Well cool, did you get to go for a balloon flight?
8 Aug 2009 10:48pm
@Richard Irwin: No, I didn't get to ride this year... but I have gone up twice before from the fairgrounds. It was the best! So peaceful and calm just floating along! Some of my previous photos show the last ride in 2007.
It takes some manpower to get up but to see them floating effortlessly once up is stunning.
I've seen them fly low overhead but have never been up close like this. Wonderful capture.
Cool shot. Reminds me of when I helped with the launch of one. The best part was when I was holding the balloon open and he hit the fire to it and it burned the hair off my arm. It sounds painful but the heat was so intense and fast that it didn't hurt.
9 Aug 2009 2:56pm
@Robert Smith: I never helped to launch one, but my friend held the balloon open like that. It's amazing the way they inflate and actually take off! The hardest part of the ride is climbing in and out of the basket! :-)