I grow weary of central New Mexico’s brown winter colors every single year. I decided to brighten my world by going to the annual balloon festival in Bluff, Utah, a couple of weeks ago. Bluff is a tiny little Four Corners1 town and this year all of ten balloons showed up for the festival. Compared to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta’s hundreds of balloons, Bluff’s showing was miniscule.
I quickly realized that the small size suited me very well. The pace seemed much less frenetic. Balloons didn’t have to go up in their designated “waves” — instead they went up when they were ready. There were neither traffic jams nor huge crowds, and parking was plentiful and free.
Best of all, from my point of view, the scenery was nothing less than phenomenal. The balloons went up from Valley of the Gods2 on the last day of the festival. Valley of the Gods is so close to Monument Valley that you can see one from the other on a clear day; the landscapes are very similar.
The balloon on the right in the image above is one of my all-time favorites. Not just because it features a sugar skull3 but because it also says New Mexico True.4
I took almost 2500 photos while I was there. Which means you’ll likely be seeing many more in the weeks to come.
The Four Corners area is where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona all meet.
Valley of the Gods became part of Bears Ears National Monument a few years back, was later carved out of it, and now is part of Bears Ears again. It doesn’t seem to have changed much (if at all) since I was last there in 2005. (Here’s a Smithsonian piece about it, written after it was taken out of Bears Ears but before it was added back in.)
I love all things Día de Muertos. You can learn more about sugar skulls here.
I love all things New Mexico too. You wouldn’t be wrong in thinking that #NewMexicoTrue is little more than a hashtag or marketing slogan — but it’s my state’s marketing slogan.
such a treat to join you virtually at that festival in Utah :)