I promised in my last post, New Mexico: Elephant Butte Balloon Regatta, that I’d post the remaining photos from the balloon regatta. Although I pretty much stayed in one place to capture the Lady Jester and Cool Beans balloons, there were still opportunities to catch other hot air balloons that were fairly close.
On the beach
Over the water
This is where the unique part of the day was for me. I had never seen balloons participate in a regatta style before, or anywhere near water. The baskets could easily touch the water and have the water drip out almost instantaneously.
You’ll notice that the people inside the balloons wore life vests. This is a requirement of the pilot and any passengers in this event.
We had planned to stick around the area and attend the balloon glow at the local golf course, but we looked at the weather forecast and radar, which changed our mind. It was a good thing, since the balloon glow was cancelled officially about 2 hours beforehand. No worries, I’ll get to see plenty of balloon glows at the upcoming Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta! 🙂
