Albuquerque Balloon Trip

Friday, 13 October

Balloon Fiesta

Friday was our first day to actually go out to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which was the centerpiece of the trip in the first place. My first lesson on ballooning was that the best conditions for takeoff tend to be around dawn, which is not a time of day I'm terribly familiar with. Those of my coworkers who are familiar with it seem to regard it as a backstop bedtime rather than a wakeup time.

We had been warned that our van was leaving the hotel for the Fiesta grounds at 5AM, so I had set the alarm clock for 4. I had laid out clothes and gear (flashlight, camera) the night before, so I didn't really need my brain to get up and get dressed, and Kristin and I were down in the hotel lobby with several minutes to spare. The concierge breakfast didn't open until six, but I did get OJ and coffee in the lobby.

At five in the morning, it was not yet 50 degrees Fahrenheit. I was told this made me fortunate, for it was noticably warmer than at the same time last year. I managed to work up the proper feelings of gratitude, although I was heavily enough dressed that I think I was probably prepared anyway.

The traffic going out to the Fiesta grounds was not yet overwhelming (considerable sarcasm intended). We cruised right through and got out there by 5:30, then walked over to the sponsors' tents, where we found not only coffee and pastries, but the additional luxury of a heater. The caffeinated coffee had not yet arrived, due to a screwup by the caterer, but as I said earlier, I had already gotten some at the hotel. Besides, it was still well before dawn, and I didn't yet see any need to get my brain working anyway.

At this point we began to... hang out. Within the next hour, "our" balloon crew showed up and began joining us in said hanging out. To get the proper mental picture of this scene, remember that the point I'm describing is still before sunrise.

The Fiesta's schedule for the day included the "special shapes rodeo" featuring balloons in unusual shapes and the "key grab" competition which involves balloon crews literally trying to grab a set of keys off the top of a pole. As dawn approached, the ballooning experts began to mutter that it seemed a little too breezy for ballooning. Sure enough, although some of the special shapes started inflating shortly after the sun rose over the mountains, the morning's events were eventually cancelled. I got some decent photos of the special shapes that did inflate, but since they weren't allowed to take off, the day was a ballooning bust.

And so it was: that around nine in the morning, we suddenly found that we had no plans for the day. The balloon crew headed off to a restaurant for a real breakfast, while the rest of us started thinking about what to do with the day. I got talked into taking the tram up Sandia Peak and hiking down. Kristin was less enthused by this than I, and headed off to Santa Fe with another couple.

Climbed Mountain

For my part, I joined seven other people in taking the rented van over to Sandia Tramway. We took the tram to the top, had lunch at the restaurant at the top (which was operated by the brewpub where we'd had dinner the night we arrived). Six of us then hiked down instead of taking the tram back. The trail was less than 8 miles long, but the vertical drop was substantial: nearly a mile of total altitude.

We did the hike in about 3-1/2 or 4 hours. Some of the other guys later claimed that we could've done it somewhat faster if we'd wanted, but given the often narrow and slippery trail, I don't think I could've walked any faster -- and saving time by reducing the breaks we took would've defeated the purpose of hiking in such a beautiful place to begin with. In my opinion, of course.

One of the other programmers has started talking about hiking up the mountain next year, but I'm not sure about that idea. I could probably handle a hike like that here in New England, where we start from a lot closer to sea level, but that kind of exertion at two miles of altitude is another matter for us flatlanders. Admittedly, I didn't notice any problems from the altitude on this trip, but going up takes a heck of a lot more oxygen than going down.

dinner at Karen & Dave's

The hike took a bit longer than we'd figured, but somehow we still made dinner on time. This was good, because it can be an embarrassment to be late for dinner at the boss's home. And in this case, the home of the two top people in the company.

After making proper admiring noises regarding the (truly gorgeous) house, appointments, and view, and even the adjoining golf course, I proceeded to go in search of something to drink. Since our hosts hadn't calculated on having half a dozen guests just back from a mountain-climbing hike, the ice chests were quickly stripped of everything suitable for rehydrating a human body. Showing the resourcefulness and creativity that are the hallmarks of a true engineer, I found... tap water. Eventually I felt sufficiently rehydrated to grab a beer from the impressive selection, which included my all-time favorite American beer, Anchor Liberty Ale. I also had some really good vegetarian lasagne and watched a videotape of the balloon crew flying a small balloon inside a large one -- something that had never been tried before and, according to them, will probably never be done again.

Link:
forward to: Saturday
back to: Thursday
to: Albuquerque Balloon Trip Main Page
to: Lowell Gilbert's home page

last modified: Wed Jul 2 11:50:01 1997 by Lowell Gilbert

lgweb@Kehleyr.Epilogue.Com