Albuquerque, New Mexico.

This week, Lignum Draco suggests that for our weekly photo challenge, we share something unusual. We were given the flexibility to share what we determine is unusual to us. You can read the entire challenge post here. Having just recently visited Albuquerque for our family reunion and getting the opportunity to take a ride in a hot air balloon, I recalled a couple of years back we were in Albuquerque for the annual Balloon Fiesta.

On the morning we visited the festival, over 500 balloons were launched in the mass ascension. Among the “normal” teardrop shaped balloons, there were many interesting and unusual shapes. In the opening photo, a tribute to Darth Vader and Star Wars rose into the clear blue sky. The gallery of images below features a collection of other unusually shaped balloons. In a future Travel Tuesday post, I look forward to sharing some of the images I captured a few weeks ago on our latest aviation adventure.

John Steiner