Red Rock Balloon Rally, early December 2017

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The weather forecast the entire week leading up to the balloon rally has Gallup with lows in the teens to low 20’s for the weekend.  I am not cancelling this trip; I promised Lori I would help crew her balloon.  My initial plans were to go without electric for my camper, I have batteries and solar so I should be good, right?  Probably, but I am not taking any chances, Nicida is coming along and she was very cold the first time we went camping and it only got down to the upper 30’s.  The fact that I forgot to close one of the overhead vents may have had something to do with that.  I will hook up to the electric so I can have a small, quiet heater running all night if need be.  It actually only got to the upper 20’s each morning, still cold enough that I am glad I brought it along.

Lori owns and pilots the ‘Black Magic Woman’ balloon.  She has a regular crew but is always looking for new crew members.  I tried crewing with her once before but the flight was cancelled due to winds.  What I think are ok, are not.  One has to worry about winds at all altitudes, not just on the ground. The winds at ground level are important because we don’t want to drag and possibly tip the basket upon landing.

Our scheduled 1000 departure is moved up so we are able to go to Winfield Trading Company south of Gallup.  They were open special hours for the balloon rally.  They have a large collection of Native American jewelry, pottery and gifts.  It is well worth the trip.  I found some pottery and a bear fetish for myself and Nicida completed her birthday and Christmas shopping.

Arriving at the campground we get set up.  The weather was nice during the day but we feel it cooling off as the sun is setting.  I have a new green chile stew recipe to warm us up this evening.  We meet two friends Lawrence and Cecily who Nicida invited for the rally.  I had seen their VW van which they camp in at their house.  I am told they did a 7 week Alaska trip in this camper/van.  I want to see how two people can fit into this for 7 weeks and still be happily married.

After visiting with them in the van I could see how it can be done, I don’t think I could do it.  My camper is small but we have more room in my camper than in the van.

The Red Rock campground is operated by the city of Gallup.  It is nice, our spot is small but we don’t have the large camper where we need a lot of space.  Everyone talked about the bathrooms.  I have to agree, they are quite nice, with showers, and quite warm, a nice thing to have in early December.

Campground in foreground

The balloon rally is literally all around us.  There are two fields, one on either side of the campground where the balloons launch from.  It is very convenient if you are camping here.  Note:  make reservations early if you want a campsite for the rally.  I made my reservations in early November.

There is a balloon glow Friday night along with Native American dances.  The weather was beautiful for both.

Saturday morning we woke to upper 20’s; I saw frost on hoods of each of the vehicles.  The morning pilot briefing promises good weather for the launch.  Several people I talked with said this is the second most attended rally by pilots/balloonists.  Albuquerque’s balloon fiesta is number one.

Lori’s truck and trailer is already in the designated spot, her balloon slated for the second wave of balloons so we watch half of the field fill with color, inflate then launch.  Then it’s our turn to do the same.  Ballooning is a good workout.  Balloons and baskets are heavy; four to six of us pick up each part to position and deploy.  Experienced crew members tell me where to go and what to do.  I feel the cold air rush past me while holding the envelope open for the cold inflation.  I start thawing out once the burner is ignited, turned on, heating the air, getting the balloon to rise.  I expect to help the ground crew pack up and follow the balloon.  I was surprised when Lori invited me for a ride.  I know she loves photos of the activities so I think I was invited because of my photography skills.  I was told by one of her crew members this was how Lori got started with ballooning; photography.

This is a spectacular place to go ballooning.  Drifting above and among the red rock is picturesque.  Balloons add to the kaleidoscope of colors.  All around us balloons are rising, lowering, passing.  The air is not consistent.  A difference of a few hundred feet between balloons can mean each one going in a different direction.  Lori is constantly looking around asking us if there are any others in the immediate vicinity.  We cannot see directly above us so we watch for shadows indicating if the area above is clear.

Our flight lasted over two hours.  The winds were not necessarily taking us in the direction where we wanted to go so we had to set down several times.  Generally we were drifting on the wrong side of a huge arroyo.  We were not certain there was a way for the chase crew to get to where we landed.  Watching other balloons around us we floated about 20’ off the ground in the general direction where we could be retrieved by the crew.  In addition to the arroyo, we kept our eyes on the power lines several hundred yards away running parallel to the direction we were going.  One balloon in particular had to set down a hundred yards short of the right side of the arroyo; he had run out of fuel.

The chase crew has a hard job.  I did not see many roads where we were flying.  Experience and a good memory have to help when navigating across open stretches of land.  Once packed up we returned to the campground.  The crew has to get in line to get refueled for tomorrow’s flight.  I have to return to the camper to get something to eat.

After lunch Nicida and I hike the Church Rock trail.  The rock formations and colors are outstanding.  We can see layer upon layer of rock running from one end of the small valley to the other.

Saturday evening we meet with Lawrence and Cecily to have dinner at the El Rancho hotel.  El Rancho is famous for its list of Golden Age movies stars that stayed there while making films.  We wander past several rooms named after movie stars.  On their website you can request a room where your favorite movie star stayed.  The photos in the lobby are replete with movie stars.  I recognize some but certainly not all; I used to watch the Turner Classic Movie Channel with many of the same stars.

Sunday's ascension was cancelled due to winds.  We hiked up to the top of one of the red rocks for a higher view of the area.

Meeting the park manager we describe what we heard about one of the local museums.  It was the museum at the Red Rock campground.  This museum is not to be missed.  There are descriptions and artifacts from when this area was first inhabited.  Several people made significant donations of kachinas and other pieces of art. There are full size wood carvings lining the main hall.  Be sure to attend, we spent two hours viewing everything.

This was a good weekend

Thank you for stopping by,

Mark