Special Shapes and Special Friends

Friday, October 7, 2016

We got to see one more launch this morning before we took off.  This one was the special shapes rodeo, which featured the special shapes balloons.  There were magnificent balloons, in every shape and size and color you could ever imagine! 

The kids loved the special shapes, and would shriek and scream when they lifted from the ground, which really added to the excitement of the event.  The horse patrol watched as the Paw Patrol Balloon launched!

As we departed, we hugged goodbye to all of our newfound friends. It is surprising how the friendships developed after one short week of being together each day.  What a great group of people, who took us in and included us as part of their balloon family! And, they are such an interesting group:  The driver of the chase vehicle was Tim, an air traffic controller.  (I think you have to drive crazy to be a chase vehicle driver…hope he didn’t learn that from watching the skies.)   He educated us on how they measure the wind and currents.   His brother Dan, helped assemble the basket, laid out the balloon, and drove the second chase vehicle.  Dan is a Colts season ticket holder and lives in Albuquerque!  He’s the one that keeps the supplies stocked (including the Albuquerque Sunrises!)  Frank, a UPS guy,  was the “strong man” who held the lead rope, lugged the propane tanks around and held the basket until the “go ahead” was received.  Dee, a retired teacher and Gary, a builder from Crawfordsville, were in charge of the radios. Gary is the one that communicated with Dave via radio during the flight and the chase, communicating location, landing plans and any issues on the ground or in the air.  Dee previously took balloon pilot lessons, so was very familiar with the operations of the balloon, and helped get the balloon ready and inflated.  Mina was responsible for getting the proper forms and releases signed, and organized who rode in which vehicle.  And, she was always cleaning and arranging the trailer, and sometimes held the fan to inflate the balloon.   Pilot Dave oversaw the entire operation, and double checked each step.  He also handled the burner, and did the final inflation.  He was so professional, experienced and calm in every way.  You can see what an interesting group this is, and also can see there is a lot that goes into putting a balloon in the air. 

After the launch, we had to hurry back to the RV lot, (we had to be out by 10am). A couple of balloons had landed right in the middle of the RV’s.  One balloon pilot yelled…”I want that spot!”.  Then, as we got our coffee-to-go from the rally tent, we hugged our wagon-masters and ambassadors who put on the motorhome event.  This was one of the best rallies we’ve been to.  All of the arrangements are made by Fantasy RV Tours, and we are now silver members because we’ve been on 4 trips with them.  And, we’ve booked another trip for next fall—this one to see the Polar Bears in their migration!

As we drove away from the city, we could still see hundreds of balloons hanging in the sky. 

It was so much fun!