Balloon Fiesta, Albuquerque

Being avid snow-birders,who consistently drive to different southern locations for the winter, when we had to make a decision for our next winter destination, we unanimously decided we wanted to kick off the season with our first trip to the annual balloon fiesta held in Albuquerque.  After going online to check out the approximate cost of the trip, we became a little disheartened at the tremendous cost of a stay for the full 10 days of the event.  However, while pondering our options, I came across a link to an invitation to put ourselves forward as volunteers
The thought of 'free' campsite hookups and 'free' entry into the main arena got us quite excited, so, we decided to submit an application, not expecting to hear from the powers that be, due to our lack of ballooning experience.
Needless to say, we were surprised when within two days of putting in our application, we were accepted and told we would be with the RV team, which would entail working in the campground.
Moving forward many months later, we found ourselves on the road, heading south-west to the city of Albuquerque in New Mexico.
After finding ourselves at the Balloon Fiesta Park, amongst a number of other volunteers who had already settled into their campsites, we were thrilled to be placed in the supreme camping area with a lovely view over the whole field where the balloons would be taking off once the event started in a few weeks time.
Alas, we were only in the campsite a couple of weeks before we were told to move ourselves to the 'South Campground', which, we learned was where we would be staying for the rest of our stay.
This campground was a big let down after our few weeks in the pristine grounds of the 'supreme' campground.  In fact, it was quite shocking to see the lay of the land where we knew there would be at least 1600 campers that would need to be parked side by side in some very precarious areas.
We learned that this campground was originally a landfill that had been covered with gravel and loose sand, and that was the reason for the rather large bulges where the RVs would be parking.
On the first day that the campers were allowed to set up camp, there was no problem putting them in an almost pristine location, but, as the park began to fill up through the week, finding a good spot for the new arrivals became quite a chore.
The volunteers who were given the task to lead the new arrivals were becoming a little distraught, knowing they would have to take them to some very dubious sites where everyone was having to find every leveler they had available in order to level out their camper.  In fact, there were a lot of campers that I saw that were precariously perched at an angle that would never be acceptable in a 'normal' campground situation and that was how they were situated for the duration of their stay.
As the days moved on, we were admitting campers who had booked their sites up to a year in advance, along with drive up campers, who were being admitted with no reservations.  This turned into a situation where the original 1600 campsites had to be expanded to accommodate up to an estimated total of 1800 campsites. 
What surprised me throughout this drama, was there were very few unhappy customers.  Not many  complained about their unleveled slots, or the near primitive conditions they were living in for the duration of their stay.  Considering there were no showers, very few toilet facilities and most sites did not have power or water, we might have expected a lot of unhappy customers.
However, what appeared to join everybody together, was the excitement of attending this magnificent spectacle that is know as the worlds biggest Balloon Fiesta. 
It turned out that not only was it fun to go to the field and see the balloons lifting in unison into the air, but, if the wind was blowing in the right direction, the experience of remaining in the campground was just as exciting due to the eventual arrival of a number of the balloons that had taken off in the field and were now in search of a safe landing area, which, in a number of cases, was in the middle of the campground, among the RVs and in the middle of the roads coming into the area. 
So, it was after a long, hot, six week stay in Albuquerque  that we left with some wonderful memories of the final ten day event, where we never quite knew what would happen from the moment we woke up to the moment we finally went to bed.
if you are interested in visiting albuquerque for the next balloon fiesta, visit our new mexico page for some insider tips.