Ground's Dry Enough to Land On, Let's Fly!

After a rainy 4th of July holiday week, the waters have finally receded enough that there were dry places to land. After nearly a month on the ground, and after having seen two balloons in the air over Kansas City last evening, I was anxious to punch a hole in the sky!

I saw Marty this morning as both of us were leaving the neighborhood to run some errands, so I asked him if he and Dana were available to crew. They were, and so was Jill, so I made plans. The weather forecast called for perfect winds, and temperatures that were just a bit hotter than I like, so it was a go.

My neighbor Betty wasn't available to fly with me, so I was going to take either Marty or Dana with me. As we drove to the launch site, Marty called his mom, JoAnn, and asked her if she wanted to go along. She did, and raced to the High School to meet us.

Inflation went very well, and soon JoAnn and I were in the air, headed for the fairgrounds (the livestock auction was taking place, and the parking lot was PACKED!) There was a left turn down low as we tested the winds, so we stayed high, to keep headed toward the fair, but pretty soon, even the winds at higher altitudes were pushing us northeast instead of east to the fair sale.

So we descended a bit, and resigned ourselves to the winds' wishes. After about 35 minutes in the air, I saw several good hay fields that would be good for landing. Beyond those fields were lots of crops and woods, so I brought the balloon low, and told the chase crew where we were going to land. Marty and Red (JoAnn's husband) asked for permission to land and packup from the house by the drive into the field. Then they drove in and Marty grabbed the basket as we "set gently back again into the loving arms of Mother Earth."

I had a great time (as always) and enjoyed my passenger's company in the air. It was a beautiful night, and I can't wait to fly again soon!