More Hot Air!

Thursday, October 6, 2016

We had another great day, and Jim got to take his maiden flight on That-A-Way balloon!  What a thrill!    The winds were a bit tricky today, and they studied the skies as they planned ahead for the launch.  After they took off, they floated quickly south, and the wind picked up..they approached 15 mph!  They began looking for a landing spot, but the wind kept carrying them in another direction.  Finally the wind stalled, and they hovered above a neighborhood, and then dropped expertly right in the middle of a neighborhood street!  I was with the chase crew and got a great video of the perfect landing which was pretty impressive!  All of the neighbors came running out, and were so excited about a balloon on their street. One guy was going to bring everyone a bowl of green chili soup they were making!  (we passed). Another guy asked if Dave could do this again tomorrow, so he could have the rest of his family come over to watch!  What fun it was!  Jim was riding in the balloon with a film guy who is working on a documentary of the Balloon Fiesta.  We all had to give permission to be on camera.  Maybe we’ll see it on Netflix someday!  It is quite an ordeal to get the balloon and all of the equipment packed up.  The balloon has to lay down on the street, and there is a tool that helps squeeze the air out.  It’s amazing that huge balloon can fit in a little canvas bag! It weighs about 250 lbs!

When we returned to the field, Dave had champagne waiting for us (tradition for a maiden flight).  He explained the history and the tradition, popped the cork, we all toasted,  and he signed the bottle and gave it to us!  Then we joined the group for a balloon brunch at the local casino, with great food and deluxe desserts.  This was a special year for Dave…his 37th (and he says final) balloon fest, so several of his siblings came for the weekend.  It’s been a real pleasure and such a privilege to enjoy the experience with a wonderful group of people.

We closed out the evening with the special shapes “Glowdeo”…a night glow of all of the special shapes balloons!  The balloons are so unusual, many are huge, and it was fun to see them all at once on the field. 

  The kids were out for fall break today and for the rest of the week, and you could tell the crowds were much larger. Everyone gets into the spirit around here!  In the RV park, many have moved out to make room for the next group coming in tomorrow for the weekend.  This Fiesta is such a big deal here…its incredible to see the number of people that participate.

We’ll see one more launch just after sunrise tomorrow and then have to be out by 10 am.   It’s been a great experience being part of the Desert Kaleidoscope this year!