I got to ride in the Smokey Bear Hot Air Balloon!!!!
I have wanted to do this since I moved to the area in 2000.
I have wanted to do this since I moved to the area in 2000.
The weather was a little unsure when I got there, so I wasn't sure that the balloon would even go up today.
The Smokey Bear Balloon is a very big balloon and they take very good care of it. See the pic below with the tarp out. They set up and take down the balloon on a tarp to keep it clean. That helps make the balloon last longer.
After it gets spread out on the tarp they begin to fill it with air from a fan to start inflating it.
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Reid is our Prevention Officer for the forest. He makes arrangements for hosting the balloon every year. My job is to make sure the money is budgeted for the balloon.
Once the balloon is inflated enough, they turn on the propane burners and get it headed up.
Smokey is unique because of his nose. Reid says you can always tell which way the wind is blowing by the direction that Smokey's nose is pointed.
Yep, I'm in the basket getting ready to launch.
You can't tell, but I am so excited that I can hardly contain myself.
This is about how high we got when I started to think that the heights were going to be an issue for me. But I took a deep breath and up we went.
The ride was a lot different then I expected. It was almost sureal. Very relaxing if you can believe that. When you are up in the air, you don't really feel like you are way up. The breeze takes you in the direction it blows and you are just up there part of it.
The other thing I didn't realize is that you can talk to people on the ground. I had people that were waving and yelling. It was fun to talk to them.
Looking for a place to land can get interesting in the urban area. You try to find a park, but you have to make sure that there is access for the chase truck to get there to load all the equipment up after you get it packed.
Bill is the pilot, he has been doing this for years. He used to be a former Forest Service Employee before he retired. I told him that he has the best job!
We were hovering over the country club golf course for quite awhile because of the lack of wind.
We flew for about 2 hours. I couldn't have asked for a better ride.
Bill is the pilot, he has been doing this for years. He used to be a former Forest Service Employee before he retired. I told him that he has the best job!
We were hovering over the country club golf course for quite awhile because of the lack of wind. We didn't make it to a park, so we settled for the Shopko parking lot.
We flew for about 2 hours. I couldn't have asked for a better ride.
I am so glad that I had the opportunity to fly. It was the best!
Update: My brother sends me this video.
Very funny Kent Glad I didn't tell you before I went.
I am pea-green with ENVY!!! So cool, good for you!
ReplyDeleteWhile Michael was taking a nap I did some laundry and had his Smokey Bear shirt on the bed by him when he woke up. He grabbed it and came running in saying, "Smokey Bear clean." We had to immediately change his shirt so he could wear Smokey Bear. Thanks for suggesting that I get shirts for my kids. They love them.
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