Balloons 2008!

We're here! Actually, we've been here for close to a week and we're having a ball!

While this isn't an exciting shot, it's the very first balloon we saw this week.

The weather has been off and on,
not great for the balloons,
but it sure makes for beautiful skies.

As always, remember you can click on any photo for a larger image.

We have a large number of Lazy Daze this year, we're expecting a total of thirty four rigs, but not all will stay for the entire event. It's a great group, very friendly and we have AMAZING pot lucks.

A you can see here, we park three rigs in a U shape which gives up a nice large area for get-togethers. This year we are on one side, Mariel is on the other and Chris and Frank complete the U.

One more shot of a potluck, that's Mariel (who arranges the Lazy Daze get together) in her silly balloon hat.

This is a photo of Lia, one of our favorite kids. Lia. along with her Mother Tessa, and her brother Charles and sister Jazy are on an 18 month around the world trek with the Lazy Daze. So far, they've visited the arctic circle, Canada, Alaska and a good portion of the Pacific Northwest, for a total of 17,000 miles in just a bit over four months!
The other night we had a pretty serious rain (at least it was serious for New Mexico). The place where we're parked is pretty much a flat lot which has been covered in good ole New Mexico clay. Of course when you mix water and clay you produce a kind of slip that is unbelievably sticky. While some areas remain fairly dry, if you're unlucky enough to be in a low spot, look out!

Mariel is in a low spot . . .

Take a look at her shoes! Her company has dwindled to almost zero, I wonder why?

Finally, this morning (Monday, October 6), we had a mini Mass Ascension. While not as many as years past, it was nice to sit in bed and see some balloons. This was taken from our bedroom window.

I finally hauled myself out of bed to take a few pictures. It seems that this morning, the Albuquerque Box is not up to speed, so rather than flying over us, the balloons are drifting off to the east over the mountains. I know the sun is really blown out in this shot, but what the hey . . .

Balloons over the Lazy Daze.

I thought the clouds sitting on the mountains was pretty cool.

There were very few special shapes this morning,
but here's a few shots
of some of the balloons I liked the best.

The colors are pretty impressive against the blue sky.
A few clouds would make for much better pictures,
but I decided not to cheat
and post them as they really were.

Here's a shot of Armando on top of his rig,
admiring the balloons.

I liked this color combination.

More balloons

This is one of my very favorite balloons.
We've been attending the Fiesta for four years
and this particular balloon
is always one of my most favorite.

Here's my favorite floating in the sky
as our friend Linda pokes her head out of her hatch.

And because the box isn't working properly,
here's a shot of the balloons floating away to the east . . .

Hopefully I'll post some more shots as the number of balloons increase, but you know what? Even if we don't see any more balloons, we're having a great time.

Life is good!