We’d like to trade our usual Monday morning experience in for this one, please. Welcome to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico. The festival continues through October 14, with plenty of on-the-ground entertainment beyond those balloon rides that might take you east of the city, to the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, seen in this photo. Many hot air balloon rides offer a champagne toast as part of the experience. The champagne tradition may have sprung from early balloon pilots having to land in farm fields on private property. Aeronauts began carrying champagne or other drinks with them to offer to the confused and sometimes angry landowners. You’re welcome to land in our backyard anytime, balloonists!
Float on
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Up on the glacier
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Did they forget to fly south?
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What does the fox dream?
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Wheels up in Beijing
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World Lizard Day
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Longer days mean warmer sand
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Wayag Islands in the Raja Ampat Islands of Indonesia
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Put your flippers in the air…
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The dry days of winter in Etosha
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Kissing Day
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Astronomy Day
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Celebrating National Park Week, April 21-29
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World Migratory Bird Day
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No, it s not a leaf. Happy Look-alike Day
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Here we honor the women who ve served
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It’s NASA’s 60th birthday
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Fresh water on the Silk Road
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Rice processing in Bangladesh
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Have a ‘beary’ good Earth Day
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Sharp-dressed bug
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Arbor Day
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Hemingway’s Keys
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Join the parade for World Elephant Day
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Surf s up—Down Under
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Asteroid Day
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Kluane National Park
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Great horned owl fledglings
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A misty morning in Brazil
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From Sputnik to extraterrestrial storms
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An aviation celebration