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Aren't they pretty? Beth says that she has been to a Balloon Glow where they played music and lit the Balloons in time to the beat. Something like a fireworks display I guess. However I was quite impressed with this show. I think there were a total of 7 balloons there. I'm uploading our Balloon Trip of this morning.

Beth and I each got up at 5.00am, gugs! and walked through the darkened rigs to the Balloon site. There was a crescent moon with Venus off to one side and Mars was enormous over the mountains. We got registered and then were taken by our Balloon Van over to the field where many Balloons were in the process of being filled. Beth and the other two passengers got roped in to help hold the Balloon open so air could be blown in from a large fan. I opted out, its handy having a bad back at times.


The basket is tipped on its side so that when the envelope is filled the burner can heat the air.


The guy next to us is firing up.


Until the Balloon rises it has to be held down. Also they don't want that flame to touch the material.


First one away.


View from on high.


And looking down. No, I didn't throw up!


Beth will post more. We are off to a Seminar. Toodle-ooh!

Beautiful! Did ya pop a bottle of champagne after the ride was over?

"Beth and I each got up at 5.00am, gugs!" ...is 'gugs' a Scottish term, like "are ye mollachin aboot" ? ? ?

Awesome! Now I need more room to add to my list. Looks like a beautiful day for your ride, too. Those balloons are soooo pretty.

I LOVE balloon rides. I've gone to Gallup, New Mexico several times. The first weekend of December they have a 3-day balloon festival at Red Rock Park. You can, if you want, just open your curtains in the morning and see all the balloons all around you amongst the red rocks. If you're brave (cause its cold) and you walk among the balloons filling up and offer to help anyone short of helpers, you can score a free ride. My first one they gave me a lei (from the guy who says who goes up first and so on). Had champagne around 10am after the ride. I took three rolls of film and kept saying, "oh, look" to the point I think they wanted to stuff something in my mouth. Sometimes you only go on the recovery team which is also fun. Stay away from volunteering for the speciality balloons - all those special apendages have to be individually emptied of air and folded. I learned this the hard way by volunteering for Hamlet, the pink flying pig and for Las Cruces Chili peppers balloon. Okay, anyone want to meet me in Gallup this coming December? Gallup Red Rock park has electric and water but only a dump site.
Friday night they have a glow and local Indians dance around a bonfire.

More pictures, please, please, please.

Oh my,..... think about it,...take a nylon (?) fabric, make it into a baloon shape, .... tie a basket onto the bottom,... and blow FIRE into it while way high off the ground. ..... thanks but i think I'll stay on the ground and take the pictures.... I felt like throwing up just looking at the photos from up there,... Cedar = w-o-o-s-e..... total woose!

p.s. and i do understand about heating the air to make baloon rise,.... but geeeeese,... FIRE?????

I LOVE balloons. I love the early-morning excitement & beauty as they inflate. I love to watch them go up. You couldn't get me up in another one for anything. I went up in a tethered balloon by myself, and I was never so terrified in my life. I didn't KNOW I had a fear of heights. Petrified.

Getupngo wrote:I LOVE balloons. I love the early-morning excitement & beauty as they inflate. I love to watch them go up. You couldn't get me up in another one for anything. I went up in a tethered balloon by myself, and I was never so terrified in my life. I didn't KNOW I had a fear of heights. Petrified.

Ha! Exact thing happened to me. I am a VERY adventurous person...have never hesitated to try anything at least once. A few years ago, after a long Trust Meeting in Palm Springs, I arranged for some of my co-workers that I liked to go on a sunrise balloon ride. After all, I was the one who always put together all the After-Trust Meeting Fun Times - whitewater rafting, kayaking, etc. I hopped in that balloon basket, excited as all get up. Five feet off the ground, I froze stone cold. Put a death grip on one of the basket's corner stantions and didn't move one muscle the entire trip! Thought I was gonna die. Actually asked God to take me before my heart gave out.

Sure do like looking at them, though...

Thanks for the pictures.

Karen, were the Indians nekkid? Sarah, I was more worried about motion sickness than the height. I went on a Whale watching boat once. They were calling out, Jean, the whales are breeching! Frankly me dears, by that time I didn't give a d....
Mitch, Hud yer wheesh an' stop yer girnin'. I think I picked up Gugs when I was at school in England. The translation of what I just said is, Hold your noise and stop your crying. I heard that many many times as a child!

That looked like it was a wonderful experience. I wonder though if I would be like mitch and freak out once I was off the ground. I totally admire you and Beth's courage to try new adventures. Thanks for posting all the pictures.

Well the first thing Beth and I said when we landed was, "Parachute jumping next?" Actually what we would really like to do is what Sharon does. Ziplining I think its called. I know she zipped from tree to tree. I'd like to try that.

A few more pics. First, us about 5 seconds before we took off:



If I zoom in correctly here, could find our rigs way up in the upper left:



Some of the balloons flew pretty low to ground most of the trip. This one was right above the Rio Grande:



Others soared high in the sky - I liked looking at them with the snow capped mountain in the background:



We got to watch a few of them land:



And we picked out this pretty grand estate:



Alas, we had to land eventually also - and yes, we had a bumpy landing - the basket on the side is just where we crawled out :



What a glorious morning! Would do it again in a heartbeat and if I ever get back to the Quechee Gorge Balloon Festival in VT, will definitely take a ride there -

There are several places you can do ziplining in Alaska. My dd (daughter) wanted to do that as one of our cruise excursions last summer. I told her I wasn't sure it would be good for my back, so she decided not to either.

Wonderful, beautiful pictures! I would love to go up in a balloon. It must be so quiet and peaceful. (until they blast the hot air into the balloon to keep it afloat ! When they use to soar over my house it sounded like fire breathing dragons in the air.