Albuquerque, New Mexico.

A common sight over the city, the hot air balloons are airborne on those many calm air mornings. Known for the annual Balloon Fiesta in October, when our family reunion was held last June, one of the attractions mentioned was a balloon ride over the city. This would be our second balloon ride ever as in 2002, at a previous Albuquerque reunion, Lynn and I took our first aerial balloon experience (and still have the champagne glasses to prove it.)

The members of our family were even involved in helping the crew set up and put away the balloon. Above, my grand niece, who was supposed to be holding the edge of the balloon open while it was being filled with air grabbed a quick photo of our pilot, Murray, while he inspected the balloon’s interior.

The inflation starts with a gasoline powered fan (lower right) just blowing air into the balloon. Once there’s enough air to support the top of the balloon, the pilot starts heating the air so the balloon eventually rights itself.

Soon we were all loaded and we lifted off. Another balloon from the World Balloon Company also launched that morning, a few minutes behind us. The two balloons traveled on slightly different routes but eventually end up landing in the same vacant field where the two chase vehicles and trailers were waiting to load up the balloons at the end of the flight.

At one point, we settled down over the Rio Grande River. We did not touch the water, though the pilot said that on days when the wind direction matches the direction of river flow, a touch is possible. When they are in different directions as they were on this day, there is a chance of tipping the balloon. We were appreciative that we didn’t get an early morning dip in the river.

At one point, the pilot brought out a large bubble wand and a couple of passengers amused themselves by launching a bubble brigade.

We flew over many neighborhoods in the city. On our 2002 ride, we were mostly out in the country. The ride over the city is much more interesting as the scenery below is so varied.

You never know what you might see in someone’s back yard. Dogs in the yards didn’t hear us coming until the pilot fired the burner. At that point, they typically went into defensive mode, barking, running around the yard or otherwise protecting their homeland. The goats above, though, didn’t seem to care much.

Like I said, you never know what you might see from the air. I don’t know who feeds this dinosaur, but he must eat a lot…

After too little time in the air (actually a bit over an hour), it was time to land. We landed upright with a bit of a bump, but relatively gentle. Murray assisted the passengers as we all left the basket. We all then piled into our chase vehicle and returned to the launch site for the traditional glass of champagne, a history lesson about those first balloon flights in France and to receive our individually signed flight certificates. I captured many photos on our ride, far too many to include here, but I am including a much larger gallery than usual. On most browsers, click on an image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

John Steiner

Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In late June, regular readers may recall, Lynn and I went on a hot air balloon ride with several other family members at our family reunion. In addition to my usual collection of images from my Nikon camera, I collected a few from my cell phone. The image above is a photo of our landing area. The large, flat area used to be a golf course. The pilot told us the story of how the developer of the homes and golf course got into an issue over water. Of course, golf courses need a lot of water, and the bill for water in this desert community was more than they could bear. Unfortunately for the many residents who purchased and built new homes on the edge of the course (paying a premium for the privilege) now overlook a landscape that is quickly returning to high desert plains of New Mexico.

About the photo: The image was captured on my Samsung S7 cell phone. I used an HDR application to bring out the definition and sharpness. The rule for Cellpic Sunday is simple. The image must be captured on a mobile device.

John Steiner

Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The week of our family reunion brought us to Albuquerque and the main purpose for our 3200 mile (5150 km) road trip. This was our second reunion trip to New Mexico. In 2002, our first family reunion in Albuquerque featured a balloon ride, so it was fitting that another balloon ride should be on the agenda. And so it came to pass on Thursday morning. We arose well before sunrise and a subset of our family carpooled the 20 or so minute drive to our appointment with a large hot air balloon. Six of the Steiners found ourselves climbing into the basket along with a pilot and another family. Nearby another balloon was also readying for flight. Soon we were airborne over the city of Albuquerque. The relatively light winds carried us in varying directions depending upon the altitude the pilot chose. At one point, we flew over the Rio Grande River and he descended to within a few feet of the surface. He commented that he’s been known to touch the water, but never when the wind and the water are flowing in opposite directions as they were this morning.

Off in the distance, we could see several other balloons in the air. One of them was captured in this image on the left, just above the horizon, that spot is not dirt on the lens, it’s another balloon. In the center of the image, you can see the shadow of our balloon as it travelled across the countryside. Of course, I didn’t leave my Nikon D500 camera at home. I have a collection of images that as of now still need to be processed. In an upcoming Travel Tuesday post, I will share a gallery of images captured that beautiful June morning.

About the photo: Captured with my Samsung S7, I treated it to an HDR process to enhance the colors. The low sun and long shadows brought a warmth to the image that I wanted to be sure remains for the viewer. The rule for Cellpic Sunday is simple, the image must be captured on a mobile device. On some browsers and devices, if you click on the image, you will get an enlarged view.

John Steiner