Balloon Fiesta 2015

Despite the threat of rain, Albuquerque's hot air balloon festival was a "go".

We got to the field about 5:45 am, which is officially still the middle of the night, my time.

Dawn Patrol was delayed a few minutes by light sprinkles, but that was the last we saw of morning rain.

We did a bit of shopping, and Addy got her face painted,

while we waited for dawn and the main events -

Inflation and

mass ascension of the balloons.

Once the balloons started inflating,

Addy was so excited she could barely focus.

She took pictures of everything.

None of us had any room to talk though -

Rachel and I were both using two cameras;

our cellphone and our "real" camera.

There were a lot more special shapes ballloons than I remember from previous Fiesta's.

I'm not sure if today was mainly for them,

or if that's what professional balloonists are focusing on now.

Not knocking it though - they are a lot of fun to watch.

We were heading off the balloon field by 8 am, and after a short nap, took Addy to the ABQ Zoo,

where she told us amazing animal facts and added to her stuffie collection (a harbor seal and a Tasmanian devil).

The evening events, both balloon ascension and fireworks, were washed out by rain,

but the forecast for the rest of the weekend is sunny skies and warmer temps. So stand by for more balloon pics!