Story and photos by Mark Wing

Betty Housholder, a senior member of our club and a long-time volunteer of the Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, organized the annual showing of our Model T’s at the Balloon Fiesta on Sunday, October 8.  Starting before 5AM, our club members began arriving at the Balloon Fiesta site.  Twelve of our club Model Ts were on display at this event.

The weather conditions were perfect for a successful launch, first by the Dawn Patrol – “Dawn Patrol pilots take off in the dark and fly until it is light enough to see landing sites. Fellow balloonists appreciate the Dawn Patrol because they can watch the balloons and get an early idea of wind speeds and directions at different altitudes.and then by the other balloons. (from the balloonfiesta.com website)”  This Balloon Fiesta was memorable because of the appearance of many new special shapes balloons including a gun-toting Armadillo and an Alien Rocket!

Once the weather warmed up – around 9AM, and the balloons started to lose lift, the balloons began to land and the crowds started to disperse.  Many spectators left the balloon field and came to look at our cars parked near the Balloon Museum.  Our club is always happy to show off our Tin Lizzies and answer questions.

It was a beautiful and enjoyable day.

Thank you Betty for organizing this event!