We just happened to be in Taos the weekend of the Hot Air Balloon Rally. It’s not the big balloon festival–that happened in Albuquerque a week or two before. But instead of hundreds of balloons and over 100,000 people, this is a nice little event that takes place right off the main drag.
The desk clerk at our hotel told us we could see the entire rally from the hotel parking lot. Um, no. Too far away, so I got up early and braved the 35-degree weather and waited for the windshield to defrost (no scraper with the rental car) and drove towards the balloons. I was kind of amazed that they were taking off really close to the main road. I could have walked right up to them, but decided to stay out of the way. I needed distance to take photos anyway.
That’s a street light on the left. There were power lines and shops around too, but no mishaps.
It was so fun to be right under the balloons. I could hear the flame and people’s voices pretty clearly.
One minute they were right above me,
then way up high.
They had to have incredible views of the mountains up there. One day I’m going up in one of them.
This one reminds me of the movie “Up.”
Can’t keep a straight face when I look at the one on the right.
Love the stars and stripes.
I think they were giving rides in this one, because it made frequent landings.
Since I didn’t have gloves, my hands were freezing, so I took one last shot:
And went back to the hotel for an early breakfast.
Pearls & Prose 
Wow, they are all very different. I like the one with the face best.
The view must be spectacular.
I like it too, Caroline. Someone had a good sense of humor.
I’m so happy that you got to see the hot air balloons. I’d love to take a ride in one someday. The shapes of the balloons are lovely against the cloudless sky. What a treat.
It was so much fun to be there, Jackie. I am definitely doing it one day soon. They fly here almost every evening, so there are plenty of opportunities.
Ah , what an event, I always wanted to see something like that. Did you get to fly in one of those??
No, I didn’t even know the balloons were flying until we got to Taos. Someday!
Great shots. We had a balloon to crash near our house once. Haven’t really been keen about going up after that, but love the way they fill the sky.
Oh, how sad. I’ve only heard of one crash near us and the people were OK, luckily. It’s probably why I haven’t gone up yet either.
I bet the view is lovely. And just so you know, never use a credit card to scrape ice off your windshield, unless you want to explain on the phone how you broke your card. They didn’t find it funny.
Oh, nooooooo! Thanks for the tip. 😉