15 majestic images from the world's largest hot air balloon festival

A fall tradition for 44 years, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta took flight for nine days amid some pretty vicious winds.

Though the weather was warm and pleasant for spectators, cyclone-like winds above forced the cancellation of the event's premier gas balloon race. "This is the most difficult balloon-flying weather we've ever had," Roger Hoppe, a pilot of 40 years, told the Albuquerque Journal.

Still, the show went on, with over 500 balloons dancing across the sky while thousands of attendees enjoyed music, New Mexican specialties like Pinon Coffee, a wide array of fair-type foods, and even the opportunity to take their own balloon ride.

Keep scrolling to see what it was like.