A Power Packed Day!

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Today is the official opening of the 45th Annual Albuquerque Balloon Festival!!   It began in 1972 with 13 balloons launching from a shopping center parking lot, and has grown to include over 500 balloons launched from the Balloon Fiesta Field.  It is the biggest gathering of balloons anywhere, and is said to be the most photographed air show on the planet.  This year’s theme is Desert Kaleidoscope, and what a kaleidoscope it is!  There is every color imaginable in these balloons, and it is a photographer’s dream!

Our morning was powered by hot air!  We woke at the crack of dawn to be sure and get to the field so we wouldn’t miss anything.   We couldn’t believe that many people would get up and be someplace before dawn!  At 5:30 am when we got to the field it was still dark, and the coffee lines were really long.  We got to to see the Dawn Patrol take off.  The Dawn Patrol is 6-8 balloons that launch before sunrise to test the conditions and wind currents and report back.  It looked like sky lanterns lighting up the sky. 

Then we learned about the zebras which are the launch directors (traffic cops) that help launch the balloons every morning.  The zebras wear black and white stripes, so are easily recognizable, and they are the ones that give the balloon pilots the “go ahead” to take off.  They also make sure the field is clear, and give the pilot an indication where the nearest traffic (balloon) is. 

We had the pleasure of meeting up with Dave and Mina Bobel, friends of my sister.  Dave has been piloting a balloon in the balloon fest for 37 years!!  It was really fun to be up close and personal, and get a first hand explanation of what was going on. It really is a science.  Dave’s balloon is “That-A-Way”.  He was part of the first wave in the mass ascension.  

As the mass ascension began, people cheered as the balloons took off. Hundreds of balloons floated through the sky and were everywhere!   It truly was a kaleidoscope of colors filling the sky--a spectacular, dazzling sight, powered by hot air!   I took 187 pictures—wish I could share them all. 

But that’s not all…the second half of our day was powered by Atomic power!  We visited the Trinity Site where the first atomic bomb was tested at 5:29 am on July 16, 1945.  The area was declared a national historic landmark in 1975, but is only open to the public two days each year, and today was one of those days, so we had to go visit. The site is on the White Sands Missile Range which is a military installation--we had to go through a checkpoint and show our license and stay on a designated road.   The area is very flat and remote.  After seeing it, it makes sense why this area was chosen for such a test…it is miles from a city, downwind from where the base camp was, and protected by mountains on one side.    The place where the bomb was detonated is called Ground Zero, and marked by a monument.  Fencing surrounds the area that was affected by the blast, and you get an appreciation for the magnitude of the bomb’s power.  The heat of the blast vaporized the steel tower that held the bomb, and melted the desert sand and turned it into a green glassy substance called Trinitite.  You can still see pieces of this “green glass” spread across the ground.  It is a Federal crime to pick it up and remove it from the site.    They say the radiation levels at ground zero are very low.  We saw two people with Geiger counters testing that claim!  We also toured the house where the actual bomb was built…two miles from ground zero.  The story of what happened at Trinity Site did not come to light until after the second atomic bomb was exploded over Hiroshima.  It is a fascinating story, and part of history that changed our world.

What a power packed day!