I'm Baaack!

Just got home this afternoon!  We don't normally wait until the final day to arrive home, but the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque was just too much fun, so we stayed for the Special Shapes Rodeo on Thursday morning, and then started our way home.

The three weeks were great. We saw all kinds of things - some for the very first time - and others for the first time in autumn. We started out heading west crossing the Beartooth Mountains into Yellowstone....

Then checked out the Tetons and headed south to Arches and Canyonlands. Next destination
 was the North Rim of the Grand Canyon - where we've never been before. 

It was so different than the South Rim - much more over-grown and covered with 
trees - some of which were turning colours

Personally, I found the North Rim somewhat underwhelming. Way too many trees, 
only three major viewpoints, all over 20 miles apart, and all facing the east or up 
to the Vermillion Cliffs. It was difficult to take any of the "classic Grand Canyon" 
photos. I think I definitely prefer the awesomeness of the South Rim. 

  Next destination was Bryce Canyon - always gorgeous!

We spent an afternoon at Lake Powell, and stayed to watch the sunset.

Then after the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, we headed off to Albuquerque for their annual Balloon Fiesta. All "mass ascensions" are in the early morning at dawn, so we had to get up at 3:30, drive to the Fiesta so we'd arrive by 4 am, before the big line-ups (which start at 4:30), park, and go back to sleep for awhile. At 5:30 am it would be time for Dawn Patrol. Several balloons would get inflated totally in the dark, and head up to check the wind currents.

 Before the sun comes up over the mountains, the ascent begins. Each day they choose a "special balloon of the day" which is given the honor to be the very first balloon to go up - carrying the American flag - as the crowds stand silent for the singing of the national anthem. 

Over 500 balloons were scheduled to go up on Wednesday morning, and what was even more exciting was that the spectators are allowed on the field and can walk between the balloons as they are rolled out, inflated and finally take off.

When the sun came over the mountains, the scene became even more spectacular. The balloons would ascend quickly drifting to the south because the wind at ground level was southerly,  then as they got higher the wind blows to the north so the balloons would come drifting back high overhead. The wind pattern is called "a box" and it's only found in Albuquerque.

We enjoyed it so much, we decided to stay an extra day for the Special Shapes Rodeo Thursday morning. So, another day getting up at 3:30 and arriving nicely before the crowds. Just after dawn the balloons began to be laid out on the field. Shapes can't go up if the wind is over 8 mph, so we had to wait until the sun came over the mountains for the winds to become better.

Thursday's Special Shapes Rodeo was dedicated to Firefighters of America, so the "balloon of the day" chosen for that day was a cute firefighter balloon. As the day's guest singer started into the National Anthem..."Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light..." the sun's first rays shone over the mountains and the little firefighter rose up with the American flag. I got a lump in my throat - of pride and patriotism - and I'm not even American!

Then the fun really began! Shapes were inflating and taking off everywhere - over 100 of them! The field was crowded with spectators - way more than the day before. A balloon crewman told us they were expecting a cold front to come in later in the day and that all upcoming flights - including the weekend - were in peril, and not likely to happen. So parents were keeping their kids home from school and coming to the Balloon Fiesta today instead. 

Yup. that's Elvis back there! And I saw Darth Vader go by too!
 That big yellow hoof the woman is adjusting, belongs to Annabelle the Cow.

I got some great doll photos on the trip as well. I decided to just enjoy the three weeks and not get stressed out with taking photos of too may dolls at once - especially since it was almost always so bright and sunny - which is not a good thing for doll photos. So, Maya and Narae never even came out of the closet. I just took photos of Nami and Byuri, and of Isar.   

I'll post some tomorrow - although I did add a few to the Iplekids Alphabet album.