On a Balloon Crew

When I received a request to be part of a balloon crew, I jumped at the chance. I had a great time working with the crew to get the balloon ready to launch. Once the basket was out of the trailer, we pulled the balloon out. It took several adults to carry the bag with the balloon packed inside. After the balloon was laid out and attached to the basket, I was given the job of holding the mouth of the balloon open. Then a large fan was set up to blow air into the balloon to help get it all unfolded. Once the balloon was fully unfurled . . . . while I was still holding the balloon open . . . . they lit the burners and filled the balloon with HOT air. It was a wee bit uncomfortable to stand there next to the fire from the burners. Once the balloon was already to go, I was free to grab my camera and get a few shots. After the balloon launched I learned about a fun part of ballooning . . . . the chase!!

 Once the balloon was in the air, we packed up the rest of the equipment and piled back into the truck. We then followed the balloon wherever it happened to fly.

 To my great delight, the balloon flew over Mt. Angel. You can see the Mt. Angel Abby in the background. I used to take my morning walks up to the Abby.

We surprised some farmers when the balloon landed in their field. They were kind enough to let us remain there while we packed up the balloon. It was a fun and exhausting (in a good way) morning!