2016 International Balloon Fiesta

I realize it has been 9-days of daily balloons sightings as they rose into the morning sky. Ok, not every day, because some morning were too cold for me, and mother nature influenced the morning with breezy winds or precipitation.
However, all in all, it was an incredible opportunity to fulfill one of the listings on my bucket list.

There is an overwhelming and astonishing majestic beauty viewing hundreds of balloons lift into the sky, with the quite silence of the morning broken with the whooshing sounds of propane shooting into the balloons as they lift higher into the air.

Many of the first time photographers like myself were visually overwhelmed as we tried to determine what type of character balloon was inflating while watching the sky.

I would have taken more photos, however, with the hordes of balloons rising to the heavens and the hundreds on the ground in the various stages of inflation, I spent most of the time in balloon visual shock.

The sheer volume of balloons crews from around the world was exciting. I met balloonists from Brazil, Mexico, Canada, England, Italy, and from just about every state in the US.

One of the exciting aspects of the Fiesta is after paying the entry fee of $10.00 you can walk onto the parade grounds where balloons are inflated before they take off. Photographing up close as a balloon ascends into the sky is an incredible opportunity.

The schedule night glow provides another visual aspect of seeing a fully inflated balloon but not taking off into the sky. The balloonist ignites the propane inside the balloon allowing the gas to glow while illuminating the balloons colors at night.

With, hundreds of balloons doing this, the sight is amazing!

The parade grounds are filled with hundreds of vendors across every craft, foods, chainsaw wood sculpting, video games trailer with an opportunity to see first hand the new virtual reality games, and hundreds of others vendors.

Many people and followers of my blog and YouTube channel have asked, did I go up in any of the balloons. I did because of two reasons. First, there are no parachutes. Second, the basket has no wings, and at 250 plus pounds, I cannot flap my arms fast enough to fly.

I realize I have an adventurous spirit but, I will limit my time above ground to parachuting, and bungee jumping, which are the last two items on my bucket list just in case.

This event draws hundreds of if not millions of people from all over the world, so if you plan to attend next years 46th annual Fiesta, you better get your room now. I can guarantee you it will be amazing!

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