Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

I definitely recommend staying at the Balloon Fest. Last year (2012) we arrived on the Thursday before the first weekend without reservations. We stayed Thurs thru Sunday night in the "cheap" sites, no hook-ups. After we checked in they escorted us to the water so we could fill-up our fresh water tank (no additional charge) and then to our site. This is typical rally style camping, we had great neighbors, generators are allowed during certain hours, paddy wagon is available (at addt'l charge) - it was great. the best thing was that we did not have to get up and fight traffic in order to arrive before daylight for lift-off. We just stepped out of our motorhome and caught the shuttle (no charge) to the launch pad. Same to get back to the site. Plus, on Sunday, the wind was such that the balloons traveled directly over the rv's. Very cool sight to see!