Albuquerque Baloon Fiesta! (Pics)

Very neat!  Although, those things scare the **** outta me.  Id rather sky dive than get in one of those (and I dont necessarily wanna do that either! lol)... I dunno.   Would love to see it all tho!

At certain times of the year, we have a lot of hot air balloons (nothing like Albuquerque, though) flying over from Napa. I think you can arrange to take rides - not sure how much it is.  I'm with you, Amy. I'd be scared witless to go up in one of those things.  I'd be afraid one of those dang Santa Ana winds would come up and I'd wind up coming down someplace in South Dakota. []

Joyce

Xebby - file this under the "It's a Small World" files -- I sent the link to a friend of mine ... literally a guy I grew up with (his parents and mine were best friends and my Dad is 83 so does that tell you??) -- in fact, Jimmy was MUCH younger than I was and we have had a blast getting re-acquainted on the computer 30 odd years after the last time I saw him (when we were both way too old to be hanging around with parents LOL). 
 
Jimmy and his wife are balloon enthusiasts and have a gorgeous dog, so I figgered he'd get a grin out of seeing the board's reaction to the balloons so I sent him the link.  I know they go all over but AZ is a LONG way from where Jim and Patti live (and balloons aren't the fast way to travel *grin*).  Just got an email back from him and they haven't been there in recent years but HAVE been there -- and ... *grin* -- THEY KNOW THE GUY IN THE ALPO BALLOON!!!
 
Of all the balloonists I know he knows, we both got a chuckle out of that -- now we've just gotta convinced a GOOD dog food company to get a balloon!!!  Like -- Canidae might be a tad long *grin*
 
So ... small world, huh??? 

I seen one in Arizona about ten yrs ago when my mother lived there , it was a sight to see . there where Hot Air Balloons all over the place .different colors ,sizes ,and shapes .love to go to another one .
 

I remember 2 piggy banks.  A pink one and a yellow one?
 
Was the ballon that looked like a lab with 2 puppies there?   Polar bear?  Harley?  It's been years since I've been. 
 
If you get a chance, you really need to go the Arabian horse show.  It used to be there every other year.  Go on one of the nights they are doing the native costumes.  Seems like it was always a week (or two) after the ballon fiesta. 

ha ha, it's funny how "it's a small world"[]  What is the rule now, everyone knows everyone by a degree of 7... or somthing like that.  He knows a person who know that person who knows....[]  Events like these seem to connect people.

  If you get a chance, you really need to go the Arabian horse show. 

Wow, it's funny how I find out so much more about where I live for people who don't live here anymore.[]  That sounds like so much fun, I'll have to check into that and see when it is.

Once in a while my college will have guest scientist come in from out of town and they seem to know more about my state then most people living here do.  I guess if I ever left NM there would be a lot I would miss.  To think, I alway tell myself how much I want to move out of here.

Looks like they are in Loisville this year.  Maybe next year?
 
[linkhttp://www.arabianhorses.org/competitions/nationalevents/usnationals/2006/]http://www.arabianhorses.org/competitions/nationalevents/usnationals/2006/[/link]

Amanda, have you been to that amazing Christmas store in Old Town in Albuquerque?  Last time I was in ABQ I spent a whole afternoon in there with my SIL - buying *Christmassy* stuff in July. Then we went to another store where I got a blue wooden coyote with a bandanna around his neck and then had to figure out how to get him on the plane. []

Joyce

Wow, it's been years since I've been to old town.  I can remember the rattlesnake museum and the church in the middle of everything but that#%92s about it for my memory of that place.  Just thinking about it make me want to go. 
 
It's like my parents always say, they have never been on the Tramway yet when someone ask them a good place to visit in Albuquerque my parents tell them about the Tram.  I think for a gift someday I'm going to actually take them on it.

ORIGINAL: calliecritturs

Jimmy and his wife are balloon enthusiasts and have a gorgeous dog, so I figgered he'd get a grin out of seeing the board's reaction to the balloons so I sent him the link. I know they go all over but AZ is a LONG way from where Jim and Patti live (and balloons aren't the fast way to travel *grin*).

Repeat after me: NEW MEXICO NEW MEXICO NEW MEXICO

Arizona=Barry Goldwater, Republicans, saguaro cactus, oooollld doddery people driving really crazy in Phoenix.....

New Mexico=Bill Richardson (yay!), DEMOCRATS, Young and old folks, lots of red and green chile, and everyone driving really crazy!

When I came back from visiting my son in Albuquerque, people kept asking me how "Arizona" was. Grrrrrrrrrr. Arizona is okay, but we LOVE New Mexico!

AND ALASKA, of course! (but that's not ever confused with anywhere else....there are a whole other set of confusions about Alaska, LOL!)

Hey jeano do you have to have a passport to visit Alaska?[]
^I just love it when people ask me that when I go up there.

Yeah, for the 2000 elections the natonal news showed a map of the US and NM wasn't even draw in there, AZ connect with TX.  Then to add to the confusion I'm hispanc so when I say I'm from NM people just assume I speek spanish, ha.  I've even had people start speeking to me in spansh, I don't even know spanish.  This is NEW Mexico.  My family is not Mexican we have lived on this same plot of land before it bacame a state and when it did become a state we became Americans with it.  No I am not latino, I'm an American hispanic, for some reason it's hard to get people to understand that hispanics do come from America also.  Not that I have anything agenst any other race I just wish my own race was not confused with other.  My family is rather proud of their origin.

Sorry, I'm in a bit of a ranting mood today[]

Xebby, your ancestors were Spanish, rather than Mexican, I'm assuming. Folks, New Mexico was part of Spain before it was part of the US.

I'm surprised you don't speak Spanish. In NM you might as well. I bet you have picked up more Spanish than you realize....

The world's largest balloon fiesta will always be in New Mexico. It's not a festival the moves around. There are lots of other balloon rallies, though, so you don't have to go to NM to see balloons. There are even a couple the fly up here!

And I'm with all you scaredy cats. I don't want to fly in a balloon. Crew, yes, fly, no. Every year someone is killed on the power lines. I think Alaskan ballooners have to be REALLY nuts. There are nothing but TREES everywhere here, where the heck do they land? And imagine landing in some meadow that has berries...........and bears in it? YIKES! No thanks!

Yep, I'm of Spanish and Native American origin.  I do know some spanish, my grandparents speek it but I never bothered to learn, although I sometimes regret not learning.  anyway...
 
It's funny how scared people are to fly in a balloon.  I'll admit I was but once your in the basket you feel as safe as can be, almost like standing on solid ground.  We even did a "splash and dash" wher the basket does a littl tap on the river then goes back into the air.  I loved looking down and watching the dogs bark and all looking at all the geological feature.  The secound I was off the ground all fears were lost, besides there was no turning back after that point.  I would do it agen if I got the chance.

Wow! It's very interesting. I like balloons.