albuquerque balloon festival

My dad used to live in Albuquerque suburbs. Rio Rancho, to be exact. Albuquerque is in a valley with the Rio Grande river running through it. Rio Rancho is located up the hills next to the city. As the balloons inflate and float away, they go right over Rio Rancho and are so close to you that you feel you can reach up and touch them. Soooo cool! Just saying, it's a great vantage point for watching the festival.

Stu

Thanks, that was some of the info I was interested in and now have a place to a little research...I am often not into being "in the thick of things" as tourist herding can be not fun for me. Sounds like I might not be able to get a reservation anyway...I will definitely look into the rio rancho idea as well.

Check out the Reno Balloon Races, just ended, Sept 9-11, a.truly awesome event. A friend posted pics on Instagram, he is called pentexshooter. Over 100 balloons. Google for more information. Combine with a trip to Las Vegas next year!

I would love to Bungee jump, but with a bad knee and back, golf is about as exciting as I get now. I have jumped out of a plane three times as a younger man, the last time at 12,500 feet. That was a hoot and I highly recommend it.

The harnesses used for my jumps were similar to a parachute harness, except the bungee cords attached to the front of your body instead of your back. It's a 2-piece harness - the top half wraps around your upper chest and shoulders while the bottom half wraps around your waist and upper thighs. The 2 pieces clip together in the middle of your chest, and that's where the cords are attached.

A bungee jumping cord is actually a bundle of cords. For the company that provided my jumps, a standard bundle was 4 cords if you weighed 200 pounds or less. If you weighed between 200 and 250, it was a 5 cord bundle. If you weighed more than 250, you couldn't jump. I actually had one of the four cords break during one of my jumps. That is fairly common, and the reason for the multiple cord bundles.

They had ankle harnesses available, but they were recommended only for experienced jumpers. It is fairly easy to be in an unfavorable position in relation to the cords when the free fall ends and the cord stretching starts. The 2-piece torso harness spreads that initial shock over most of your body while an ankle harness would impact your legs. That's fine if you do a decent swan dive off of the platform, but if you get sideways or downside up, it will whip you around pretty good.

My first jump was one of the most terrifying moments of my life. I had a fear of falling. Not a fear of heights, but I used to have nightmares about falling. When the balloon reached a safe jumping altitude, the pilot told me to climb over the edge of the basket, stand on the jumping platform (which was not much larger than a car license plate), and do a swan dive toward the ground. On the platform, my legs were moving like a pair of sewing machines. I was too scared to concentrate on doing a swan dive. I just fell forward. 110 feet later, I was a quarter turn past a swan dive and the cords grabbed me. I got whipped around, got a cord burn on the side of my face (keep your face away from the cords), went full cord extension, and then came the recoil. You bounce back toward the balloon. That upward ascent is pure weightlessness. That is a feeling that can't really be described. You bounce again, and the second bounce is often longer than the first because the cords haven't had time to fully contract - they are stretched and you stretch them even further.

I fell a long way and I didn't die! I wanted to do that again! I couldn't jump again for a couple weeks - by the time second jumps would have been available that day, wind grounded the balloon. I went back, determined to do a perfect swan dive, and I did. I wanted air time. I wanted to jump before the balloon reached altitude. Let me fly! Winds that morning were calm enough to allow for second jumps, and if you wanted, you could do a double-length jump. Woohoo! I wanted a 220-foot free fall, and the accompanying recoils. I did that and loved it! During my second recoil, I got within about 6 feet from the bottom of the balloon basket...I wanted to catch it!

After the first jump, my fear of falling disappeared. No more nightmares. I experienced first hand that confronting your fears head on will help you defeat them.

There are many places near the fiesta park, in which to sit and picnic, and enjoy the balloons. As for sitting on a hill, well, you might be able to get an elevated spot. I can tell you where I have watched for the last few years (pm me.) I also suggest getting some breakfast burritos with green chile, a staple, and just now being roasted, as Fall approaches. Yes, it is cold in the mornings. The weather can sometimes be fickle, but, I think the forecast is for a good fiesta, this year. Also, of note, is what is called the Albuquerque Box. The mountains are situated such that a pilot can take off from a designated spot, and actually land in the place of take off. Very cool, when it is working.

Dawn patrol goes up early, and determines if the balloons will ascend (usually around 7:00a, or so.) It's awesome!

Come, spend some of those Las Vegas winnings in the Land Of Enchantment. There are many other things to see and do, during the afternoons when the fiesta is in town.