Ron,
I fly out to Albuquerque every summer from Northern California. I've
generally found the wx very nice that time. Even the evening TSs are
almost always very circumnavigatable with small changes in the plan (I
usually land around 8pm).
How is the wx during the balloon deal? Is there a lot of ice? Is the
IFR flyable in non-ice planes? Is it usually CAVU?

-Robert