive – have a nice lunch – take a nap or just hang and visit with your neighbor and talk for hours about Airstreams and road trips.

In the afternoon, you will have plenty of time to take a stroll or do a nice bike ride on the bike path that goes right by our front door and goes all over the city – you can pretty much get anywhere by bike right from Balloon Fiesta park.

Four o’clock its time for our famous FCU gathering – bring food, drink and a friend or two and hang out with us – bring food for yourself or to share with others – bring your dinner and have dinner with us if you like.

As the day comes to a close and the sky darkens – the balloons will light up again for a balloon glow – many balloons will be on the ground lighting up in a spectacular display of colors.

Then its time for fireworks! This is one of the best displays you will see – be sure to watch for a surprise at the west end of the field as the display wraps up.

After fireworks its time to come back to camp and sit around the (propane) campfire and tell all kinds of true and untrue stories. At some point you will want to retire – or not – maybe even stay up all night and just look at the New Mexico sky, sit back and think about what a day it has been – but wait – tomorrow you get to do it all over again!

[azflycaster]

One of our favorite events is the America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race Launch. This year 8 teams will be taking off on Saturday evening to see which team can go the furthest. They will be up for several days and you can follow them online. They will be filling the balloons all afternoon that day and hopefully the weather will cooperate for that evenings launch.

The zebras are great too!

[Gene]

A question about which direction the Airstreams are parked. With the popularity of front beds, the best views of the field are from the rear dinette. Others with rear beds would probably want to have the front face the field. I suppose some would rather watch from bed.

So, do we have a choice which direction our trailers are parked?

Gene

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

..So, do we have a choice which direction our trailers are parked?...

No hookups. There is an alignment that you have to conform to, roughly north-south, with most [old] trailers facing north (facing: as in, the end with the tongue). But you could easily "face" the other way, which in the case of the rear-end models, would be "butt" the other way.

Zep

[Ken J]

Not sure what you mean Roger - all units must pull in facing north - which on trailers is tongue to the north - motorhomes windshild to the north.

Ken J.

[Bluto]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

A question about which direction the Airstreams are parked. With the popularity of front beds, the best views of the field are from the rear dinette. Others with rear beds would probably want to have the front face the field. I suppose some would rather watch from bed.

So, do we have a choice which direction our trailers are parked?

Gene

This being my first time to the Fiesta, and having a front bedroom model, I thought about the same question you asked above, but then came to the conclusion that most likely I'll be outside sitting in a lounge chair anyway and having my coffee out there.
I understand the TV's are parked around the back of the trailers too. So grabbing a chair and sitting outside seems to be the way to go.

[Ken J]

Yupper

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by Ken J

Not sure what you mean Roger - all units must pull in facing north - which on trailers is tongue to the north - motorhomes windshild to the north.

I knew you'd correct me if I was wrong. It just seemed to me that since there is an allley between each row, that you could pull in either way, since you'd fit into your allowed rectangle no matter whether you were facing north or south. I didn't think about the awnings... and privacy.

Speaking of which, at Burning Man we parked parallel, but opposite direction so we could be awning to awning, which made for great little party venues.

I will now shut up and go back to coloring.
R/Z

[Gene]

Originally Posted by Ken J

Not sure what you mean Roger - all units must pull in facing north - which on trailers is tongue to the north - motorhomes windshild to the north.

Ken J.

Bummer.

If tow vehicles are parked on south side, seems the parking is backwards.

I don't plan to be outside all the time. There are going to be a bunch of rowdies, drinkers, crazies, New Mexicans, trailer trash, scorpions, black widows, bugs and coyotes (some howling and painted turquoise) out there.

Gene

[Alumaholic]

You will be drawn outside like a moth to the flame.
There is so much going on from dawn to well after dark,
You'll find yourself outside all the time.
Though you can see the field from our parking area, you really can't see much from inside the trailer, front or rear.
Balloons float upward and out of sight of those trying to watch from inside.

Have a safe trip down from Crawford.

[Ken J]

Yup - we will be amazed at the way we get everyone and parked and settle quickly - with over a hundred units coming in at once, we can't have everyone saying they want to park this way or that way - the parking folks have been very strict on this policy - you will see only one trailer turned around, and the only one we allow, but we are doing that as a central place for packet pickup etc for the convenience of the organizing committee.

No scorpions, black widows, bugs or coyotes - the rest I'm not sure about....

Ken J.

[azflycaster]

Originally Posted by Ken J

No scorpions, black widows, bugs or coyotes - the rest I'm not sure about....

Ken J.

But we will have some other creatures...

[Phoenix]

Hope the weather in the evening cooperates a little more this year. We didn't get to see any ballon glows last year, except for one night, for about 15 minutes. Lots of lightning, though, for a different kind of fireworks.

By the way, special thanks to Richard and the 4CU for last year. This was the first Airstream group we had camped with, and the whole event was well-organized. You will have the closest location to the balloon field, easy access and lots of vintage models to tour.

Sorry, we had other commitments this year; but we can't wait to do this again. What a great event -- Enjoy!

[SilverPal]

I feel next to our fantastic organizer, KEN, the Parking Staff is the hardest working group on the Field! You will be amazed at how well they handle our shiny sea of silver...which is why we like to thank them every year with the potluck.

Every seat in the house is a good seat, especially when the winds bring the balloons directly over our heads. Be prepared for a great time. Looking forward to seeing some familiar mugs, and meeting some new ones! Safe travels everyone!

ps - WBCCI name tags are helpful, but not mandatory!

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by Alumaholic

Though you can see the field from our parking area, you really can't see much from inside the trailer, front or rear.
Balloons float upward and out of sight of those trying to watch from inside.

Well, duh, why didn't I think of this? You are absolutely right!

Zep

[Charlie M]

1. Generator Jan & My Mrs 2. Morning Activity 3. Look who dropped in for morning coffee.

[Gene]

Now I'll have to lie in bed all day looking up through the fan instead of slumped over the dinette table with a mirror to see through that fan. I thought it would be nice to look out the front window and see when it is time to go outside, but I like the stay-in-bed all day option.

Gene

[azflycaster]

Thanks for the kind words.

Jan and I do what we can to help out, but the real thanks go to Ken and his group that put this together every year.

Ken has raised the bar this year with 100 trailers. We stated this in 2007 with a couple of dozen and we were parked behind the Balloon Museum. It just gets better every year. This was our group in 2007.

Originally Posted by Phoenix

Hope the weather in the evening cooperates a little more this year. We didn't get to see any ballon glows last year, except for one night, for about 15 minutes. Lots of lightning, though, for a different kind of fireworks.

By the way, special thanks to Richard and the 4CU for last year. This was the first Airstream group we had camped with, and the whole event was well-organized. You will have the closest location to the balloon field, easy access and lots of vintage models to tour.

Sorry, we had other commitments this year; but we can't wait to do this again. What a great event -- Enjoy!

[Charlie M]

Two days later and 500 miles to the north, Ft Collins, CO - 15 deg & snow