Albuquerque Balloon Festival! (What to see and do)

We got up at 2.45 this morning to make it to the Dawn Patrol, which is what you see right behind me. We're all congregated in this field here. They lay out all the hot air balloons, blow them up right in front of your face, and then take off. Dawn Patrol pilots take off in the dark and navigate by a lighting position system until it's light enough to land. This helps the other balloon pilots get an early estimate of wind direction and speed. After the Dawn Patrol balloons are all up in the sky, it's time for the rest of the balloons to take off. This event is called Mass Ascension and it is incredible. This Mass Ascension is unbelievable. I had an idea what it would look like from photos, but seeing it firsthand, just look at this. Oh, look at that. So cool. The Fiesta is typically eight days long and has a number of different events. One of these events is called Special Shapes and you can kind of see some of these balloons during Mass Ascension too. And if you know me, you know I like Star Wars and I was probably the most giddy about seeing these two fly up in the air. Each day, the festival is broken up between a morning and an evening session. And in between seeing all the balloons, they have food stands, souvenir shops, and other awesome events to check out. How much do you think a hot air balloon costs? Costs? Like a big one? Like a big boy? Yeah. With the basket and all supplies? $12,000. Like $40,000. Custom one is way more than that too. Actually, buying a hot air balloon can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $80,000. The price is mostly dependent on the size of the balloon. You can, however, buy a used balloon for somewhere around like $7,000. But a large balloon or a custom hot air balloon will generally start at around $80,000. Oh, and before I forget, general admission to the festival is really cheap, actually. It's about $15 per person and you can either go in the morning or the evening sessions. And there's also other VIP services provided, but for $15, you can still get the whole experience. I don't know how well you can hear me, but there's balloons lighting up all around us. So, we were here in the morning for the morning glow, and now it's the evening glow, where all these balloons stay on the ground and they just light up the sky. So, it's not totally dark yet, but they are starting to fire up these balloons. They are having these countdowns throughout the evening as well, where all of the balloons will light up at the same time, and it is absolutely beautiful. The Balloon Fiesta really is an event like no other. Every day is just jam-packed with new and exciting events to check out. One of the coolest events is seeing the skydivers. Now, you might not be able to see them that well, but those little spots in the sky are skydivers wearing pyrotechnic suits. There's also a grand fireworks show at the end of the festival day during the weekend events.