It's exciting to watch the crews lay out the yards and yards of multi-colored fabric, drawing it like taffy from huge storage bags and then spreading out to await inflation. Soon the noise of a motorized fan draws your attention to the base of the about-to-be-inflated fabric bag. Cold morning air quickly fills the flattened material and in minutes the true shape of the marvelous handwork of skilled artisans is revealed. Whether it's a familiar-shaped globe or the extraordinary special shapes, the first view of inflated balloons is thrilling.

Then comes the roar of the gas burners, gigantic blow torches, belching hot air into the cold inflated bags. The hot air quickly completes the inflation process as the rising shape strains at the ropes and weights holding the craft down. The creatures, especially the special shaped balloons which look like monsters, huge bears, dragons, chickens and even tennis shoes, appear to come alive and anxiously await the go-ahead to launch skyward. It's an awesome things to see.

And before you know it the skies are alive with dozens, nay hundreds, of lifting colors and shapes of every description. There were over 800 balloons launched in just a couple of hours under New Mexico's clear sunshine. The panoramic views, against a backdrop of azure skies, were breathtakingly beautiful. The crowds were not disappointed. In fact the "Ooohs, Aaahs " and other exclamations of pure joy became the language of choice.

Yet all the emphasis in the media is on the mass ascension phase, plus the period when the skies are filled with so many delightful balloons. Few pay attention to the other end of the process, that phase when mass ascension becomes mass "descension".

This morning, around 8:30, we were in position to witness the final flight activities of dozens of special shape balloons. In an open area about 400 acres in size, and some three miles south of the launch field, we had a front row seat for the mass descension. It was in some ways even more spectacular than watching the launch phase.

Barely 100 yards to the north of us, flying at just fifty feet above the ground, came a procession of wonderful special shape balloons. A colorful flying tennis shoe, followed by a 100-foot tall black and white cellular telephone, and even a blazingly bright yellow and orange sun face approached.
They were soon joined by a purple dragon, two brown and gray bears, a huge lightbulb, and an enormous race car. All landed within yards of us, each greeted by scurrying ground crews who arrived just seconds earlier in a variety of pickup trucks and vans to rescue the landing orbs of pure delight. Winds were, fortunately, very light. The passenger-carrying baskets gently touched the ground and the inflated airbags above barely tilted with the forward momentum or winds. And though there were trees and power lines in the area, skillful pilots managed to avoid those hazards. The only mishap we witnessed was on balloon landing atop another which was almost fully deflated.

I couldn't resist the comment " Oh look, the de-flater mouse " (Aarrrgh. Apologies to Straus) as I watched a mouse-shaped balloon begin to crumple before us. The black and white creature quickly morphed from fully inflated to a gradually flattening pile of fabric. Last to fall were the extended ears. Such a strange sight.