I have always dry camped across the street from the main launch field. The best reason to park there is that most of the balloons will fly over your RV's one morning or another during the week. Many times they will have a target in the middle of the RV's (not close enough to hit one though) in a dirt area, about 300' X 400' without any RV's and target in the center.
The pilots toss bags filled with bird seed (non-toxic) and their name on the bag, the closest ones win a prize. $100 or more?
One day they have the pilots launch off site, and try to fly over the main field and grab a prize off the poles set up for this reason. Prizes can be more than $500 and they all try for them! It is a morning that they launch the special shapes from the field, and other balloons try to fly over low and slow.
You can walk back and forth from the 'old field' to the main field. Google it - you will get the idea of what it looks like. It is on Alameda St, Albuquerque, NM. It is about 2 miles west of I25 and about 5 miles north of I40. The new field has grass on it, the old field is south of it, and across Alameda. There are shuttle busses going between the two fields. I prefer a bike! It leaves when you want to, and no lines of other people trying to leave at the same time.
Say you go to the 'night glow' on the first Sunday or on Wednesday. There will be about 100 hot air balloons set up on the field, tethered to not launch. Just after sunset, they will listen to the radio, and the DJ will do a count down 3-2-1, and they will turn on their burners all at once. It lights up the center of the ballons! Ones that are special shape look especially wonderful! Once it gets to windy, or after about 90 minutes, all of the balloons come down, and 80,000 people go to their cars or line up to catch a school bus across ALameda to the old field RV park. Crowds? Lines for the bus? THey can not just go 20 MPH across the street filled with people walking and cars also on the same roads. It has improved a LOT, but still it takes time. . . I ride a bike. It needs a light because it will be dark out.
The 'old field' RV park does not require or even need reservations. Sure they would like to sell you a 14 day pass a month in advance, and give a discount for buying one. If you plan to stay put all 14 days then it might be for you. However I NEVER stayed put. I normally was out driving my camper around, or the times I showed up with a motorhome and towed a car, I would take the RV up to Santa Fe, or other places on windy days.
So imaging this. You are in a hot air balloon - wind picks up to about 15 MPH. You are thinking (like I did when I was there in 1992) How exciting, you get to see more land, and go faster! It is exciting, and landing is kinda like stepping out of a pickup going 15 MPH too! So most pilots will not launch when the winds exceed 10 MPH, because normally it will get windier later in the day. So on Tuesday if they are predicting wind tomorrow, I will leave at noon, and go to Santa Fe, or plan on going to the zoo the next day, ect.
You can not say today that Wednesday will be a no fly day. They figure that out the day before, or even in the morning. I even got all ready to launch the balloon I Was helping with, and the pilot said "NO WAY" at the last minute, we put everything back into the trailer. I was taking pictures of the other balloons launching around us. We went back to the field, and watched some others fly around. Then heard about their landings. One was dragged a dozen feet across a field.
Have fun camping! It is a LOT of fun. Go to the "Pilot Volunteer" station. They will sometimes give you a free pass to get back on the field, and sometimes offer snacks to the helpers!
Fred.
Money can't buy happiness but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a
Porsche or Country Coach!
If there's a WILL, I want to be in it!
I havn't been everywhere, but it's on my list.
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