Have you ever seen a hot air balloon ride from start to finish?
While we were at my parents' house there was a hot air balloon festival going on and we expressed our interest to my dad. Of course, being in a small town, my dad just happened to know a guy who had his own balloon and hooked us up with a great deal on a ride.
We took a gander at the balloon festival, but not too many balloons showed up this year. So we were even more grateful to actually get to go up in one. We were hoping the girls would get a ride, too, but they were too little. They were very disappointed and made sure to pout whenever we brought it up. ;)
The morning of we woke not-so-bright but very early and got ready to go. We had to wait an hour, though, for this fog to burn off a bit.
Once it did, we headed into the Taos canyon to prepare for take-off. Our guide, John, told my dad he was going to get a crash course in ballooning. Thank goodness he's a fast learner. ;)
The boys pulling the basket and balloon out of the truck. Funny they never asked me to lift a finger...
After the balloon was unrolled from its bag, Colin had the fun job of holding the mouth of the balloon open while the fan filled it up with air.
After a few minutes I went over to help him. It's amazing how quickly your arms start to hurt doing this. Or maybe it was just my arms. I'm sure Colin was fine.
Since he was fine, I took it upon myself to continue documenting the process. We were fascinated by every aspect of it.
My dad looks so tiny holding this big balloon. I believe his job was to keep it on the ground as long as possible until it was time to let it rise.
And when it did, it really pulled my dad along. He was running across this field. See how far he's leaned back? Nuts, I tell ya.
The balloon just about ready to go. Better hurry if I wanna make my flight! :)
Once we hurdled ourselves into the teeny basket we waved goodbye to my parents and the girls, whoo were now going to chase us through the canyon. The girlies were really excited about the balloon spotting.
View of the spot we just left.
My love of the balloon shadows begins.
Coming over the mountain into Angel Fire Valley where we would eventually land.
John, talking us lower and lower.
At first he didn't tell us what we were doing and I tried to quiet the voices in my head. But I have to say my heart was pumping just a wee bit.
I didn't realize just how much control he has over the balloon. A lot of it is up to chance (and the wind) but he was really in command of it as he maneuvered us around the hill top.
He was trying to get a pine cone for us, but there didn't seem to be any when we were down in the treetops (that sounds funny, huh?) so we settled for some pine needles instead. :)
Flying over my parents' house and heading towards the airport.
I just loved the aerial views around the town. I could have stayed up there and snapped photos all day long.
The airport as we headed in.
After we landed, John got out of the basket and told us to stay in. He used our weight to keep the balloon on the ground while he moved the basket around a bit to get it in the right position. Once my dad had dragged the balloon to the ground we were allowed to get out. But not before we were on our backs while the basket was turned over. I wish we'd gotten a photo of that. Colin and I were laughing so hard.
After they packed everything up, we headed back to my parents' house for a champagne toast and we were rewarded with a certificate and badges while being regaled with the story of the first hot air balloon flight. I felt just like a kid again.
In the Angel Fire/Taos area and interested in a flight? You can contact John at his website here.
Thanks for coming along for the ride! :)
