Ups and Downs at the Balloon Fiesta

On Tuesday morning we once again stayed in the RV parking area and watched the balloons fly and land in the nearby field. On Wednesday we went down to the launch area and cheered some of the same balloons as they inflated and took off. We seem to see something new each day.

The Dawn Patrol all lit up on the launch field

On Wednesday we watched the Creamland Cow being inflated,

launched, and floated away. She sure was big!

On Tuesday we had watched her land in the field and be packed into a not-so-little bag. The average round balloon, like the one next to her, is about 90 feet tall.

Darth Vader is a crowd favorite. We have seen him in pictures from past years, and saw him flying in the distance a few times this year.















On Wednesday we got to see him up close on the launch field.

Every balloon is different. Every balloon has a name and is inspected by the FAA each year, or after 100 hours of flight time, whichever comes first.

We have seen many Special Shapes balloons flying with the others, but are wondering what we will see in the next two days when they do what they call the Special Shapes Rodeo, and Special Shapes Glowdown.







But until then here is another that has been flying:

Notice how tiny the basket is compared to the spaceman!

Tomorrow is going to be very exciting. We are going to take a ride in a balloon! Check back to see how it went!

Butt for now I will leave you with one other thing we smiled about. We have often seen police on horseback at large public events. I guess it is easier for them to get around than on foot, and being astride a tall animal gives them a better view of the people. We chuckled at the strings of LED lights on the horses. I guess this gives new meaning to "Tail Lights".

The End