Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta 2003
October 4 to October 12
You have to get up
pretty early in the morning to catch the dawn patrol, the balloons
which go up first to test the air currents for the rest. I was lucky
enough to serve on the "chase crew" for one of the balloons. However
the hard part was getting up two hours before the sun and trek out
onto the field to find the balloon I was assigned to. That was no easy
task considering I was still trying to keep my eyes open while
stumbling around on a moon light field. Lucky I checked out the field
the previous afternoon. That helped find the right spot even though the
pilot and his balloon didn't show up for another half hour. I did spend
the time talking with the pilot and crew of the adjacent launch site.
Good thing I did make friend with them because when my pilot finally
arrived he rudely told me he didn't need any help. So I went back to my
new found friends and volunteered to help there.
Carol Sherman was the pilot of THE FINAL FRONTIER named for her Star Trek addiction. She was a friendly woman as was the rest of her crew. They made me feel right at home. Friday was the "special shapes" day and all the regular balloon shaped rigs had to launch from off site. The gravel pit was only about a half mile from the fiesta grounds but it took about 40 minutes to drive there in a crowded van on crowded roads. I helped unfold the "envelope" and did what I could to make myself useful. About 8 o'clock in the morning it was "up, up and away" for THE FINAL FRONTIER.
Carol Sherman was the pilot of THE FINAL FRONTIER named for her Star Trek addiction. She was a friendly woman as was the rest of her crew. They made me feel right at home. Friday was the "special shapes" day and all the regular balloon shaped rigs had to launch from off site. The gravel pit was only about a half mile from the fiesta grounds but it took about 40 minutes to drive there in a crowded van on crowded roads. I helped unfold the "envelope" and did what I could to make myself useful. About 8 o'clock in the morning it was "up, up and away" for THE FINAL FRONTIER.
The launch went off like clock work as
all the balloons seemed to take off at the same time. After all there
was a competition going on and the grand prize as a new pickup truck
perfect for serving as a chase vehicle. After a good start the balloons
headed south over the fiesta grounds but just then the wind stopped
dead and eventually reversed itself as the balloons headed north away
from the grounds.
We hopped onto the chase vehicle and
tried to keep an eye on our balloon which was a difficult task
considering there were over 700 other balloons obstructing the sky.
Finally we spotted THE FINAL FRONTIER drifting slowly overhead. We
radioed that we were in a small parking lot perfect for a landing site.
The balloon slowly drifted down and into a field marked NO
TRESPASSING. Some of the crew ignored the sign and ran to catch a long
rope Carol dropped from the balloon. They pulled it down to within a
few feet of the ground and we all pulled the floating basket right onto
it's carrier trailer. A quick rolling up of the envelope and we were
off to the fiesta grounds no worse for the wear. I was then free to
enjoy the rest of the Balloon Fiesta and take lots of pictures.
