One more random balloon picture. The days have equaled out and my senses come alive as the temperature finally dips below the 90's and the sky deepens to the distinctive blue of fall.
Ah, this perfect time of year! My favorite time inbetween, where the grass is still green, the days have cooled, the fall flowers are blooming and the pumpkins are almost here! I can hear the high school band on Friday nights, the Tiger fight song floats accross town faintly accompanied by the distant sound of drums. For me, fall all is all about mums, homecoming parades, football games and harvest.
I snapped these two in town, it is really neat to see random balloons landing where ever. 
Happy autumnal equinox and welcome to fall!
The Giant Saguaro is up and going! It is so massive, it dwarfs the other balloons. There is a special shape that is a chile Ristra that is about the same size as this one. I didn't see that one this time. It shaped up into a beautiful day.
This shot shows my favorite one from a distance, Smokey Bear.
These were the last ones to get up and going. I feel like it is old friends when I see the same balloons year after year and pick out newcomers.
The witch and cactus travel together and are two very popular ones. I liked the reflections in the puddle and seeing how tiny people are in comparison to these balloons.
One last shot as they head out over the dunes. Another gorgeous day for an adventure. I missed the Tularosa Basin Wine Festival that was also going on the same weekend as well as the Golden Aspen Bike Rally in Ruidoso that brings in thousands of bikers.
We had a great weekend! There was alot going on and we did not make it to everything, but we did make it to White Sands this morning for the second day of the balloon fiesta. We got there in the pre-dawn light and the softly colored sunrise was just beginning to illuminate the sands.
We topped a dune and saw the crews beginning to unpack and lay out the balloons. We have had this festival for several years and 50 plus balloons attend. Half of them launch from around town and half from the sands on the first day and then they switch launch sites on the second day. 
We got there about an hour before launch, and it was about 55 degrees outside, colder in the sands. Even in the heat of summer when it is over 100 degrees and brilliant sunshine beats down reflecting off the dunes, they are suprisingly cool just a few inches down.
The Wells Fargo balloon was the first to get up and going this morning. there were puddles in the flats of the dunes so they had to work around that. The kids all played on their saucers, sliding down the dunes.
The sun is now up and more balloons are being inflated. Albuquerque has their HUGE balloon fiesta next month, and we are very lucky to be able to host as many as we do and to have such a amazing setting.
Yep, another sign of fall for me... Caught this one on the way to work this morning.
The White Sands Balloon Invitational will be soon and it is amazing! I cannot wait to see all of the special shapes and new ones I haven't noticed before. The weather is turning and it is just right for them to enjoy a New Mexico morning. The sky is this amazing deep blue in autumn, just as clear and crisp as you could want.
