2026, Family, Gatherings, Nature, Seasons, Uncategorized

Colorful Inflation

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I heard about the Hudson Hot Air Affair last fall.  Probably on Facebook.  It’s pretty straightforward.  First weekend in February, sports fields of the EP Rock Elementary, tons of hot air balloons.

YA and I planned it all out.  The website scared us a bit about how finding parking would be, so we left the house at 5:30 on Saturday morning to make sure we were there by about 6:15.  This turned out to be jumping the gun.  We easily found a really good parking spot right in front of the elementary school.  Nothing was going on in the dark so we were able to sit in the car for almost a half hour before we ventured out to see the sunrise. It was quite icy on the field and the temperature was in the teens, but there were enough bodies waiting to keep it comfortable.  The launch was scheduled for 7:35 but there were notes on the website as well as a couple of announcements that they would decide right at 7:35 if the winds would allow the launch.  All the balloons were in various states at that point and when they cancelled the launch due to unfavorable winds they said that the balloon teams were going to inflate the balloons but keep them on the ground.  (Turns out that none of the four planned launches happened this year – winds just weren’t in the mood.)

It was an amazing view of all the balloons filling up at once – if you haven’t seen a hot air balloon up close, they are HUGE.  Seeing that many in the same place, all inflating at once was amazing. 

My feet were starting to feel the cold at that point and I suggested to YA that we head to the craft fair (inside the school).  She said we should make one “go around” to see everything before heading in.  You’d think she would know better, wouldn’t you.  An hour later I was still talking to balloon teams.  Name of balloon (Kay’s Windancer, Senorita Sunrise, Late Nite Discussions, Wizardly Dreams), were they the owners/regular team (about 80% owners), where were they last (several had just come from Arizona the week before), how long they’ve been ballooning (most of them over 10 years, one guy 50 years).  As you can imagine, many of them had plenty to say and I was having a great time.  YA finally lured me with “there’s a black lab puppy over near the Remax balloon”.  (Note:  There are over 100 Remax balloons worldwide with four dedicated teams. The others can be leased/operated by Remax realtors and agents.)

The craft fair was OK.  I bought a bottle of local maple syrup.  I liked this year’s t-shirt – not sure what the theme (Skywalkers Return to Ranch) meant but I liked the design but it was a bit much, especially since I already have too many t-shirts.  But we noticed that t-shirts from previous years were only $5.  Maybe we’ll go again next year – hopefully there will be a launch and I can get this year’s shirt for a bargain!

Have you ever been up in a hot air balloon? 

19 thoughts on “Colorful Inflation”

  4. Nope, the acrophobia is strong in me. But i do love to look at them. The maple syrup comment hase thinking I need to make pancakes

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    1. Maple syrup calls to me at craft fairs. At the sheep and wool festival last spring I found a cinnamon infused maple syrup. I had to hide it in the back of the refrigerator to make sure that it didn’t disappear too fast (to hide it from me, not to hide it from YA!)

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  5. Three times and all of them predawn launches. The first was over the Masai Mara National Park in Kenya followed by a delicious champagne brunch in the middle of the savannah.. The second was over the mountains on the west side of Tucson. That was also followed by a breakfast – not as fancy as the first one. The most recent was over the Wahibi Sands in Oman – no brunch but we received medals and caps commemorating our flight. The first time I saw hot air balloons up close was the Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Festival about 35 years ago. We saw both the initial launch and the Balloon Glow (inflated but tethered). My travel buddies and I plan to do another balloon ride over Cappadocia on a trip to Turkey this Fall.

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    1. My first was also over the Masai Mara. I had always said that hot air ballooning, like bungee jumping, would be something I would never do. But the opportunity to try a hot air balloon over Africa was more than I could resist. And it wasn’t scary. Who knew?

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  7. No. Never had the urge to do that, or sky dive, or parasail, or be up in the air in anything other than a full-size jet. Might be because my grandfather took me, my sister, and his daughter up in a small plane and talked the pilot into playing a trick on us, like stalling out for a few seconds, or some other maneuver that scared the crap out of this 8-yr-old.

    Chris in Owatonna

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    1. The trip during which I did the hot air balloon was also the trip where I had a flight in an open air biplane. I wondered if the fact that neither of these experiences scared the begeezus out of me would mean that I had conquered my fear of heights. No, it did not. I still like to take the elevator at the Mall of America instead of those escalators.

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    2. I have parasailed twice, both times back in the 80s. The first time was in Aruba, where it is very windy. There was one other female in the group. After I was winched back in to the boat the crew wouldn’t let her go because it was too dangerous with the wind. I wasn’t worried during my flight – I enjoyed every minute of it. I doubt I would do it again now if the opportunity arose – am more of a chicken as I get older (and maybe wiser?).

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      1. I learned to water-ski on Gull Lake during an annual retreat with the first accounting firm that I worked for. That weekend I won first prize for the most colorful thighs at the resort! That was a result of my failure to grasp that if I didn’t let go of the rope when I was about to topple over, that rope would slap the bejezus of the front of my thighs. I eventually got it, and enjoyed the sensation of zooming across the wake of a powerful boat. I have water-skied many times since.

        The following year they also offered parasailing. I’m not a natural daredevil, and I really don’t enjoy making a fool of myself in front of other people, so it took me about half an hour to muster the courage to get on board. As it turned out, parasailing didn’t really require any skill on my part, so I was no worse for the wear after I was safely back in the boat again. Although I enjoyed the experience, I have never done it again.

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  8. When I left the law firm in 1992, some of the lawyers pooled their money for a farewell gift for me: a hot-air balloon flight over the St. Croix River.

    I chose my departure date to coincide with peak fall colors along the river, and I was lucky that my chosen date turned out to be a balmy fall morning with gentle winds.

    As we silently lifted off the ground and drifted skyward, the sun came out and revealed the autumn foliage along the river in all its glory. It was truly a breathtaking sight and a magical moment.

    As we drifted over the river, we touched down – briefly – on a small island in the middle of it. As we lifted aloft again, we floated over people waving to us from their back yards and farms as we drifted by. After a couple of hours, we landed in a farmer’s field somewhere in the vicinity of Stillwater and celebrated our adventure with Champagne. What a gift!

    I loved the experience so much that I bought a balloon flight for Hans and a cousin from Denmark who was spending her senior year in high school with us. They had followed my flight from the ground, and had enjoyed the experience from another perspective.

    I can only imagine what a magical experience it would to float silently over an African savannah or the Arizona desert in a hot air balloon.

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  9. We’ve had several hot air balloons land on the farm. Always nice crews. And yeah, once they fold it all up, it takes several people to get it in the trailer…
    I’ve never been in one. It was on my dads bucket list to take a hot air balloon ride. He did it for his 70th Birthday. And he loved it.

    Sleeve status:
    I’m at work today and I had a meeting so I’m wearing sleeves….

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