Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta USA

“Around 7 am, the majesty of the ascension began. As the whistles blew, and the crowd stepped back, one by one they began to ascend. It was a breathtaking sight. Once we figured out which way the wind was taking them, we would stand in a place where they would fly directly over us. Or we would stand back and watch a group of 5 or 10 all take off in just a few minutes. This was occurring all over the park simultaneously. Each time a balloon left planet Earth, the crowd would cheer loudly and the folks in the baskets would pump their fists in approval.”

“It was now about 5am, dawn still was far off, but there was electricity in the air. The smell of food, and coffee was in the air. The merchandise tent vendors were jumping with activity. After chowing down on tasty breakfast burritos, we looked out on a pitch-black field and saw, well, nothing. [...] About 10 minutes later we saw the first flash of a flame, A BALLOON!!!!!! Like kids on Christmas Day, we trekked over (with a few hundred of our new closest friends) and watched as the first balloon was being prepared.”

“Wait!!! Another blast of flame from a propane torch, then another, then another. At about this time we could see the first peeks of daylight coming above the hills. Excitement and anticipation were building, there was a palpable electric feeling in the air. Soon the scout balloons were inflated, and when they would turn on the propane torches to keep the hot air flowing into the balloons, the glow provided was awesomely beautiful.”