The Balloon Fiesta

Oct. 5-8, 2007

Spent the last three days at the Balloon Fiesta. It was very interesting and we are glad we went, would probably not go again, but glad we got there once.

The balloons are amazing and you get to walk in the field as they are inflating them. It is awesome when the sky is full of balloons. The first morning we were down there at 5;30AM, the second at 6:30 and the last at 7!!! It was so cold that early in the morning and walking around on wet grass makes for very cold feet!!! This morning it was 44 degrees when we went to the field!! The one thing we will miss this week are the character balloons. There were a few this weekend, but the rest of them won’t appear until later in the week.

We did not realize just how sensitive the balloons are to weather. We realized they could not fly in heavy winds, but a wind as low as 10 or 15 miles an hour will prevent them from flying. This morning they could take off, but the race that was planned had to be cancelled as they could not get back to the filed due to winds. There was a gas balloon race that was to have taken place Sat. night that was cancelled also due to winds. The weather seemed ideal to us, clear skies and moderate temps during the day.

We were amazed at the number of RV’s there in the price range of ½ to 1 million dollars, and our little unit sat in the middle of them!!! We were talking to one of our neighbors and told her we had been to Alaska, she looked at us with wide eyes and said “IN THAT”!!! Then she said, “wasn’t there a lot of dust?”

We are heading straight home now with a stop in Tallahassee to see our son. Not sure
when we will get there. We both have mixed feelings as we are anxious to get home, but also sorry the trip is coming to an end – seems like it went by so quickly!!! I know Midnight will be happy to be home. Diamond has finally adapted and sleeps on my lap a lot while we are moving.

We just saw the news about the balloon crash at the Fiesta. That must have happened just before they cancelled the competition. They did not tell us there had been an accident, just that the event was cancelled because of winds!! What a shame.