Hot Air Balloon Festival, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Was it worth getting up at 3:00 AM?  You bet.
Was it worth standing in a field in 40 degree weather, freezing? You bet.

It's hard to find words for this event.  All I can say is we spent four hours, fortunately in gradually warming temperatures, watching the launch of about 300 colorful balloons, some of them in the shape of whimsical animals.  This blip was taken about 4:30 AM.  They called it the Dawn Patrol.  About a dozen balloons took off in the dark and then lit up as they flew.  About an hour later the Mass Ascension of the Nations began.   The balloons just seemed to rise up from nowhere like ornaments.  They were beautiful.

I put a few in Extras, one of my favorites being the penguin which flew the Union Jack from its gondola.  I'm not sure the significance of the penguin.  Maybe somebody from across the pond may have a theory. 

We left Albuquerque and headed for Taos, New Mexico, where we decided to spend the night since we've had two early morning days and need some down time.  We'll start out in the morning at a reasonable time and head in the general direction of Bloomington, Indiana.  We should be there by Friday evening, even accounting for making detours to things that catch our interest.