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Albuquerque Double Rainbow

I took this photo back when the whole “Double Rainbow” video was going viral.

Night Glow

Hot air balloons can only be so exciting to those left on the ground, so the event coordinators plan as many interesting spectacles as possible. The vendors selling cheap trinkets and overpriced “food” from their makeshift stalls are thankful.

One of the popular events is the Night Glow, where the balloons inflate with their burning propane tanks and light up like ornaments. The hissing of nearly a thousand gas tanks is just as much a part of the experience as the visual.

Special Shapes – The Bueno Balloon

Despite their infinite combinations of colors and patterns, teardrop-shaped balloons lose the attention of the audience to the Special Shapes balloons. Bees, Witches, Dragons – if someone has the creativity to imagine a shape and the know-how (and financial backing) to put it together, you’ll see it a the Balloon Fiesta.

This particular balloon is one of which many Albuquerque natives are proud. Bueno Foods parades its famous Chile Ristra through the skies of the town. The Ristra is a decorative element seen all over the state – dried chiles are strung up to soak up the sun, presumably to be taken down and cooked (although most I’ve seen have gathered far too much dust and mold).

Kokopelli

This balloon bears a very traditional icon seen everywhere in the Southwest. Kokopelli, an iconic figure in Native American mythology, represents an entire gamut of concepts, from music to fertility.

Spiral Balloon

Colors and patterns abound. Many balloons have the logos of their corporate sponsors emblazoned across their surface, while others opt for a more traditional approach.

Dawn Patrol

Another event with more of a practical purpose is the Dawn Patrol. A series of balloons are sent up an hour before dawn to test wind conditions at various altitudes. Hot air balloons are incredibly sensitive to changes in the weather, and sending a thousand into the air – surrounded by 10,000 spectators – requires a few precautions.

Kushal Marvels at the Weather

Labor day falls at the end of New Mexico’s “Monsoon Season,” where the weather is fickle and entirely unpredictable. We were cruising along with the windows down one minute, then the next we were kicking the wipers up to full blast to see through the cloudburst that was overtaking us.

The weather made for some great lighting, though. Would that I had a waterproof camera, I would have captured the shot of the sun illuminating each raindrop from behind as they poured down on the glistening pine forest.

The Valles Caldera

Continuing northwards, we find ourselves at the Valles Caldera. This was the site of the Toledo Eruption, many many millenia ago. This volcanic eruption, they say, had 600 times the explosive power of Mount Saint Helens. It blew the top off this mountain, leaving a crater over 13 miles wide and scattering volcanic ash as far as Lubbock, Texas.

Elephant Butte Lake

The horizontal emphases in this shot seem almost planned. The water, the wide stretches of land, the clouds…

The stillness of the photograph belies the rapidly changing weather. It was quite windy here (as evidenced by the rippling water) and weather systems moved in and out, tossing thunderstorms all around the countryside.

2005-07-17 – But Wait! There’s More!

This city is simply remarkable. More than anything else, though, is the weather. In the half hour that’s lapsed since my last entry, the blue sky has given way to a crackling thunderstorm.

Nature seems to possess a great deal of power here. It almost feels like a sentient force. To gaze at the clouds, they move and change shape in a way that makes them seem alive. At any time, if there are any clouds in the sky at all, there seem to be several different types, all layering over one another. There are the cumulous, puffy and carrying heavy blue shadows in all of their folds. The cirrus clouds wisp out above them, with much softer edges that fade into the sky. The nimbostratus slip into view from the horizon almost without warning, rolling across with fury and unleashing thunder and lightning and torrential rain, then vanishing as quickly as they came.

As a result, the sunsets here are unbelievably gorgeous. The window in my apartment faces the West, so I do cannot watch the sun rising over the Sandia mountains, but I do have the benefit of seeing the sky burst into flames every evening as the sun paints the clouds in glorious brilliant reds and oranges.

As tangible as the clouds, quick gusts of wind can pick up at a moment’s notice, whirling the orange dust about and depositing it on windows, on cars, in people’s eyes and hair. A storm will pull the dust down out of the air, and as the raindrops dry they leave an outline of dust in their stead.

Quite the opposite of New York, here the weather seems to dictate the people. Instead of standing fiercely opposed to the onslaught of nature, the buildings more respond to it, attempt to cooperate with it, as if realizing the futility of anything otherwise.

More as I am inspired. Hopefully coherence accompanies epiphany.