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By
Jay Heinrichs
ut a thousand giant, brightly colored hot air balloons in the
same place on a perfect October morning, have them rise all at once
into New Mexico's impossibly blue sky, and you have one of the man-made
wonders of the world. This is why, at some point in your life, you
have to get to Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta.
The annual nine-day
event has come a long way since the first Fiesta in 1972, when a
guy named Sid Cutter helped organize a balloon festival to celebrate
local radio station KOB-AM's 50 years on the air. About a dozen
balloons showed up and were launched from a shopping mall parking
lot in town. The next year 138 balloons were entered, representing
13 countries, and in 1978, Albuquerque played host to the world's
largest ballooning event with 273 participants. At this year's Fiesta,
which runs October 7 to 15, organizers expect an even thousand.
Here's what
to do if you join the party: The first morning you're there, show
up before 5:30 a.m. If the weather is right, and it usually is,
a half-dozen balloons will ascend in the dark at 5:45. The balloons'
propane burners light up the envelopes, and the pilots are in contact
with each other, so they glow all at once, blinking slowly like
synchronized, groggy fireflies.
Then wander
out among the still-awakening balloons, laid out flat on giant tarps.
When the propane starts pumping into hundreds of them at once, the
sound is deafening—an additional thrill for kids. Their baskets,
made of wicker or aluminum, drag along the ground until the hot
air takes over and they join a sky littered with balloons of every
possible color and shape—Humpty Dumpty, a string of chili peppers,
shoes, a can of Pepsi, even Jesus Christ.
In the afternoon,
take to the sky: Arrange your own balloon ascent through Rainbow
Ryders or enjoy a ride on the world's longest tramway, which soars
to the top of Sandia Ridge. The ridge offers a dizzying geological
explanation of why the Fiesta is the world's largest. The Rio Grande
Valley and the surrounding Sandia Mountains create a unique wind
pattern known as the Albuquerque Box. The mountains both protect
balloon ascents from overzealous winds and cause breezes to simultaneously
blow in different directions at various altitudes, enabling pilots
to "steer" their balloons by rising or descending. Some skilled
pilots can even maneuver right back to where they started—a
feat that almost makes the contraptions look like practical transportation.
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If you're going . . .
More than 750,000 people are expected to attend this year's
Balloon Fiesta. If you wish to be among the many, you
can book flights through the AAA Travel Agency by calling
(800) 272-2155. For lodging ideas, pick up a copy of
AAA's Arizona/New Mexico TourBook. AAA also offers
an Albuquerque/Santa Fe CitiMap.
Tickets
to the Balloon Fiesta cost $4 at the gate; the event
is free for children 12 and under. Five-event ticket
packs are available for $15 through mid-September by
calling (888) 422-7277. These tickets can be used for
all Balloon Fiesta 2000 events and can be shared.
Rainbow
Ryders offers balloon rides for $175 to $210 per person.
Rides cost $142 per person the rest
of the year. (800) 725-2477.
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In the evening,
if your balloonacy is not yet deflated, you can return to the fairgrounds
for special races and balloon glows, when the light from 300 to
500 tethered balloons fills the night sky. At the special shape
mass ascension, themed balloons, such as a polar bear, reclining
chair, and stagecoach, gather. The balloons maneuver and occasionally
bump, a phenomenon that balloonists call "kissing" and that makes
the wide-eyed groundlings who stare up at the speckled sky the most
fortunate of voyeurs.
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