The gas balloon has an enclosed cell that contains a lifting gas, usually helium. While hot-air balloons usually float only a few hundred to a thousand feet above Albuquerque, the gas balloonists often fly several thousand feet above the ground and attempt to reach faster winds at higher elevations. Because altitude is not controlled by heating the air, pilots use navigation, elevation and strategy to use the weather patterns that have taken them as far as Minnesota and West Virginia. The State of Enchantment If you get tired of balloons, there are plenty of areas left to explore. New Mexico may not be a whole country but it is as big as the whole outdoors.
Few states can boast six of the seven life zones on earth.
Nor are many areas blessed with high altitude mountains while being one of the most southern states in the continental United States. These combinations provide for recreational opportunities that are as varied as the terrain. Hiking and biking can be done in almost any region of the state using trails on mesa tops, desert canyons or high mountain meadows. Numerous lakes and streams beckon anglers fishing for trout, bass, walleye or catfish. Hunting ranges from the mule deer to elk or the exotic oryx and ibex.