We are back at the cabin. Here specifically to once again join with the Panguitchites (Panguitchians? Panguitchettes???) for their Annual Hot Air Balloon Rally. Once again I snapped about 150 pictures, awed by the color, the ever-changing arrangement of balloons. Becky and her family came as well our friends, Terry & Kathy Brummett from Las Vegas.
You arrive as the sun comes up about 6:30 a.m. (That's why the bright light and sunglasses!) It is cool to see these huge balloons backlit with such bright light as they inflate and then rise into the air.
(That's Victor in the center) We learned that each one of these balloons can cost between $30 - $50,000! A figured balloon (like the Smokey, the Bear one) would be high end cost. Some people spend a lot of money on their hobbies!
This rally had "only" about 35 participating balloons. The annual rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico has 700! (Held in October. We should go sometime). We were not at all unhappy to only see 35!
Audrey really liked Smokey.
This year we went back down to Panguitch at twilight to see the "Balloon Glow." Balloon participants line the streets and you can watch them inflate their balloons with huge fans, then heat the air with these burners which causes the ballon to rise up from the pavement into a vertical position. Then, as the sky finally darkens they light the interiors from time to time with the same burners. All really cool to see up close. There were a LOT of people in town... and of course the Panguitch residents love the boost to their economy from the tourist's buying, restaurant eating, motel renting and fast food purchases. Audrey loved it all and was way hyped up and dancing and running and commenting on everything excitedly. I was glad we went too. We have come to really enjoy these little community events.
Look closely at the pictures below. Don't you think it is way cool that at least one other man in the United States dresses like Dad does???
Step 1 - Inflate with fan
Step 2 - Heat the air
Step 3 - Hold 'er steady with tethers and people weight so the balloon does not lift off, but stays vertical.
And then, the final product: Darkness and glowing balloons. All very cool.
1 comment:
How cool. What a fun little side trip. They do it in Temescal. I think that should be on our plans for the future. Some hobbies can be very costly, too.
Post a Comment