Helping Others

Today we had a lot of fun first thing in the morning. I did get up relatively early (since I went to bed around 1 am) and made a cup of coffee to enjoy in the relative morning quiet. As I was sitting in the kitchen enjoying my cup of coffee, I noticed two hot air balloons drifting towards the house with the sun rising behind them. If I had a whole cup of coffee in my belly, and subsequently in my brain, I would have remembered to take a picture, but that thought didn't occur until hours later.

Well, as I was enjoying the beautiful sight of two hot air balloons and a sunrise over the mountains, I did go over and prod Steve to get up and also enjoy the view. He was none too thrilled about being prodded, he had gone to bed sometime around 4am (I think) so was more than a little groggy. After he did get up to see the balloons, he woke up completely. It was then that we noticed one started getting very low near the house. That was when Steve got the bright idea to see if we can go to where they would be landing and watch the landing. Well, with only a partially drunk cup of coffee in me, we started dashing around the house getting prepared to chase a balloon. I didn't realize how groggy I still was, but it took almost a minute to find socks and shoes. By the time we were ready to go (in about 2-3

minutes) we noticed that once of the balloons had already landed, and we had no idea where.

Luckily, the second balloon was still in the air, low, so we knew it was going to land somewhere relatively close. As we got the truck going, that darned balloon started going back up in the air. Now I figured that we were going to be chasing a balloon for miles, but Steve really wanted to see them land, so off we went, trying to guess where this balloon will wander. You really don't appreciate how much the balloons are pushed around by the breezes until you start trying to determine where they are going to land. We drove to two of the local parking lots we know balloons have landed in the past, only to look up and see that balloon drifting off in another direction.

After a bunch of driving, stopping, turning around, driving some more, (and me worrying about getting in an accident) we finally saw the gondola drop below the roof lines of the homes. It didn't look like they were going to land in any parking lot, it looked like they were landing in an open field. In Arizona, open fields consist of all kinds of prickly cactus, so we were really curious how they were going to land and pack the balloon without tearing it to bits. Once we finally found the open field they landed in (right next to the highway and residential homes) we then had to find a place to park the truck.

As we were driving around looking for a parking place (this residential neighborhood did not have roads wide enough to park) we almost bumped into the balloon. What the pilots of the balloon had done was to sort of land in the field, then keep the balloon hovering just above the ground. Two of the people in the gondola got out and started pulling the balloon along (like in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade), over a fence and down the street. That was where we came nose to nose with the balloon. I almost split my side laughing, Steve was not amused. He then rolled down the window and asked if they needed help hauling the balloon down the street, which they did. SO, STEVE LEAVES THE TRUCK and tells me to park it somewhere....great, now I have to find a parking spot...fun...while he happily lends a hand pulling this giant hot air balloon down the street.

By now, there is a large crowd of children out on Christmas holiday following the balloon. There is also car and truck traffic, since the balloon and gondola are being pulled down the center of this residential street. I manage to find a spot to stop the truck, and get out to watch the mini parade. It was quite a spectacle, and no camera to take a picture. There were people in bathrobes standing on their front porches watching the balloon go by, the kids were running all around, and the cars and trucks were slowly driving behind. After about a block or two, they were able to find a relatively cactus free spot to pull the gondola and balloon out of the street. It was here that they were able to deflate the balloon and safely pack it up.

Of course we all stayed around to help pack the balloon. How may times to you normally have the opportunity to really touch a hot air balloon, let alone assist in packing it? The packing took only about 30-45 minutes and it is amazing how small that whole thing got. The balloon was 105,000 cubic feet, I don't know how tall it was, and the gondola was made of wicker, over a steel frame. The gondola looked like it would hold a total of 4 people, and there was no place to sit. I guess if you are hot air ballooning, you really don't want to sit, you want to stand and see all that you are floating over.

Seeing the balloons, getting to watch one land, and helping pack the balloon was a great way to start our day. We had a lot of fun and got our exercise while we were at it. Someday we will also take a ride in the hot air balloon, it really looks like it would be a lot of fun.

Take care, talk to you tomorrow...