Morning at the Balloon Fiesta

Dream – I'm reading a book – a mid-40's male detective remembers 15 years back to when he ignored the long blonde hair on the stairway – and, the aftermath. The price 'they' paid, for his oversight.

Is it morning? Still dark, but I hear more cars passing; get up – 4:30, yes, time to get up. Wash with babywipes (no water); dress in the ever-so-dim light of battery operated lamp; jeans, 3 layers, cap, Canada bandana, cloth gloves.

Sky is black, stars abound, no light on the horizon.

Meet new-found Minnesota friends in next campsite who crew for 2 Canadian balloons; drive to Field;give parking attendant banana bread; go to Crew Hospitality tent.

Breakfast – breakfast burritos, all you can eat Krispy Kreme donuts; Belgian waffles, juice, coffee, coffee, coffee. Several hundred pilots, crew and Fiesta volunteers laugh, chat, eat, and get ready for the day.

Off to launch site – continual phone calls between fellow chase-crew; pilots (2 balloons from Montreal). Pilot briefing with weather and ground control is over – pilot has to decide - Yes, we'll go; no, not yet; no, wait, YES, NOW.

Sky lightens a bit in the east; stars still glimmer; concessions open selling coffee, 'funnel cakes', breakfast burritos, souveniers, . . . Announcers begin their daily spiel, giving the schedule of the day; bad jokes; lifting spirits to an even higher peak. Sightseers crowd the field; stumbling a bit in the grass, waiting for light, for BALLOONS! Photographers everywhere. Check the number of cameras on this tripod!

Crew unpacks “envelope” (the balloon); gondola; ropes; radios; lights; fan; propane. . . . Lay it all out; I get to help lay out the envelope and ropes and then do traffic control, keeping the sight-seeers from walking over the envelope and ropes (Why, they ask, in a snit? Because if your heel goes through the rolled-up envelope it can ruin a $15,000 balloon.) Hurry up!! Pilot wants to go NOW, to be part of Dawn Patrol, launching at 5:45.

Ready? Use fan to inflate the balloon with cold air; keep walking under the envelope, touching only with cloth gloves (oil on hands ruins silk envelope); fluff envelope up so it will inflate more quickly. Attach the Crown with velcro strips; keep people off of the envelope and ropes; answer questions from observers; HURRY.

Envelope is full of cold air, still lying on its side; tethered to truck. Pilot lights the propane; as air heats, the envelope begins to stand up. Noise, flames, heat. Gondola still on its side, crew checking – instruments in? Lights attached; crew has keys to chase vehicle? 2 way radios working? HURRY. Envelope is up, gondola is in position, pilot is in; double checks everything, mixing propane and air to keep the balloon upright and ready to go. . . . . .

Zebra-garbed field official arrives – ready to go?? final instructions to pilot. Pilot decides who to ride – darn, not me, this time. Zebra checks the field, the wind, the 10 other balloons in our immediate area – not yet, not yet - - then, two arms up, frantic whistle, you're off!! The group cheers!! Away he goes.

Crew gets another coffee, then begins the chase. Pilot says “I'll try for Second and Alameda, near the school”. Roger. We drive the streets near the Field, find our balloon touched down in a dirt parking lot of a small condo development. Chatting with our two guys is a t-shirt garbed woman, who tells us she was walking the arroyo (drainage channel), on her way to school.

She helps us pull the balloon over to the pavement (pilot uses hot air to lift off a bit); then to roll it up, pack, lift, put everything away. She tells me she's 'retarded', and we agree that helping with this balloon is a wonderful thing to be part of. We give her a trading card for our balloon, and she carries on to school, to tell her friends about the start of her day.

We return to the field; drive home; and back to bed. It's 8:00 a.m. Can I pick up that dream where I left off? I want to know how the book ends!

My favourites, so far.

"Arky", with lady bug trying to catch up - I guess Noah forgot her.

and, "Pondemonium", the most creative and original I've seen so far.

Enjoy!