November 27, 2010
August 12, 2011 Back to Index October 30, 2010 (PM)
We are up long before dawn on this brisk, post-Thanksgiving morning.
Stan shoots a little video as Rick and I prepare the basket.
We lay out the envelope across the frosty grass as the sun begins to rise.
Stephanie, Rich and Rick give new meaning to the term "cold inflation."
The first of the sun's rays catch Steve's balloon Celebration as he ascends behind us.
Jane and Stan are bundled up and ready to go.
And up we rise into the sunlight.
Michael will soon join us aloft in Emerald City Express.
The Platte River crunched with the sound of ice floes jostling downstream.
Looking upriver toward Fremont.
A hunting lodge on the shores of the Platte north of Valley.
Michael descends after crossing over Highway 275 near the Highway 36 junction.
The crew caught up to us, affording us a chance to trade photos with our son Mike on the ground.
All too soon, we're back on the ground again, moving the balloon toward a bare patch of ground.
Pack-up goes quickly, and soon it is time to celebrate.
"The winds have welcomed you with softness ..."
"... and set you gently back into the loving arms of Mother Earth."
August 12, 2011 Back to Index October 30, 2010 (PM)