Thousands of people came to Albuquerque's annual Balloon Fiesta on Saturday, to witness the twin spectacles of hundreds of balloons filling the sky at dawn, and a "ring of fire" solar eclipse which cast a chilly shadow as the moon passed in front of the sun while spectators cheered.
For many, the day began so early on the Saturday morning that it was still dark as they set up lawn chairs and rolled out their blankets, while the last stars twinkled above a drone show.
As the first balloons begin to inflate, regulars like college friends Ethan and Micah, looked for their favorites.
"I've always been a fan of Arabelle," said Ethan. "She's the special-shaped cow."
Crews set up giant rainbow-patterned balloons right in the crowd and launched with spectators just feet away. Among them were "zebras", or launch directors, like Christina Meadows.
"We're wearing black and white referee outfits so that we're visible to the pilots," she explained.
The first round of balloons ascended before sunrise, their flames glowing against the night sky while people cheered. The rest, including animal faces, company names and familiar cartoons, inflated in neat rows through the crowd.
As the sun came up, jets flew while the national anthem played, and the flame from every basket on the ground lit up at once.
The scene was familiar from decades of ads and the photos that deck the city's airport. But being there in person for the first time, it was incredible to see the balloons floating like bubbles into the clear morning. Hundreds inflated one by one, and started to drift across the city, small as toys.
As the morning wore on, people prepared for the next spectacle: the annular, or "ring of fire" eclipse, that saw the moon pass in front of the sun, peaking at 10.36am.
Roxanne Tiner came from Texas, excited to see both the balloons and the celestial phenomenon. She watched two Star Wars-themed balloons inflate, and people dressed as Stormtroopers, Jawas and other characters working the crowd.
"This is going to be pretty incredible, along with Darth Vader and Yoda," she said.
As the moment of the eclipse approached, people aligned their lawn chairs and blankets towards the Sandia mountains, to look at the sun through eclipse glasses provided by NASA. The temperature dropped, the light dimmed eerily. As the moon moved in front of the sun, and a glowing ring appeared around it, cheers and applause erupted.
And then, people who had woken in the middle of the night packed up their picnics, stashed their special glasses and streamed back to their cars, beginning to yawn.
But for the volunteers who help do everything from unroll the balloons to keep people from getting too close, the week wasn't quite over. Ben Palmer has helped out at the fiesta for over 20 years.
"During Fiesta, no one sleeps," he said. "Monday, usually if I have a guest from another country, I'll be taking them to the airport. And after that I go home and I try not to wake up till Wednesday."
Alice Fordham contributed reporting
