Colorado: Hot Air Balloon Ride

There were so many great adventures to try out West. We thought about going horseback riding, then about going four-wheeling, but finally we all agreed that taking our first hot air balloon ride would be perfect. We found a local balloon outfit, San Juan Balloon Adventures, had a prediction for perfect weather, and managed to book a ride that fit into our tight schedule. All signs were "go" for us to "break the bonds of gravity."

First we helped Gary, the captain, and John, his grounds-crewman, unpack and roll out the balloon.
Once it was laid out, he used a big fan, run by a generator, to fill it with cold air...

...and then heated the cold air with the flame from a propane heater. This caused the balloon to rise.


While it was still tethered to the ground we climbed aboard.


And up we went over the beautiful town of Ridgway, Colorado...


...and the surrounding mountains.


We were up about an hour and it was thrilling. Paul and I had wondered if we'd be scared, but we weren't; we were too busy just looking at everything. In addition to the beautiful scenery, we spotted two foxes chasing around in the woods below, and, as the ride drew to a close, we saw a raccoon peering up at us from his hiding place in a tree. Seeing the world from this new viewpoint was a wonder.

Our landing was also exciting, perhaps more so than Gary had hoped, since it took three good slides into the horse field before we stopped. Once we determined that we were all okay, the next challenge was to get out of the door-less basket. I had the honor of scrambling out first, right into a pile of horse poop, which was, thankfully, quite dry. Here's Ben getting out.


Gary not only knew how to fly and land his balloon, he also knew how to make the whole experience fun and memorable. After taking photographs to capture our safe return to earth, he hosted a champagne (sparkling apple juice for Paul) picnic brunch, complete with some ballooning history and congratulatory toasts.

It had been a great couple of hours, and an experience we will all remember.