So Many Hot Air Balloons. So Little Time.

On Saturday morning, I was up early, and out at the hot air balloon field in Albuquerque, for the start of the 37th Annual International Balloon Fiesta. There are 621 pilots registered this year.

ABC Radio hired me to file this report.



National stories are a great way to supplement my small reporter's salary. ABC producers in New York expect four to five sound bites per story, and the each report has to be less than :25 seconds.

Now I'm off to the Rio Grande Art and Crafts Festivals.

Tonight, I'll check out the launch of the helium and hydrogen balloons as they begin their long journey... This year both the 2008 Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett and Americas Challenge races will be launched from Albuquerque. Who knows where they'll land. Some years they make it all the way to the Eastern border of Canada. Last year, they got stuck with no strong jet stream and landed in Colorado. Here's the link to track each team's progress.

On Sunday, I'll check out even more of this year's events.