Up Up and Away

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There is something exciting about living someplace
long enough to begin to have "annual" events.
One year ago, when we first moved to Colorado Springs, we attended the
Colorado Springs Hot Air Balloon Classic.
We couldn't wait to attend again this year so we were up
at 5:45 (unheard of for these retired folks) and out the door.
Be prepared. This post contains LOTS of photos.
The balloons are all so pretty, it is hard to narrow down the selection.
We found a spot across the lake from the official balloon launching site.
It was a beautiful morning and a perfect
spot for seeing the balloons as they took off.
These were among the first balloons launched.
Aren't they beautiful?
This one was unique. Those are green "leaves" hanging
down from the daffodils.
A patchwork quilt balloon.
It's neat to see the people in the balloon baskets.
Who says pigs can't fly?
Unicorns can fly too.
The ducks on the lake were a little confused by the
huge "birds" flying overhead.
"Twin" cowboy balloons with the mountains in the background.
The Energizer Bunny balloon is a huge crowd pleaser.
Look at the little basket below the balloon.
That gives you an idea of how big it is.
The balloons usually launch one at a time, but here
several are going up at the same time.
It's really neat to see them up close.
And view them from far away.
And this is my favorite part of the day.
I know this is hard to believe, but David and I
love to "chase" the balloons and see if we
can see them landing.
This beauty landed in a field right next to the highway.
The crew is busy at work making sure it lands safely.
The balloon teams have trailers that they pack the balloons away in.
This one landed in a field right beside a neighborhood.
All the neighbors were out marveling about
what had landed right next to their houses.
As we were watching the previous balloon land,
someone looked up and another one looked like
it was landing right in the street.
It's fun to watch the crew deflate the balloon.
Wildflowers and hot air balloons--Colorado on Labor Day Weekend.
This was our final balloon to watch land.
I don't know if it was planned, or good luck, but this
Waste Management balloon landed
right in the middle of a shopping center parking lot.
Easy for the chase team to get to.

I hope you have enjoyed the tour of the
Colorado Springs Balloon Festival.
Why don't you come and join us next year?


Comments

Mindy S. said…
We had an absolutely wonderful visit with some of your favorite people in Dallas yesterday. As we were leaving town to head back home we saw two different groups of the big balloons landing in different areas. Both groups were coming down for landings in fields that were near neighborhoods and a couple of them looked like they were going to land in the neighborhoods too. I couldn't help but think that must be a little bit frightening for a homeowner. :-) But they sure were a beautiful sight.
September 5, 2010 at 8:08 AM
Anonymous said…
You have me wanting to go to our Ballunear Festival the last weekend in October. Beautiful photos! My favorite was the patchwork balloon.~donna
September 5, 2010 at 12:47 PM
A Tale of Two Cities said…
What pretty pictures of a very special experience. The blue skies really set off the colors of the balloons.

Happy Labor Day,
Debi
September 5, 2010 at 9:55 PM
Allison said…
They used to have a lot of balloon festivals in my hometown when I was growing up. I remember seeing all of the balloons on the horizon as we drove to church Sunday mornings. So pretty to see them again!!
September 6, 2010 at 9:46 AM
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