Up, Up and Away...And More!

Early Saturday morning (5:15 AM) Terry and I left the campground to meet with Jerry, Annette, Joyce, Patty and Matt at a truck stop just off I-25 north of the Air Force Academy. Once we all gathered we caravanned through Colorado Springs and over the Front Range via Ute and Wilkerson Passes to South Park. On the way over Wilkerson Pass we stopped to enjoy the view to the east of Pike’s Peak and to the west of South Park and the distant Rockies—and to use the restrooms. South Park is a vast, flat-bottomed bowl between the Front Range and the Rockies. About the size of Rhode Island this area is one of several locations that is ideal for ballooning according to Jerry. There are many pieces of ranch land that permit them to launch and fly depending upon the winds. Nearly the entire area is covered with short grasses, sage and cactus. Nothing seems to grow more than a few inches high and it must be very slim pickings for any grazing animals, yet there are buffalo in some of the fenced off ranches and pronghorn antelope roam the flats. There is also ample evidence that cattle are also grazed upon this land so you need to watch your step!



As we came down out of the pass into the flats we could see another balloon already in the air in the distance. Once Jerry led us into the field he deemed best for today, he opened the trailer carrying the balloon and basket and we all pitched in to offload the rig and layout the balloon on the ground. Jerry and Joyce attached the balloon to the basket, started up the gas powered fan and began to blow air into the balloon while the rest of us held it open and in position. Once enough air was in the envelope, Jerry fired up the propane burner started to blow hot air into the balloon and it quickly rose to stand perpendicular to the ground. The rest of us held on to the basket to assure it didn’t take off until we wanted it to.

First up was some “business” that both Jerry and Joyce had to get out of the way. Joyce had to make three solo touch-and-go maneuvers to keep her license current and then she had to check out Jerry on some flight maneuvers. All of this is done in accordance with FAA rules and is, more or less, on the honor system. If the two pilots in the group, Jerry and Joyce, didn’t have one another to confirm some of their maneuvers, they would have to search up another pilot who might charge them for witnessing their activities.

Joyce & Jerry Takin' Care of Business



Once they got the business part of the day done, it was time for the rest of us. Joyce took Patty and Terry up for a lazy little flight that carried them south just above the surface of the earth and then northwest a little higher before they stalled and just hung in the air. Slowly they descended as the guys flowed in two chase vehicles. As the basket settled to the earth, a dog came loping out from a nearby home (one of only three that we could see in the surrounding ten square miles) wanting to investigate the strange thing. He looked like a Doberman or Rottweiler and his intentions were not clear. It didn’t really matter because when Joyce gave a blast on the burner, the dog turned and trotted back to the house where he ducked into the garage and didn’t come out again wile we were there. I guess he figured anything that growled that loudly might be more than he could handle!

Ladies First



Jerry then took Matt and I up for a ride. It is really quite amazing how easily the balloon floats upward once the proper amount of hot hair fills the envelope. It takes a careful touch to keep you moving gently as opposed to bobbing up and down. After about twenty minutes, we descended and began to glide rather swiftly along the surface. There was some concern that when we touched and bounced, the basket might tip but the wind hadn’t gotten that high yet. We did bounce once or twice and listed a little but we did land relatively smoothly.

With the increasing winds, both Jerry and Joyce thought it better to call it a morning. The sunlight had begun to set up thermals that could generate some very strong winds in a short period of time. Ballooning is always done either early in the morning or late in the afternoon when the wind has died. Seldom is it done during the middle of the day. The air was spilled out of the envelope and the balloon laid out on the ground. The basket got unattached. Finally the balloon was again stored in its canvas sack and everything loaded back into the trailer. We drove back to our original launch site (one of the cars was still there) and got out the food for our celebratory drinks and brunch. It was only 10 AM.

It's Party Time



While we were raising a champagne toast to our safe flight, the wind did kick up and Annette and Patty pulled out kites to fly. Annette was flying Jerry’s kite which needed very little to get it going. She simply held it in the air and off it went. Soon she had a quarter mile of string out and could have had more if the reel held it. Patty’s little air foil had a little more difficulty getting airborne but eventually she succeeded in getting it to rise a hundred yards or more.

Noon arrived and Terry and I headed off back toward Colorado Springs but along the way, we were going to stop in Woodland Park to stop at the new museum there: the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center. It’s a small museum established by paleontologist Mike Treibold. Displays of two-dozen full size skeletons of different species of dinosaurs of all kinds, fish, pterosaurs and other creatures are labeled with explanations about heir discovery as well has their living habits. All labels are in plain English and are written for the layman. We spent about an hour and a half there and really enjoyed it.

Then it was back to Colorado Springs to stop at Needle In The Rockies, a needlecraft store that Terry was interested in. She left her scissors home and needed to see if she could get some thread for a project she has nearly completed. They had some scissors but not the thread she needed.

Finally we got back to the trailer. It was only 4 PM but we had had a very full day. I wanted to take a dip in the pool but it was a little crowded so we waited until 5:30 when some of the folks would have left for their dinner. Sure enough, it was less crowded and we were able to get a bout half an hour of swimming in before the clouds covered the sun and we decided to call it quits