The 2015 Taos Mountain Balloon Rally was a resounding success. It ran from Friday, October 23rd, to Sunday the 25th. The morning flights are called the Dawn Patrol, followed by the Mass Assension. Saturday night had the “Bloomenshine”, an event where the balloons are grounded and glowing. The name is a play on the name of Ernest Blumenschein, one of the founding members of the Taos Society of Artists and a resident of Taos starting in 1898. The parade on Saturday featured two dozen entrants, including the Pot Creek String Band on a float and many walking dogs from Stray Hearts Animal Shelter. I was part of the dog walking and had the honor of walking shelter resident “Major”. All of the dogs were extremely well behaved, as they knew there were many potential adopters on the sidelines.