We boarded a train at 3:30 am in Newton to travel to Albuquerque for the Balloon Festival. We arrived at 2:00 after having breakfast and lunch on the train. It was quite good and very relaxing. We traveled with two other couples from our high school class and got to hang out in the club car, playing cards and talking.
We met 3 other couples from our class who had flown or driven there. Up at 4:30 am Sat. to leave for the festival. The first event was called the Dawn Patrol and it was beautiful! The balloons lit up as the propane flared and they went up into the dark sky.
After that, over a period of several hours, hundreds of balloons were launched. The sky was filled with the beautiful colors - all sent up in a very organized progression.
The evening events were never able to take off due to winds, but it was still a spectacular event.
We drove to Santa Fe on Monday and had a wonderful time walking around the square and shopping. Visited the Georgia O'Keeffe museum which was great. Back on the train at 2:00 pm on Tuesday for the trip home. Good food, good friends and a memorable time.
