Float on Oct 8, 2018

Float on

We’d like to trade our usual Monday morning experience in for this one, please. Welcome to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico. The festival continues through October 14, with plenty of on-the-ground entertainment beyond those balloon rides that might take you east of the city, to the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, seen in this photo. Many hot air balloon rides offer a champagne toast as part of the experience. The champagne tradition may have sprung from early balloon pilots having to land in farm fields on private property. Aeronauts began carrying champagne or other drinks with them to offer to the confused and sometimes angry landowners. You’re welcome to land in our backyard anytime, balloonists!

© Blaine Harrington III/Alamy

palette

Today in History

Oct 8, 2019Let s celebrate cephalopods
Oct 8, 2020An underwater rainbow
Oct 8, 2021An uncommonly cool critter
Oct 8, 2022World Octopus Day
Oct 8, 2023World Octopus Day
Oct 8, 2024World Octopus Day
Oct 8, 2025World Octopus Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Oct 2, 2022Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Mar 24, 2023Wild garlic in bloom at Hainich National Park, Germany
Mar 20, 2020Heron lies the Salton Sea
May 9, 2024Tulips at Emirgan Park in Istanbul, Türkiye
Jun 17, 2023International Surfing Day
Mar 16, 2018Celebrating National Panda Day
Jun 23, 2021Light show in the forest
Jun 29, 2023International Day of the Tropics
Oct 7, 2022Berlin Festival of Lights
Jul 2, 2021A meerkat stands alone
Sep 14, 2023Przewalskis horses, Hustai National Park, Mongolia
Mar 30, 2023Bright and colorful peacock feathers
Jan 8, 2023Breckenridge, Colorado
Jan 28, 2026Whanganui National Park, Retaruke, New Zealand
May 14, 2024Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico
Sep 20, 2023Aqueduct, Arkadia Park, Poland
Nov 19, 2020That bill s just not going to fit
Apr 18, 2025International Day for Monuments and Sites
Mar 21, 2018Celebrating the International Day of Forests
Dec 9, 2024Llama Day
Jun 9, 2025Old City of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia, Croatia
Nov 29, 2020New Zealand s loneliest mountain
Sep 25, 2022World Rivers Day
Oct 24, 2022Diwali lights in Guwahati, India
Oct 2, 2021A river on the tundra
Mar 26, 2018The Unfinished Obelisk near Aswan, Egypt
Sep 15, 2025Dallas Latino Cultural Center for Hispanic Heritage
Nov 30, 2023Saint Andrews Day
Jan 26, 2020It s Republic Day in India
May 9, 2019An endless journey