It didn't feel like I flew very much at the end of the summer, but looking back at the logbook, I was able to get some nice flights in! I was just too busy to write about the flights, so today, I'll try to catch up a bit.
In August, I was able to fly with my friend, Jerry. He was on the committee that hired me for my present job, so I wanted to get him in the air as a "thank you." It happened that we flew during fair week, and we were able to fly right by the fairgrounds, for a terrific view of the carnival. We had all the Trimbles crew for us, with Bryan and Brad taking the lead. We flew to the southwest of town, where I made an approach on a gravel driveway between a corn field and a bean field. Bryan and Brad were there to catch us for a great landing!
In September, Jill, Bryan and I went out to fly with my neighbor Joann. Her husband, Marty came along to help. The forecast was for calming winds as the evening went on. The forecast lied! The winds were light at the beginning of the flight, but they gathered as Joann and I flew north from Austin. We just kept going faster and faster, and there were no good landing sites for a long landing. As we flew north, we came to a road bordered by crops. With the fast wind, we were able to make a lay-down landing keeping the basket out of the fields. Not the most fun landing, but a safe one!
My last September flight for the year came on a beautiful Sunday morning. Bryan flew with me with Brayden and Brad driving chase. We launched from a field north of Perkins in Austin. We flew south over town, with Bryan manning the burner. He did a great job keeping the balloon level and high over town while I took pictures of the fall foliage. Austin looked fantastic in full color. Once we were clear of town, we descended and turned to the southwest. All the crops were out of the fields, which gave us TONS of opportunities for landing. I practiced landing the balloon a few times, making sure to keep my currency up. We chose a field to land on that was adjacent to a mowed lawn and barn. A quick packup, with the help of a passerby, and we were on our way back to town to enjoy the last day of Sepember.
Next up: Jill and Tedd's Excellent Annual Trek to Columbus, KS!
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Caledonia? Caledonia? What Makes Your Big Head So Hard?
MOP!
I love you! Love you just the same!
(My apologies to the late Louis Jordan)
Had a great time in Caledonia, Minnesota last weekend! Bryan and Brad Trimble joined me, and we left Austin at about 8:30 to head east for a weekend of ballooning and meeting new friends.
Caledonia is a town of about 3,000 people in Southeast Minnesota. It's surrounded by bluffs and valleys and lots of livestock. For several years, balloonists have gathered there the first weekend of December in hopes of flying and enjoying the local hospitality. Normally, they only enjoy the hospitality as favorable winds are elusive this time of year (although the friendliness is abundant!)
This year proved to be an anomaly (with respect to the winds), and Saturday allowed two very nice flights. Saturday morning, I was accompanied by the brother of my sponsor (and propane provider) Hokah Co-Op, and we flew to the southwest of town. I attempted to fly low when I could, but had to stay up over lots of cattle and other livestock farms. We landed in a valley, and after I called our crew on the phone (cold weather kills walkie-talkie batteries), they were able to find us for a nice clean road packup.
Bryan and Brad and I enjoyed breakfast with Santa, a Lion's club fundraiser, then went back to our host family's house to relax and warm the tanks for an afternoon flight.
We're nearing the solstice, so afternoon flights come early! Inflation was scheduled for 2:30, and the weather looked good. A storm was forecast for later in the evening, and the pilots decided that short flights would be judicious.
We started inflating, and about the time the first balloon "stood up," a gust of wind hit the field. We turned off our fan and let the envelope settle while the wind calmed down. We didn't have to wait long, and the fan was soon running again. Once the balloon was standing, I had Denny Jorgerson climb in the basket for our flight. Denny and Janel were our hosts. We really enjoyed our weekend with them, and it was fun to fly with Denny.
We had a fun flight playing "leapfrog" with Ed Chapman's balloon as we made our way south from Caledonia. All was going well, and I found a property with great alternatives for landing, so I set down. The crew wasn't nearby, yet, and the winds were blowing us around a bit (we were on a bit of a hill), so I deflated the balloon and we laid down there.
When the crew arrived, they got permission to pack up our balloon from the landowner, but reported that she might be a bit unbalanced. She complained that the balloons were part of a plot by Syrians to spread chemical weapons on her. It got worse.
We packed the balloon and as we were loading the basket in the trailer, someone said, "Hurry up! Here she comes!" We loaded the basket, closed the trailer, and sure enough, here came the woman who owned the property, asking for the names of the people who rode in the balloon. I approached her and discussed our presence on her land.
In addition to her concern about the Syrian chemical warfare plot, she was upset because:
So, we left our landing spot, drove back to the launch site for fuel, and returned to the Torgersons' house where Janel fed us sandwiches and chili. We enjoyed visiting with them and relaxing until it was time to go to the wine tasting and silent auction. Caledonia's community center is a beautiful building that hosts all kinds of parties and receptions for members of the community, and Saturday, it played host to the fundraiser for the balloon event. Wine and beer samples were served, and lots of neat items were available during a silent auction. I was unsuccessful in bidding on a few items, but I sure had fun talking to other pilots and members of the community.
I love you! Love you just the same!
(My apologies to the late Louis Jordan)
Had a great time in Caledonia, Minnesota last weekend! Bryan and Brad Trimble joined me, and we left Austin at about 8:30 to head east for a weekend of ballooning and meeting new friends.
Caledonia is a town of about 3,000 people in Southeast Minnesota. It's surrounded by bluffs and valleys and lots of livestock. For several years, balloonists have gathered there the first weekend of December in hopes of flying and enjoying the local hospitality. Normally, they only enjoy the hospitality as favorable winds are elusive this time of year (although the friendliness is abundant!)
Bryan and Brad and I enjoyed breakfast with Santa, a Lion's club fundraiser, then went back to our host family's house to relax and warm the tanks for an afternoon flight.
We're nearing the solstice, so afternoon flights come early! Inflation was scheduled for 2:30, and the weather looked good. A storm was forecast for later in the evening, and the pilots decided that short flights would be judicious.
We started inflating, and about the time the first balloon "stood up," a gust of wind hit the field. We turned off our fan and let the envelope settle while the wind calmed down. We didn't have to wait long, and the fan was soon running again. Once the balloon was standing, I had Denny Jorgerson climb in the basket for our flight. Denny and Janel were our hosts. We really enjoyed our weekend with them, and it was fun to fly with Denny.
When the crew arrived, they got permission to pack up our balloon from the landowner, but reported that she might be a bit unbalanced. She complained that the balloons were part of a plot by Syrians to spread chemical weapons on her. It got worse.
We packed the balloon and as we were loading the basket in the trailer, someone said, "Hurry up! Here she comes!" We loaded the basket, closed the trailer, and sure enough, here came the woman who owned the property, asking for the names of the people who rode in the balloon. I approached her and discussed our presence on her land.
In addition to her concern about the Syrian chemical warfare plot, she was upset because:
- An eagle spent quite a bit of time in the big evergreen tree by her house last summer. As a result, she was unable to let her little dog outside. Because the eagle had "a white tail and a white head" the government prohibits her from shooting said eagle.
- The grandfather of the balloon event organizer had nefariously stolen the county snow plow operator's job from the previous snow plow operator. When the crazy landowner took a petition to one of the county officials to protest, the official threw the petition aside and refused to read it.
- There are hog farms nearby and the effluent might affect her land/air/water.
She also suggested that all ballooning activities should take place in Mexico, then she opined that they probably didn't want hot air balloons there. She was surprised when I said they have balloon events in Mexico and that most Mexican landowners are just as happy to have an unexpected hot air balloon land on their property as most landowners in the U.S., which is to say quite happy!
I listened to the woman for 5 or 10 minutes, apologizing when I could get a word in, for my imposition. She seemed to smile more when we neared the end of our conversation than she did at the beginning of it, but when we offered to give her a ride from her field back to her house, she declined, saying that she hoped she had a heart attack while she walked to her home, and that her children would then sue us!
So, we left our landing spot, drove back to the launch site for fuel, and returned to the Torgersons' house where Janel fed us sandwiches and chili. We enjoyed visiting with them and relaxing until it was time to go to the wine tasting and silent auction. Caledonia's community center is a beautiful building that hosts all kinds of parties and receptions for members of the community, and Saturday, it played host to the fundraiser for the balloon event. Wine and beer samples were served, and lots of neat items were available during a silent auction. I was unsuccessful in bidding on a few items, but I sure had fun talking to other pilots and members of the community.
We knew that Sunday morning would be snowy, so we didn't even bother having a pilots' meeting. We just gathered for breakfast and goodbyes. Elsie's restaurant was a super spot for our morning meal, and we left with full stomachs and great memories on our snowy drive home. The roads were a bit slick, so we took our time making our way back to Austin. We made it safely, and in time for the Trimbles to watch the Vikings beat the Bears! The cherry on the top of the weekend was the Packers' victory over the Lions.!
What a weekend!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)