Up, up and away in our beautiful balloons

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to Balloon Fiesta Park each year.



ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Gliding over the sere New Mexico landscape, ochre-colored desert melding with ochre-colored houses, I envision the first hot-air balloon flight more than two centuries ago. It must have been an otherworldly sight: a rooster, duck and sheep lifting off in front of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and soaring over the streets of Paris.

It's a far cry from today, when a woman puttering in her backyard pauses to wave at the gaggle of brightly colored balloons swooping over her Albuquerque home.

For our group, it's a sneak peek ahead of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, when hundreds of hot-air balloons of all shapes and sizes will fill the skies Oct. 3-11. Try to imagine a balloon with all the colors of the rainbow lifting off next to two yellow-and-black-striped honeybees rising in tandem, next to the menacing helmet of Darth Vader. It's a spectacle that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to Balloon Fiesta Park each year.

TAKE OFF

On the chilly spring morning of our flight, passengers gathered on the barren lots of an undeveloped subdivision, waiting to learn if the winds were calm enough for us to ascend. The day before, our flights were canceled because of brisk breezes.

This morning we got the green light, so the groups scattered around the five massive balloon envelopes spread out on the ground. The burner was turned on, and a fan blew hot air into the envelope, which slowly rose from the ground as it filled.

Our group scrambled into a gondola manned by Mike Collins, senior pilot for Rainbow Ryders -- the only hot-air balloon company allowed to take visitors on flights during the Balloon Fiesta.

As the heat from the burner filled the envelope, we slowly rose from the ground, joining the other rainbow-hued balloons already in the air. Floating on the wind currents, we crossed over highways and homes, swimming pools and schools. Dogs barked ferociously as we passed overhead, and in one yard a rabbit skittered to safety.

The pilots steered us over the still-brown trees and brushed along the banks of the Rio Grande River, skimming over treetops and setting marsh birds and Canada geese to flight. One pilot briefly dipped the bottom of the gondola basket into the river's waters, and droplets poured down as the balloon ascended again.

In the distance, we saw the ancient volcanoes of Petroglyph National Monument, where we had walked the day before.

Eventually, the pilots began scouting for a place to land, and we touched down in a vacant field, where chase crews from Rainbow Ryders helped us disembark.

BALLOON CITY

Albuquerque's roots as a haven for hot-air ballooning stretch back more than a century, when a local barkeep launched a balloon from the center of town, soaring up to 14,000 feet before touching down several miles away.

But ballooning didn't move into the mainstream until 1972, when the city's first festival showcased 13 hot-air balloons. These days it draws more than 700.

With ballooning, weather is key, and the city is known for the ``Albuquerque Box,'' where the wind blows north at one elevation and south at another, allowing pilots to launch their balloons, fly, then turn around and touch down near the launch site.

More than 300 balloonists live in Albuquerque -- topping any other state -- and the first flights across both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans had New Mexicans as key team members. Ben Abruzzo and Maxie Anderson -- for whom the local balloon museum is named -- were part of the first team to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, crossing the water in the Double Eagle II gas balloon in 1978. The pair was then part of a team that crossed the Pacific in Double Eagle V just three years later.

The history of hot-air ballooning is on vivid display at the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, which opened in 2005.

One exhibit spotlights that gravity-defying feat of 1783, when the rooster, duck and sheep were sent aloft. The first manned flight came just two months later.

Since those early years, hot-air balloons have been used not only for adventure and pleasure, but also in times of war. Balloons were used to get information out of the city during the siege of Paris in the 1870s, and for observing the enemy during the Civil War.

And museum curator of collections Marilee Schmit Nason shares a fact that perhaps few know. Japan launched thousands of incendiary balloons, known as the Fu-Go, at the United States during World War II. The balloon bombs, which floated across the Pacific Ocean, were designed to wreak havoc in the United States. About 1,000 were estimated to have reached U.S. shores, but they landed in winter in places like Washington and Oregon, and most simply fizzled out.

Other exhibits spotlight death-defying feats, such as Air Force Col. Joseph Kittinger's jump out of the Excelsior III at 102,800 feet, free falling for 4 ½ minutes before opening his parachute.

There's also Kittinger's balloon, Rosie O'Grady, used for the first solo Atlantic flight, and the Double Eagle V, which Anderson, Abruzzo and others used to cross the Pacific.

During the Balloon Fiesta, there's plenty happening outside the museum's doors, including a chainsaw carving championship, with artists transforming pieces of wood into astounding sculptures. Two nights are capped off with concerts -- one this year featuring country star Josh Gracin, and the other 1950s rock 'n' rollers, the Coasters.

But the balloons are the main attraction. Each morning, they ascend en masse, and competitions are held throughout the festival, such as balloon races and tests of ballooning skills. As night descends, there are balloon glows, with all the tethered balloons illuminated against the dark, and fireworks to cap off the daily events.

And of course there's always the chance to be part of the sea of balloons sailing through Albuquerque's crisp blue skies, waving at the tens of thousands of spectators gathered below.

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