Hot Air Balloon Rides

Ballon rides are a lot of fun. Soaring in the air with just a basket below you and a gas fire above you. The colors in the balloon are so vibrant, mixed with the noise and the air.  When we inflated the balloon it was a process. We first laid it out on the ground, connecting the basket and the balloon. Our balloon guide allowed Randy to light the fire on the balloon to inflate it. The fire was bright and burst into bright orange colors that made the balloon begin to rise. As it rose towards the sky it tried to take the basket with it...... which was good, because I think that is the point of a hot air balloon....

After it was fully inflated we stepped into the basket and disconnected it from the ground and began our ascent. As we began climbing in the air the basket felt more and more stable the higher we got. Until it grew higher than the trees and houses. At this point I began thinking about how very scary it was to be that high, how falling out of the basket would result in death, how the only thing holding me in the air was a straw basket and really hot air.... I had to push those thoughts out of my head in order to enjoy the moment. It wasn't as I expected, we didn't have to drop any heavy weight or sandbags, the balloon just wanted to go up. 

Being that it was Autumn when we took the balloon ride the trees were all sorts of lovely colors and they looked like a painting.  The ponds and lakes that we crossed over looked like puddles and we could see our reflection in them.  The balloon operator lowered the basket several times so we could see our reflections  more clearly in the water, and take pictures.

We saw horses dancing, dogs barking, and people that were harvesting pumpkins. The pumpkins looked like tiny little orange blobs, just dots on the ground and the people looked so small. Our balloon guide explained to us that horses and dogs always react in the same way to the hot air balloons. 

Meanwhile Randy was on the ground driving the truck that was following us so he would be where ever we landed. This was extremely tricky because the wind takes the balloon where ever it wills it to go, so Randy had to communicate via radio with the man in the balloon.  It was comforting to hear his voice, and considering the very important position he had been placed it, Randy was extremely calm. Randy's mother had done this a lot, she has been on several balloon rides and showed very little concern for anything, until we went to land... and everyone realized we would need more help. So she called a few friends.

Slowing the basket down required the balloon operator to use the trees, then he picked a field in the distance and told Randy where he was planning on landing so he could go to house and ask permission. The landing happened so fast and the balloon operator said it was the worse landing he ever had. The basket bounced as it hit the ground. It tossed us around and around, then dragged, he told me to climb out while it was turned on its side. So I did and held the basket to try and slow it down, Randy's mom then got out and did the same, followed by the balloon operator. Then we had to rollup the ballon and pack everything all away. 

We landed in a soybean field several miles from where we took off. The adventure was a lot of fun and I look forward to doing it again some day.