Hot Air Balloon Ride

Got up at 4:30 to drive to Custer, SD where we met the people from Black Hills Balloons. They pumped them up and six of us climbed in one balloon and 12 people went in the larger balloon (shown above).


I never realized how hot those propane burners can get when your head is only about 12 inches below them.


This is the only picture we got of us actually in the balloon. We asked this guy to take it and he couldn't quite figure out how to work the camera. But it's a kind of cinema-verite, I think.

We did fine until the landing which was pretty rough. The pilot would see a spot to put the balloon down and then the wind would shift. As you probably know, you can't steer balloons; they go up or they go down. But when we eventually put down in a pasture, we hit hard, were dragged a few feet, went back up, slammed down again, and a third time. When it was all over, Julie and I were at the bottom of the pile of passengers.

No damage done, however. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I'll post a video of the landing later for those of you who like your blogs suspenseful.