Route 66 Part 3: New Mexico & The Balloon Fiesta — A Sky Full of Light

Route 66 Part 3: New Mexico & The Balloon Fiesta — A Sky Full of Light

 

📍 Part 3 — New Mexico & Balloon Fiesta

  • Main Highlights: Night Glow, Fireworks, Morning Mass Ascension
  • Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • Mood: Emotional, grateful, unforgettable
  • Theme: A sky filled with color, and a heart filled with wonder

Leaving the quirky charm of Oklahoma behind, we pressed quickly westward. We may have swiftly passed the Texas stretch, but the spirit of the Route 66 Midpoint stayed with us—the realization that we were now officially over halfway, heading into the vast, open skies of the Southwest. Entering New Mexico felt like crossing a threshold, where the landscape immediately transformed into the stunning, arid beauty of the desert.


New Mexico & The Balloon Fiesta — A Sky Full of Light

Route 66 part 3 — Albuquerque, New Mexico

We arrived in New Mexico without realizing that this place would hold one of the most breathtaking moments of our entire Route 66 journey. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta was something I had only seen in photographs — but being there felt like stepping into another world.

We were unbelievably lucky. Our travel dates aligned perfectly with the Fiesta schedule — a coincidence that felt like a small gift from the universe.


Hot air balloon lighting up during the Balloon Fiesta Night Glow in Albuquerque, surrounded by crowds under the desert night sky.
Night Glow — when fire and color breathe into the darkness.

A moment suspended in time: The rhythmic pulse of propane lighting up the giant silk lanterns.

The Night Glow — Lanterns of Fire and Silence

At night, the entire field came alive. Balloons stood anchored like giant sleeping creatures, and when the burners roared, their bodies lit up from within — fiery orange, deep red, warm yellow. The desert air was freezing, but every wave of heat from the balloons swept across us like a heartbeat.

Fireworks and drones painted the sky with light. For a moment, time felt suspended — as if everyone there shared the same dream. The sheer scale of the Night Glow was breathtaking. Hundreds of balloon teams coordinated their burner blasts, creating a simultaneous burst of light that turned the dark field into a massive, temporary canvas of color. This tethered event feels incredibly intimate: you can walk right up to these enormous silk lanterns and feel the rhythmic pulse of the heat. It was a shared, almost reverent silence among the thousands of spectators, interrupted only by the whoosh of the propane burners—a truly unforgettable, almost spiritual moment.

Returning Before Dawn — Waiting for the First Light

We returned before dawn for the mass ascension. Parking was crowded, and the walk was long and freezing. Desert mornings were sharper than we imagined — the air cutting and quiet.

Holding hot coffee between our hands, we waited as the darkness slowly lifted into pale blue.

Hundreds of colorful hot air balloons rising into a clear blue New Mexico sky during the Balloon Fiesta morning mass ascension.

The orchestrated chaos: Hundreds of balloons ascending into the clear New Mexico air.



                                          Morning Mass Ascension — a sky becoming a moving painting.

Then it began — one balloon, then another, and then hundreds. The sky transformed into a vast canvas of color and movement. Stripes, shapes, special balloons, bold patterns — each one rising with its own rhythm and heartbeat. The collective roar of the burners during the Mass Ascension was unlike anything I had ever experienced—a constant, rhythmic thunder of propane fueling the skyward movement.  Below, the ground crew worked with incredible coordination, their voices lost in the soundscape as they launched balloon after balloon. It was an orchestrated chaos of color and sound, a feat of human engineering and passion. Watching hundreds of these giants float into the clear air made the world feel immense and full of possibility.

My chest felt full. It was a moment when wonder returned. And I remember thinking:

“We did the right thing. We chose this journey. We chose to be here.”

This was our first time in New Mexico, and it welcomed us with a sky full of blessings.




 

“Sometimes, a single morning can change how you see the rest of your life.”
← Day 2: Missouri → Kansas → Oklahoma | Back to Route 66 Series | Day 4: Desert Roads & Western Skies →


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