Day 1 - View from the dam 2 blocks from my house

Day 1 - From the ridge of the dam, you can see the park where the balloons are taking off.

Day 1 - The balloons are landing.

Day 2 - At the park, catching a burn.

Day 2 - Watching a balloon get ready for liftoff.

Day 2 - And they are off.

Day 2 - My favorite special shaped balloon, a turtle with a bow tie, gym shoes with the laces untied.

Day 2 - The Darth Vader balloon, first time ever in the US.

Day 2 - And he deflated. The pilot was nervous about the winds.

Day 2 - These are bees that go up together holding hands and then kiss while in the sky.

Day 2 - Guess they had an argument, no kiss today.

Day 4 - Shot from my backyard.

Day 4 - This balloon popped out from behind the tree, travelling very fast.

Day 4 - This balloon flew directly over my house.

Day 5 - View from the damn by my house.

Day 6 - Back at the park, it was special shapes day.

Day 6 - Every morning at least 1 balloon flies the flag and the anthem is played.

Day 6 - Today, 3 balloons carried the flag, but I only captured 2. Wells Fargo was the main sponsor this year.

Day 6 - Noah's Ark

Day 6 - Humpty Dumpty

Day 6 - there were 96 special shaped balloons this year.

Day 6 - There were a number of halloween featured balloons.

Day 6 - Wells Fargo special shaped balloon, a stagecoach, this is one of the biggest balloons at the fiesta.

Day 6 - A panda bear, I heard rumor Panda Express is trying to buy or sponsor the balloon.

Day 6 - Honda's Asimo waving at the crowd.

Day 6 - I hear that new balloon riders receive champagne when they land. This balloon would fill a lot of glasses. Ha Ha.

Day 6 - Another massive balloon, the Energizer Bunny!

Day 6 - Awww, they made up.

Day 6 - A haunted mansion, Brazil made this balloon, and many other special shapes too.

Day 6 - And a great big giant cow! They claim to be the biggest hot air balloon. The name... Airabel.

Day 6 - A giant lighthouse, named Flighthouse.

Day 6 - After the special shapes went up, a flying competition got under way.

Day 6 - Waves of balloons went up every 5 minutes for an hour.

Day 6 - The balloons are so colorful and the sky so blue.

Day 6 - Picture do not do the scene of balloons justice. There were hundreds flying overhead competing.

Day 6 - They were trying to grab a white flag at the end of a pole. Only about 4 or 5 made it. It was so cool to watch.

Day 7 - Back at the dam with balloons flying overhead.

Day 7 - The clouds and jet trails made for interesting photos.

Day 7 - Here is a chase crew coming back from picking up a balloon and it's pilot and passengers.

Day 8 - I had to run to grab this one before the balloon drifted off past the water.

Day 9 - Glowing balloons. It was cold, it was about 6 in the morning, and I was loving every moment.

Day 9 - These early morning balloons are called the Dawn Patrol. They check the winds at different heights and report back to the rest of the pilots.

Day 9 - My mom calls them fireflies, which is quite appropriate because they light up on and off as they rise.

Day 9 - Most people spend time on the field with the balloons, here I found a ridge to get an overlook.

Day 9 - This balloon barely managed to clear these flags. It ended up landing just on the other side of the parking lot.

Day 9 - All of the balloons flew over the ridge this day. It was amazing.

Day 9 - There were about 700 balloons this year.

Day 9 - Weather was good and many pilots lifted off every day, which is unusual.

Day 9 - As you can see, the sun was just starting to rise over the mountain.

Day 9 - A view north past the parking lot.

Day 9 - The sun is starting to shed light on the balloons.

Day 9 - Yet another special shape, a beer mug with the foam spilling over.

Day 9 - Rising from among the masses.

Day 9 - The flags made for nice framing.

Day 9 - So did the photographers.

Day 9 - Simply beautiful.