If you thought my I-came-home-and-found-my-car-was-missing blog from San Diego was ridiculous, just wait until you get an earful (eyeful?) of this story!
I recently completed what is hands down the most magical item I’ve crossed off my 25 Things List yet: attending the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
As you may recall, my original goal was to attend the Duluth Hot Air Balloon Festival, which I did, and which was approximately 1,000% a bust. Afterward, it just didn’t feel right crossing it off my list and leaving it at that, so I decided to change the item to attending the fiesta in Albuquerque instead – and I am so grateful I did. This experience falls only after skydiving (pun intended) on the list of coolest things I’ve done.
If you haven’t yet, check out this short video I created to see the balloon fiesta in action!
My Aunt Denise and I woke up early on a Friday morning to head to the airport. When Kaysey and I came home from San Diego and discovered that my car was gone, Denise was the one who picked us up. At the time, she told me she normally drives her car to a park and ride location, and then takes the light rail in to the airport, so we decided to do that for this trip. It had been awhile since she’d done so, however, and when we arrived, there was a sign that clearly said, “No overnight parking,” which was unfortunate, because that’s exactly what we were going to do. Denise said it would be fine, so we took the risk and parked there anyway.
The flight to Albuquerque was smooth, and when we got close to the city, we were even able to see a handful of hot air balloons in the sky. It was a pretty cool start to our adventure!
We checked in to our AirBNB, which was lovely, and several Uber drivers told us that it was located in the safest part of Albuquerque. You can check it out here, and get $40 off your first trip here. Then we jetted off to the hot air balloon park, to find…nothing.
The fiesta is split up into two sessions each day, which we knew when we planned the trip. However, we didn’t quite fully comprehend what that meant. There is a morning session and an evening session, and you have to buy tickets for both sessions if you want to spend a full day at the fiesta. The event also has lots of vendors, food, and entertainment other than the hot air balloons themselves, so we figured that we could check those things out while we waited for the evening session to begin. We were wrong.
We arrived too late in the afternoon to make it to the morning session, and as it turns out, they close down the fiesta grounds in between sessions, so there was nothing on the field to check out. We had several hours to kill before the evening session began, so we decided to check out the Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, located on a hill above the balloon fiesta field.
It was pretty interesting! I’d recommend checking it out if you have some time to spare during the fiesta. They had a lot of history about hot air balloons and skydiving. I found out that in 1784, women were jumping from altitudes of 12,000 feet and returning to the earth via parachute as part of entertainment acts, which is pretty badass.
Since the fiesta grounds were closed, we visited the Sandia Peak Tramway after the museum, upon the recommendation of several Uber drivers. One driver told us that there would likely be a line a few hours long, but there was a restaurant you could wait in that had delicious margaritas. When Denise and I arrived, the line was absurdly long. We were told that it was a several hour wait, and as we watched the tram go up the mountain, we also learned that it was mostly standing room, and it was packed wall-to-wall with people, which sounded like an utterly terrible time, since the ride lasted around 20 minutes.
We decided to have a margarita and consider whether or not we wanted to go to the top of the peak – we’ve both visited Arizona multiple times, and done quite a bit of hiking and sightseeing there, so while it was not going to be the same view, we’d seen plenty of lovely desert views from the top of peaks before. As we waited in line to be seated at the restaurant, we heard that once you got to the top, it was about a three hour wait to get on the next tram and get back to the bottom, which meant that by the time we got in line to get tickets, got on the tram, and rode to the top, we’d have to immediately get in line to go back down if we wanted to make it in time to the balloon fiesta.
We decided to have two margaritas and blueberry cheesecake instead, which I think was a much better decision.
The only way I’d recommend doing the tram adventure is if you visited during an off week, in which the balloon fiesta wasn’t happening. There were way too many tourists looking for ways to kill time that were backing up the lines at the tram for it to even be an enjoyable experience. However, the restaurant at the bottom had the best margaritas I’ve ever had. The food was mediocre, but the cheesecake was heavenly and the margaritas were divine.
Night One Shenanigans
After enjoying our libations, we took another Uber back to the fiesta, where things were a little slow, but ramping up. We saw people seating themselves on the grassy areas around the park, and had no idea where the best spot was to go, so we sat as close as possible to one of the roads, thinking that we’d have a good seat to check out a balloon as it inflated.
What we did not realize was that whatever seat you choose ultimately means nothing – as soon as the balloons start going up, people begin walking around, and no one is sitting anymore. There’s no need to stake out a spot, as you’ll be moving around for most of the evening.
There was a moment where balloons appeared in the distance, and I got super excited, thinking This is it!!
It was not it. Not even close.
After awhile, the magic really started to begin.
It started with a Yoda balloon, which gently unfolded as the sun began to set. Across the path, a Darth Vader balloon was rising from the ground, and people began making jokes about crossing over to the dark side to check it out.
Friday evening’s event was the Special Shape Balloon rodeo, which meant all of the balloons were fun shapes. We got to see Tom and Jerry, which was a bit of a throwback.
We also got to see a group of penguins, all of which were different, but one which was definitely from Madagascar.
Smile and wave boys, smile and wave.
Before we knew it, the entire field was packed with hot air balloons – everywhere we looked, there was a hot air balloon set up against the backdrop of a fiery Albuquerque sunset. I was stunned by how beautiful it was.
After it grew dark and the balloons started to come down, Denise and I decided to head back to our AirBNB early – there would still be a laser show, skydiving show, and fireworks show that evening, but they would have those same events the following evening. Since we were pretty exhausted from our early flight and long day of travel, we decided that we didn’t need to see those shows twice, and would rather get extra sleep, as we’d be waking up early once again the next morning.
That’s when things got rocky.
An Uber Sketchy Situation
We’d been told several times that the Uber pick up spot was at the benches outside of the hot air balloon museum, which made sense, because there was ample room to wait, and it was right next to the road that took you out of the park. As we tried to find our way back up to the museum, two balloon fiesta staff told us the same information: that we needed to wait by the benches.
We got a little lost trying to get to the museum, so we asked a police officer for directions, and he told us the best way would be to cut across the field and hop a fence, which was the first time that a police officer has ever encouraged me to hop a fence. That sounded a little odd to me, but we followed his initial directions and headed back toward the balloon field. We ended up cutting across the backside of one of the rows of vendors to get back to the field.
Suddenly a lady holding a box emerged from the darkness and asked us if we wanted a Krispy Kreme. Never one to deny a Krispy Kreme from a stranger in an alley, I happily accepted.
(In reality the event is partially sponsored by Krispy Kreme, and they had to get rid of their excess donuts at the end of the day.)
We enjoyed our donuts and eventually found a sidewalk that led to the museum, without any fence-hopping necessary. We took a seat at the benches, and ordered an Uber – our first wait time was 7 minutes, which was super reasonable. But it did not take 7 minutes.
We waited for 45 minutes, and began to get antsy. It was getting chilly, as it can get pretty cold in the desert at night, and we were exhausted. I chalked up the wait time to the high amount of traffic trying to get out of the park, but eventually our Uber cancelled on us. We were assigned a new driver, and they too canceled on us. As we waited, drivers continued to cancel on us, which is when I began to feel a little stranded.
While we percolated a general feeling of unease in our situation, groups of people kept passing us on golf carts. We assumed they were taking attendees back to their cars in parking lots further up (which they were), but eventually one of them stopped on his way back toward the field.
“You girls have been waiting here awhile,” he said.
“Yeah,” I responded. “We’re just waiting for an Uber.”
“Oh,” he frowned. “This isn’t the Uber pickup spot. The Uber pickup spot is in a parking lot down the road; that’s where I’ve been taking people all night.”
I instantly felt simultaneously relieved and irritated – relieved because I felt like we’d get an Uber once we reached the parking lot, and irritated that so many staff at the event had told us to go to the wrong place. Shoutout to the balloon fiesta for not having its shit together when it comes to Ubers. We’ll give them a shoutout again later.
The guy in the golf cart offered to give us a ride to the Uber parking lot, and we flagged down another couple we’d spoken to, who were also waiting for an Uber. Once we got to the Uber lot, I attempted to call another Uber.
We continued to have the same experience – getting assigned a driver, waiting longer than the wait time originally stated, and getting canceled on. Eventually, we had one person send me a message, saying that the police had blocked off some roads, so it was going to take him longer, but he was going to try to take another route. I was pretty stoked that someone was finally committed to coming to get us!
But. A few minutes later, he called me, and told me that he was sorry, but he was told that the event would not be letting Ubers in for another hour, which meant he couldn’t come in to pick us up. That made me even angrier with the balloon fiesta organizers, but I asked him if there was anywhere nearby that I could walk to that he could pick us up at. He told me that there wasn’t anything close by, and he wasn’t sure how long it would take us to walk to the closest business, so I thanked him for trying, and Denise and I decided to stop trying to find an Uber, and start making a game plan. We both happened to have phones that were almost dying, so we needed to conserve our battery to be sure that we could eventually call an Uber and successfully get one.
We pulled up a map on my aunt’s phone, and saw that there was a gas station 2.5 miles away. So we decided to walk there in the dark, without having any idea as to what parts of Albuquerque we were in or about to walk through.
Just as we made that decision, a group of three girls walked up to us and asked if we were getting an Uber.
“Yes and no,” I responded. I explained to them what happened, and they said they were having similar issues. I told them our plan, and that they were welcome to walk with us, as there would be strength in numbers.
So we all walked together through the darkness – every now and then, we’d come across an intersection in which a few police officers were stationed, blocking off roads. I started to become really irritated with whoever planned this event. Thousands of people come all over for this fiesta, and the event organizers had made traffic a disaster and getting an Uber impossible.
It felt a little sketchy walking through Albuquerque in the dark outline of a town we didn’t know at all, especially when the sidewalks ended and we were straight up just walking along the highway, but the occasional police officer made it feel a little safer. As we walked, I drafted up a mental letter of complaint to the fiesta organizers. It would have been great if they would have educated their staff on where the Uber pick up location was, and also if they would have actually let Uber drivers come through.
After what seemed like a lifetime, we made it to the gas station, parted ways with our walking buddies, and called an Uber. We only had to wait about ten minutes before he showed up.
Our driver was super nice, and we told him all about the past few hours of trying to get out of the fiesta. Then Denise made a joke about hoping our car would still be there when we got home, and thinking that we meant at our place in Albuquerque, the driver said, “That’s a legitimate fear in Albuquerque.”
We clarified that we meant in Minnesota, and he said, “Albuquerque is a nice little town, but it has a dark side.”
We asked him what he meant by that, and he told us that Albuquerque has a higher rate of car theft, break-ins, and homicides per capita than any other town in America. Super comforted by that, he dropped us off in the darkness outside our AirBNB, where we promptly locked the front door and hoped for the best.
He’d actually told us that our AirBNB was in the safest area in town, so we weren’t too worried – just relieved that after hours of trying to get back, we were finally able to crawl in bed.
A Morning to Remember After a Night to Forget
The next morning, we made a game plan: instead of dealing with the same craziness from the night before, we would simply buy a ticket on one of the shuttle buses the fiesta had, and ride it to a mall nearby our AirBNB. From there, we would call an Uber.
We weren’t exactly sure what the day would hold for us, transportation-wise, but it felt nice to have a plan. Half-certain but fully excited, we called another Uber to take us to the fiesta grounds.
During the drive, Denise told our driver about how awful the organization of traffic was at the fiesta. He told us that it was like that every year, that the organizers couldn’t seem to figure out how to make the traffic flow smoothly. He told us that during the first week of the fiesta, the shuttle buses just didn’t show up, leaving thousands of people stranded at the field. The shuttles said they couldn’t make it because of an accident on the road, but since they were all coming from different areas, there was no reason why they couldn’t have made it to the fiesta – our driver suspected that the shuttle company forgot they were supposed to be driving that day, and had made up an excuse. He also told us that the festival didn’t want to allow Uber or Lyft into the festival because it made them lose out on revenue from parking, and some drivers were boycotting the fiesta as a result. The fiesta’s reluctance to allow Uber’s in made me suspicious of their choice to deny our drivers from picking us up the previous night.
Denise made a comment about hoping that the shuttles showed up that night, otherwise we’d be walking again. We then launched into the tale of our night prior.
“You girls should not have been walking around that area alone at night. Do not do that again,” said our driver. “That’s a dangerous area of town.”
“Really?” I asked. “I figured since we were near the Balloon Fiesta, it would be a pretty safe area.”
“The Balloon Fiesta grounds themselves are pretty safe,” he said. “But the area around it is not – it’s a pretty gang-dominated area.”
“Seriously?” Denise asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “Actually, the reason why the roads were shut down there last night was because the police found a body.”
AWESOME. GOOD INFORMATION TO KNOW after walking around there in the darkness while the police were investigating a dead body. No wonder the police were stationed around that area. Shoutout to the fiesta organizers for preventing us from leaving the area via an Uber, forcing us to walk through the dark while this was going on.
“When you get home you can tell your friends and family that you survived the most dangerous city in America,” our driver said, in his classic way of giving us comforting information.
It was pretty unnerving, and I wasn’t sure how I was feeling about being dropped off in an empty mall parking lot to wait for an Uber later that evening, but our driver told us that he heard the fiesta would be opening up the roads again that evening, so we could try Uber again before opting for the shuttle.
We shook ourselves off and tried to prepare for the day ahead of us, so we could take it all in and enjoy the fiesta in all its glory.
Event staff told us to get back to the fiesta at about 4:30 a.m. for the first event of the day, but after their demonstration of knowledge the evening before, we weren’t too inclined to take the advice of the event staff. Instead, we landed at the fiesta at about 5:30 a.m., which was absolutely perfect. We had enough time to order breakfast burritos and hot chocolates/coffee. However, we’d decided to order burritos from a place with a banner that stated “Award Winning Breakfast Burrito,” which sounded like BS, and definitely was, because the burrito was soggy and inedible. However, I didn’t have the mental capacity to remember that I was hungry, because magic was unfolding around me once again.
The morning started with the Dawn Patrol – a group of balloonists who line up in a row, and take off in the darkness. They fly until it’s light enough to land, and their presence in the sky allows other balloonists who will lift off during the mass ascension to see what the weather conditions are like at altitude.
Before taking off, they stayed in their line and did mass “glows,” in which the balloonists started up their fires all at once, to give the balloons the appearance of glowing. It was beautiful, and well worth waking up early. Our memory of the evening before drifted away, and was consumed by the amazing sight in front of us.
After the Dawn Patrol, there was a mass ascension of balloons. The field began to fill up with balloonists, setting out the fabric of their hot air balloons, and beginning to fire them up. Set against the backdrop of a pink and orange sunset, watching the balloons rise was a breathtaking way to start the morning.
It was fun to see the different balloons the morning after the Special Shape Rodeo. There were still fun-shaped balloons, but there were also the style that would typically come to mind when thinking about hot air balloons, all with their unique patterns and colors.
I thought this one was particularly pretty, set against the blue sky.
Also, meet the meta-balloon:
A hot air balloon in Albuquerque covered in hot air balloons over Albuquerque.
We wandered around the field as the energy began to pick up and balloons started rising around us. At one point, I did a 360 degree turn and realized we were completely surrounded by balloons. It was insanely beautiful.
We saw the Rainbow Ryders balloons taking off – these were from a company that was offering hot air balloon rides during the fiesta. We attempted to purchase tickets while we were planning our trip, but we were way too late in the game. All of the tickets were sold out, and you had to be put on a waitlist to even have a hope of a chance to get a balloon ride. On top of that, it was ridiculously expensive to ride in one. We’re positive they made hundreds of thousands of dollars during the two-week fiesta based on what they were charging, and how many people they could fit in one balloon. However, we did hear that some folks were getting last minute rides for a much cheaper price, so if you go, it might be worth stopping by their tent and seeing if they have any cheaper available rides.
We had a blast checking out the different colored balloons, and watching the fires flare up, casting a golden glow through the center of the balloons as they prepared to take off.
At one point, we decided to stop and watch a group of balloonists inflate their balloon from start to finish.
It was super interesting to watch! I was struck by how close we were allowed to get to the balloons as they were inflating. No one was crowding them, by any means, but it was great that fiesta-goers were able to get close to the action.
We were mesmerized by the rising of the red and orange fabric, and the rippling flames of the fire as they inflated the balloon. So much so that we were shocked when we turned around and saw the sky absolutely adorned by hot air balloons.
Look at how full of joy we are to be able to witness the mass ascension!
What a pair!
After walking around the fiesta for awhile, we were growing hungry after having abandoned our terrible burritos. We decided to walk around the row of food tents for a bit, to try to track down some breakfast. We ended up eating at Perico’s, which had super delicious breakfast burritos – I highly recommend them if you visit the fiesta.
Across from their tent was a small seating area, where we sat and ate our burritos while watching the balloons float gracefully off into the horizon. Next, we walked through some of the artist’s buildings and through some of the vendor’s shops. We ended up purchasing matching rings, and hand-crafted necklaces with hot air balloons engraved in them.
As it was getting pretty close to the end of the morning session, we decided to head back to our AirBNB to take some nice mid-afternoon naps. We easily snagged an Uber this time, and got some much needed sleep.
An Evening of Magic
A lovely woman named DeAnna was our Uber driver back to the fiesta that evening. The three of us had a nice chat while driving back to the fiesta, and DeAnna, bless her sweet heart, gave us her phone number in case we needed help getting a ride out of the fiesta that evening. She also agreed to pick us up the next morning to take us to the airport. It lifted a lot of anxiety from our shoulders, knowing that we’d have much smoother transportation arrangements than the previous evening.
When we returned that evening, we had special access to the Chaser’s Club. The fiesta offers two special viewing areas: the Chaser’s Club and the Gondola Club.
I highly recommend them. We weren’t able to purchase tickets to the Gondola Club, as they were all sold out, but both seemed to be great locations, although the Gondola Club has restrooms, so I’d rank it a little higher than the Chaser’s Club.
You get a special wristband that allows you access to the Chaser’s Club for the entire session, whether it be morning or night. This means that you’re guaranteed seating, which is not prevalent through the rest of the fiesta.
You also get free coffee and other beverages, and they serve a super delicious dinner in the evening. Technically, I suppose they’re not free, as you’ve paid for them through purchasing your tickets, but they’re definitely worth it. While you’re eating, you can watch action (and balloons) unfold on the field. One balloon event went up right next to the fence surrounding the Chaser’s Club!
It also has a bar, so you can purchase adult-beverages while you watch the balloons. We were free to come and go as we wanted, so Denise and I decided to roam the field again once it really began to be covered in balloons.
Here’s a glimpse at what the field looks like as folks are waiting for the balloons to go up.
This is why it’s so nice to have a guaranteed spot to sit at the Chaser’s or Gondola Clubs!
I’d heard many complaints prior to the fiesta about how many people attended it, and how crazy crowded it would get, so I was anticipating the worst. However, I never felt like I was cramped or crowded. I thought it was really easy to walk around, and it never got too packed. I wondered if the people complaining about the crowds had ever been to the Minnesota State Fair – the balloon fiesta was an absolute breeze in comparison to the crowds at the state fair.
As dusk came upon us, we found one of my favorite balloons at the fiesta: the Wicked balloon.
I love a good pun. Especially when they involve musicals!
There was something about the way the colors of the balloons struck the deepening blue sky as the sun began to set – it was overwhelmingly beautiful.
The sky grew darker, and the flames burned brighter.
The colors of this balloon made it look like the embodiment of a sunset itself.
Waves of heat would quickly roll over us as we walked through the fiesta, and balloonists burned their fires deeper.
The glow of the fire and the balloons was mesmerizing.
Periodically, a voice would call over the loudspeaker, and everyone would chant a countdown, which would lead into an “All Glow,” in which every balloon lit their fire at once.
It was otherworldly in it’s beauty.
Despite its transportation challenges, I’d go back in a heartbeat.
Once the balloons began to deflate, Denise and I headed back to the Chaser’s Club, where we sat and enjoyed a laser show, another skydiving show, and a fireworks show.
Not too shabby, balloon fiesta, not too shabby.
During dinner, we sat next to a group of older ladies, and we sat next to them again during the fireworks show. They were pretty hilarious! They’d come from St. Louis, and had taken a bus tour together. They were amazed by our abilities to plan our own trip (they’d paid a company to plan their trip for them), which I thought was pretty funny.
After the fireworks show, we decided to try our luck with Uber. We didn’t want to bother DeAnna, since she’d be picking us up in a few short hours to take us to the airport. Luckily, we ended up getting an Uber within ten minutes, and headed back to our AirBNB for a short night of rest.
DeAnna picked us up right on time the next morning, and just like that, our adventure was over.
During the flight back, I periodically looked out my window to see nothing but pure whiteness. I thought it must have been a super cloudy day, but as we were getting ready to land in Minneapolis, I realized it wasn’t clouds I’d been seeing.
“Welcome home!” – Snow.
Even though it wasn’t sticking to the ground, I wasn’t super thrilled to leave an adventure in the desert for a snow-dusted Minnesota.
On our light rail ride back to the park and ride garage, Denise said, “When I used to take the light rail into the city, I could start my car from here.”
She pressed the autostart button on her keys, and nothing happened.
“Well,” I said. “Hopefully that’s because the connection isn’t strong enough, and not because your car is gone.”
When we arrived at the floor we’d parked on, a group of large trucks obstructed our view of the parking space we’d been in, and for a moment I panicked, prepared to be stranded once again, but this time in the snow.
However, luck was on our side, and Denise’s car was tucked away behind a truck, safe and sound!
And that was a wrap on the most magical item on my 25 Things List to date.
This project has been utterly life-changing for me in so many ways, and while at times I wish that I’d started this list sooner so I’d have a little more time to complete the items on it, I’m grateful for the ways in which it has pushed me to alter my life for the better.
See you on the next adventure!
Want to read more about my 25 Things list? Click here for more adventures.
Let’s Connect:
Gas ballooning is the ultimate challenge for balloonists: they fly higher and farther than hot air balloons, often exposing pilots to violent weather conditions. Each year, the Balloon Fiesta hosts the America s Challenge Gas Balloon Race, which began in 1995. This competition, based entirely on the distance traveled by a balloon, is the premier gas ballooning event in the United States. Over the years, Albuquerque has hosted additional hot air balloon festivals including two gas balloon World Championships and two editions of the Coupe A ronautique Gordon Bennett, the world s oldest and most prestigious gas balloon competition.