2011 Trip across the US
2012 Trip across the US
2014 Trip across the US
2015 Trip to Alaska
2015-16 Southwest Trip
2016 New England Trip
2016 - 17 Southwest Trip
2017 - 18 Trip to Pick Up a New Escape 21 Trailer & More
Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - The Balloon Fiesta Campground, Albuquerque, NM, Day 3, 0 Miles, 5,222.6 Miles for the Trip
We got to sleep in a bit, hitting the bus shuttle stop at 5:30AM, late compared to yesterday. We boarded the school bus heading into the campground, and made the loop around the whole thing. We have been very lucky. Our sites are near the registration tent, which I thought was at the center of the campground. Nope - there is at least 3/4 more campground after it. This place is huge! I hope it is large enough that when we ask for an extension tomorrow morning (the earliest they would let us ask) we can get one. There has been a long line of trailers entering the campground all day, but it still looks like there are plenty of spaces. One empty is next to Don & Anne, which is much appreciated. The Class B that was parked there had the loudest built in RV generator I've ever heard, and he ran it almost all the time allowed. The other good thing is we are in a pair of small sites in which most of the arrivals wouldn't fit.
While it was cold & windy, there was no rain this morning. They didn't do the Glow, and the only balloon that inflated before 9:00 was the American Flag one, and they left as soon as inflated. A very fast takeoff.
Around 9:00 the green flag went up and slowly the balloons inflated. Again, it was quite windy. Any inflated balloon that had to hang around waiting for the launch directors to give them permission to launch were rocking quite a bit. A few inflated, then deflated rather than flying. I made a couple of videos of the early launches, starting here: Movie 1.
I also took the usual bunch of photographs:
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| A n Unusual Chase Vehicle | Raising the Flag | Lots of Wind | International Day Launch |
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| Morning Launches | |||
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| Morning Launches | These Two Images Were Taken 16 Seconds Apart - Lots of Wind | ||
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| Morning Launches | The Boot Fought Hard, But Never Made it Completely Vertical | ||
After a quick breakfast burrito at 12:00, we headed to the Balloon Museum. $4.00 for Seniors over 65. Unfortunately, I didn't catch that part of the price list and paid $6.00 - the out-of-state charge. I don't mind the donation. An interesting place. I took a few photos, but much of the exhibits consisted of written information. Check out the photo of the Los Angeles Air Ship when hit by strong tail winds on a tall anchor. Almost completely vertical!
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Don & Anne went looking for a place for showers while I spent some time with Tim Pruitt from Action RV who had a booth set up next to our sites. I have to put in a plug for them - he spent over an hour looking for a 200 amp replacement fuse for my inverter, then, when his suppliers couldn't come up with one, phoned all over Albuquerque looking for a source. He found one at the NAPA distribution center and gave me directions to get there. One of the best RV shops I've dealt with. They are in Bosque Farms, NM at 505 294 1654. If you need something for RVing, I recommend them! If Don & Anne get back in time, we will grill a pork loin, otherwise it is going to be another restaurant meal!
Well they got back in plenty of time, so it was pork loin, mashed potatoes & apple sauce.
Until Tomorrow -
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Last Update:
October 11, 2018