Balloon Moon Over Mexico!!

Yes we are in New Mexico, but last night there was a nice moon over the Mexico Balloon!!  As we entered the field yesterday evening, everyone was hoping the wind would die down for the evening GLOW.  That's when all the balloons go onto the field, inflate and "glow" from the fires heating the air to keep them up.  All are tethered by ropes and people, so none can leave.  It's a pretty amazing display!!  To make it even better, we are getting close to a full moon ...

Here's a BEFORE picture of the field ... 85 acres of beautiful grass for the balloons to set up on.  Although there are ribs of heavy webbing, the main portion of the balloon envelope is very light parachute material that can be easily damaged by cactus, fences and trees.

Since my pilot wasn't flying, I went with Barbara and Tom, along with Gail and Jim McManus to work for Richard Ret, Golden High Balloons from Dallas Texas.  The basket is hanging off the back of the van, with all the other gear packed inside.

This was probably the smallest rig I saw ... a jeep with the fan tied to the front bumper and the basket barely hanging on to the back!!

Since I KNOW you wanted to see how they get these things in the air, I'm going to show you how!!  By the way, not just anyone can walk on the field and crew.  The 80 some Boomers here had to watch a Pilot/Crew Safety Video and sign paperwork, as well as get some training before they hit the field, but YOU can do it too!!! 

Once the basket is unloaded, the huge bag with the envelope is dragged out maybe 50 feet.  Once the bottom portion with the cables for rigging is removed .....

you just walk the bag away from the basket and it unfurls onto the ground.  

I'm making this easy to understand I hope ... the frame with the burners is attached to the basket, then it is laid on it's side so the balloon cables can be attached.  There is a specific order and way to do absolutely everything ... for safety purposes.

The fan is set up ... Barbara is manning it, making sure no one comes close and that she turns it off at the correct time.  Tom and Mrs. Ret hold the throat open so cold air fills the balloon, while Crew Chief Jeff and Crewman Jim, hold the crown ropes to keep the envelope straight.

The crown is that yellow circle at the top ... they are attaching it with velcro.  The air pressure will keep it closed until the pilot pulls the cord to open it upon landing, which lets most of the hot air out.

This is how close we were to other balloons on the field.  There are so many and they are just huge ... so we are literally wall to wall.  Besides taking pictures, I was keeping the right side of the balloon away from the neighbors burner.  If they ignite, these balloons are goners!!

Once they have a good cold fill, they start the hot fill, turning these propane burners on and off to heat the air just enough that the balloon rises into the air.

Once that happens, we all run and jump on the basket ... called "weight on".  Between four of us holding down and Richard giving it short bursts of hot air, we stabilize the balloon for the "glow".  Actually, we stay in this position while the pilots hit their burners, sometimes fast, sometimes slow and in sync if they can, putting on a beautiful show for the crowd!!  Richard's burners are on here, as  it is really pitch black outside!!

With most balloons, you can't see the flame, but Richards is light in color, so the flames show up nicely!!

Since we had enough weight-on people, a couple of us got to walk around for pictures.  Here's Richard in the middle ... "kissing" both side balloons.  

There are many "special shapes" ... meaning balloons that look like Dark Vader, Yoda, this Bassett Hound, butterflies, fish, whales ... every kind imaginable.  Later this week there will be a Glowdeo with the Special Shapes ... that is if it doesn't rain!!  I'll show you more of those then.

It's a sight to see ...  and even more amazing to see them launch into the sky.  So far there has been only one emergency ... one pilot had a severe heart attack after he launched.  It's a miracle that he was able to set the balloon down with his passengers, who jumped out and kept it in place until the emergency vehicles and his crew arrived.  He is still in the hospital, but doing better and we wish him well.  Another Suburban and trailer, with the balloon and gear was stolen, and so far hasn't been recovered.  The owners drove back to California, got another truck and their other balloon and returned to fly today!!  These pilots are crazy about soaring through the air!!

By now, I've been up since 4:00 am ... it's 8:00 pm because the fireworks started.  They shoot off a couple of cannons, which is our signal to drop the balloon, get the air out, tie up the envelope, unhook everything and pack it all back up for the next adventure, which was this morning's competitions.

I didn't take my tripod since I was working, so these aren't great, but you get the picture!!

Another 4:00 am rising, with bleary eyes, I took off for the bus and forgot my phone.  DISASTER!!!  That's my only way to contact my pilot in order to meet up for the early morning balloon competition.  Each contestant ... and there are hundreds ... must travel at least one mile from the field, find a suitable spot based on the wind direction, launch their balloon, fly directly over the field and drop a bean bag on an X marked on the ground, then fly off and land ... somewhere ... where the chase crew can find them.

I finally contacted race officials and asked my pilot be paged when I found her, front and center.  In two seconds, the Official Photographer asked for all the women pilots to group together for a picture. But WAIT ... I'm NOT a pilot ... as I tried to shrink into the background, but the nice ladies just pushed me back to front and center.  I was finally able to duck behind a tall gal, so I hope I'm not in the picture!!  We gathered the rest of our crew and headed out to Corrales, across the Rio Grande River, which our wind direction told us was a suitable launch point.  It's just a shot in the dark really ... at different heights, the wind blows different directions, so you have to be pretty good to even get CLOSE to the field ... which many don't!!

To make a long story short, since I was working so hard (and driving the chase vehicle) I have no pictures, we found a spot, launched her, then watched on our phones special tracking app as she crossed directly over the field  YAY!!! ... at too great a height to throw out her bean bag  BOO!! ... then headed southwest.  We drove back across the river, then back, then around, under the freeway, down two dead end alleys, before finally finding her in someone's back yard, along with two other balloons.  We finally all got down, packed up and on our way back to the field.  I came straight home and collapsed on the couch ... just long enough to catch my breath before giving Cooper a haircut ... it's too hot for him here ... repairing my broken fingernails and working on the blog.  I'm exhausted and my foot hurts ... so I'll be on the couch for the next four hours if you need me!!!

The "JOYSEY" Girl From New Jersey!!

Today was pretty much organized chaos!!  Since the first pilot never contacted us and the Brazilian team's balloons are either stuck or lost in El Paso Texas, I went to the "Crew Corral" to see what would happen, but was planning on doing lots of photography instead of crewing.  While listening to the pilot meeting, a small gal sort of snuck up on the edge and asked for crew.  I think I raised my hand first ... as did three local friends behind me.  We followed her to a red van packed to the ceiling with "stuff"!!

Hmmm ... maybe I shouldn't have raised my hand so fast!!  We drove to her station on the field and began to unload the all the xxxx ... I mean the necessary stuff from the van.  Her name is Christine and she drove (and slept) in this van for four days to get here from Clinton New Jersey.  While she got organized, we watched the Dawn Patrol take off.  This was pretty neat as it was still dark!!

I think there were about 10 balloons up ... you have to have a special pilot's license to ascend in the dark.  

This field is 85 acres HUGE ... so you can imagine how many balloons were getting ready to take off.  We were trying to get ready, but basically I spent my time telling the other crew members how it works and what to do.  We have an envelope stretched out to the left, a fan and a basket that we put together.

The guy next door from Spain didn't have a fan, so Christine was nice enough to loan hers.  On the OTHER side of us was a gentleman who hasn't flown since 1996.  Yikes!!!  That's scary!!!  When he came over to ask me how to tie a daisy chain knot, I told him I knew, but he really needed to ask the pilot.  I wasn't taking ANY chances!!!  Once he took off, the fireman and hydrant became visible taking off a few minutes later.  

There are lots of special shapes ... butterflies, cats, a beer stein ..... none of which I got images of because by now I have discovered that none of the other three crew people have ever done this before.  I think I'm going to be sick ... and that's when Christine hands me the keys and asks me to drive the chase van!!  Alright then ... all I ask is a breakfast burrito!!

Ok .... it can't be too bad!!  The other three people live right here, so at least they know the roads!!  Besides that, we downloaded an app to our phones that tracks her balloon, gives us the speed, direction and the most current map of Albuquerque, besides being able to talk to her personally!!  Piece of cake ... or so we thought!!

In between mounting the burner and her gauges, I was able to snap the whale and baby.  Love this one!!

Angry bird was here too, as was the Wells Fargo Stagecoach, not quite inflated on the left.

We finally have all the lines attached and the fan running for the cold fill.  Her envelope is a little smaller she said ... but it looked just as big as everyone else's, with the exception of having only one burner AND she just purchased all new propane lines!!  Finally set up, we piled on the sides until she got some lift, then walked her to the end of her tie down rope.  All five of us did her final check as we went "hands off" and she rose into the sky.

"Take pictures" she yelled ... "I don't have any pictures" ... and so we took as many as we could before she was too far up.  We then frantically threw everything back into the van and we were OFF ... once I found the keys!!!  With the navigator in the front with me and the other two in the back sitting on the junk ... I mean boxes of equipment ... we followed her Southeast for all of 20 minutes when we saw her begin to sink in the sky.  

I definitely felt she was a little nervous, and later discovered she has been flying for about 2 years.  I'm sure by the end of the week we will be driving across town to pick her up ... but this first flight was a short one.  I give her a lot of credit because she came down in a small parking lot, but we couldn't get there due to traffic.  No worries, she pulled the crown and dropped the envelope with the help of an apartment owner.  We folded it up, got it in the bag and eventually got the basket loaded ... thanks to the two strong guys!!  Trouble was, there was no room left for us crew people.  Laid out on top of the envelope and squished next to the basket, we headed back to the field.

By the time we threaded our way through the traffic and reached the field, our legs were numb and it was difficult to unwrap ourselves.  The good news is that she had a good flight and seemed much more confident, as she promised over and over to clean and organize the van.  The other gal and I secretly bet on whether that was going to happen, and concocted a plan to do it for her on the next flight!!  You really DO need to know where your launch pass is, otherwise you are breaking the rules.    We made her put the $12 we found on the floor in her pocket, as she launched herself into the van looking for a parking pass for us.

Thinking maybe she didn't have a room, two of us offered ours, but she said one came with being a pilot!!  As we waved goodbye until tomorrow morning at 5:30, she promised again to organize the van.  I won't hold my breath ....................... but then some people just aren't as organized as others.  She was a great gal and thrilled she found a crew!  By the end of the week, we'll all be experts!!

The Chase Crew!!

Last night some of the pilots were invited to the Boomer Happy Hour to discuss what being a crew member involves.  This is David Lopushinsky, pilot of the balloon Wicked.

This is Mike Liberti, pilot of the Morning Star, who has two sons, Chris and Daniel, both of whom fly their own balloons.  Once the talks were over, all 65 of us went to the Hong Kong Buffet for dinner.  

This morning, we met the entire Liberti family with all three balloons in a parking lot at 6:30 am to discuss launch and landing sites.   The wind is all important, so after much discussion, it was decided to head to an IHOP Restaurant West of our rigs.

Chris' balloon Foreplay, was the first to unload and get set up.  There were probably 35 Boomers looking to help, so we split up into groups to get all three balloons in the air.

The first to exit the trailer is the tarp the envelope (balloon) is laid out on.  The next to come out was the basket, situated on a dolly for easier transport.  Finally the envelope is spread out on the tarp.

After receiving the "crew instructions", the basket was moved to the edge of the tarp.  This is Mike Liberti (who I stayed with at first), directing the guys where to place it.

One set down, it is "laid" down on it's side to attach the burners and connect the propane lines.  Then it is stood upright to test the burners.

From here on I didn't get many pictures, as I was assigned the "throat" of the envelope for Chris.  You have to hold it open enough for the fan to push cold air into the balloon.  Once it has filled enough, the burners are hit to add HOT air, causing the balloon to stand upright with "weight on" (everyone leans on the edges of the basket, putting downward pressure to keep the balloon from leaving too soon!!)  Once the passengers are loaded, the pilot says "hands on" ... you hold with just your hands, then "hands off" and away the balloon goes!!

Chris and his passengers that I helped had already taken off, so I turned around to get pictures of Mike's balloon on ascension.

By now, Chris was directly overhead, as the winds began to carry him southwest.  We all jumped in the back of Anna's pickup and we were off!!!  A few miles away, Chris set down in a scrub brush plot where we waded through waist high tumbleweeds, until we could "weight on" and hold him down while changing passengers.  Once done, we stepped back and he again ascended.

This time we had a little more trouble finding a place where we could drive to and he could land.  What a pilot ... he hit the spot and the basket never moved.  Course we all jumped on it, and once ready, we walked it over to where he could pull the crown cord and dump the air out the top.  From there, it was a madhouse to get the air out of the envelope, snaked and tied as you see here.  

The burner assembly was removed, the enveloped packed in a large bag and the basket set upright.

You get lots of waves, honks and "you guys are awesome" comments as you pack up all the gear.  

The final step was to load the basket and we were off to the tailgate party.  Most were anyway, I came back to the rigs so I could let the puppies out and the Westerfields went to the museum and merchandise stores before the big crowds hit.  Chris had plenty of family and friends to party with!!  

Once done, as Chris packed up, I remarked "this is like scuba diving ... you spend one hour getting ready, 45 minutes in the water and 3 hours cleaning up the saltwater mess".  He said that's exactly right ... except sometimes they get to ride the winds for a couple of hours.  I think this is something I might want to try.  Anyone out there want to volunteer to be my crew in the next few months??

It Begins With A Lot Of Hot Air!!

About 7:00 yesterday morning as I was writing the blog, I heard the familiar whoosh of a propane burner.  I grabbed my camera and got outside just in time to see this guy cruise by right over my rig.  As I turned around there were 7 more ... in all 10 balloons.

We are parked at the edge of one of the landing fields, but these guys were heading further southwest.  They all belong to the Rainbow Riders group, giving rides to people and sponsors.

It's pretty amazing to see them float by.  You can't hear a thing except the noise of the burners giving the balloons a little more hot air to stay aloft.  They have definite altitude restrictions depending on what they are flying over and are of course, are not allowed to go near the Air Force Base or land on Indian Reservation property.  It requires an act of great penitence to get your balloon back!!

When I heard talking, I looked up to find another very close to the ground, this one with a smaller basket and only four people.  Some of the bigger balloons have baskets that can carry 10-12 passengers.

Rainbow Riders is a fitting name for these guys!!

Here's a beauty!!  As they headed further southwest, depending on the altitude they were at, they caught winds taking them different directions.

 Just above the basket is a small brighter yellow spot ... that's the burner throwing out a three foot flame!!  In the evenings, they tether the balloons to the ground, fill them with air, then set off the burners which light nearby glowsticks ... it's called the evening glow!!  Can't wait to get some of THOSE images!!

There must be about 50 of us now with the rigs that came in yesterday.  We had a quick happy hour, then sat down to hear Cool Judy talk about crewing.  This morning those who have filled out the paperwork will attend crew training and hopefully hook up with a pilot for the weeks events.  If the weather is good and the wind below 5mph, they will fly every morning.  Due to the early rise time, the blog won't appear until late in the afternoon.  I'm used to 5:30 am, but 4:30 to get the blog done is just TOO early for a retiree!!

As I walked back to the rig, the clouds started making amazing patterns in the sky ... the black ones were pretty black, but didn't drop any water on us!!

They did make for a pretty sunset however!!

Just A Little Teaser!!

It's a beautiful 60 degrees inside and out ... making my fingers not work very well on the keys!!  This is where we are parked, all facing the landing field.  This morning ELEVEN balloons flew over, which you'll get to see tomorrow!!  The Rainbow Riders will give anyone a ride for $250, and those with bucket lists are getting one more checkmark!!  Actually this isn't my first experience with balloons.  In the town where I live, there was one pilot who gave rides, and I crewed for him on several occasions.  It's fun, but hard work ... and safety is always foremost!!

Early yesterday the Fiji came by ... the only one in the air.  Once I enlarged the image, I could see they also were giving rides.  

I guess I better dig out my telephoto lens!!!

Here are just a few of the balloons that will be flying this week.  They post these on Facebook and welcome the pilots as they sign in.  

In case you were wondering, it's not easy to be a balloon pilot.  It is FAA regulated ... just like being an airplane pilot.  They are all certified to fly, must keep log books and their equipment must be inspected.

Here's a cutie ... Santa Claus and his reindeer getting a little lift!!

Then there are the special shape balloons!!  This is just a teaser of what is to come!!  Tomorrow I'll show you all the balloons that passed overhead this morning!

I spent yesterday checking out a beautiful yarn store and found a quilt store at their back door with more Southwest fabric than I've ever seen!!  I got a comfortable pair of boots to protect my broken toe from the cactus and rocks when crewing and another pair of levis.  Wearing the same pair for two weeks wasn't a good option!!

Groceries were also on the list ... this being a Boomers (Escapees) get together, there is happy hour with lots of appetizers for maybe 80 people!!  That doesn't count the potluck!!!

Tomorrow morning we go to a crew meeting, sign all the required forms and hook up with the balloon pilots, then happy hour followed by dinner!!  I hope crewing for these guys will include lots of running to work off some of this food!!