What an amazing experience!

A few weeks ago, I was informed that I had won a "contest" at work by answering some questions that were asked in our quarterly newsletter. So what was the "Grand Prize" you ask... was it a "leg-o-lamp" wrapped up in a nice fishnet stocking that I could place in our front window? Well, no, I was a bit disappointed as well - but not for long because I found that the winners got to ride in a hot air balloon during the Ruby Mountain Hot Air Balloon Festival which happens to be taking place this weekend.

As you are aware, the balloons depend very heavily on the weather so all eyes have been to the western horizon this past week wondering what the weekend would bring. I had to work yesterday (Saturday) and left the house a bit earlier than usual to see if I could catch a glimpse (my scheduled ride was for Sunday morning) of any balloons that would still be up in the air at that point - only to see that they hadn't been able to launch at all because the winds were just too strong and wouldn't allow for a safe flight or landing.

This morning, I awoke to the sweet sounds of the alarm at 5:00 and peeked outside - still, calm air and clear skies - a perfect day weather-wise! Amy and I got everyone up and out of bed, bundled up, and on our way out to Spring Creek by 5:30 a.m. When we got there, they were just about to start their pilot's meeting so we listened to that for a bit and then met the pilot of the balloon that I would be riding in - "Kearney". I do need to mention that it didn't take long for the kids (especially the younger-more-prone-to-whining-ones) to start freezing because they hadn't heeded warnings and encouragement to wear heavier coats and such. Finally fed up with it all, Amy took Carly and Ryan back to the van so that they could warm up a bit and watch from afar. Scott was alternating between taking pictures with our camera and trying to keep his hands and lips warm - I had some suggestions on how to accomplish this but he wasn't too keen on performing those maneuvers in public...? I found out as the balloon was inflating that there would be room in the basket for Ian to come with us "if he wanted to" - "DUH". He was absolutely ecstatic!

Here are a bunch of pictures of our grand adventure (the ones on the ground were taken by Scott and the others by me up in the air). When all was said and done, we'd travelled about a mile and had reached a height of about 200 - 250 ft above the ground. If you ever get the chance - I would VERY highly recommend taking advantage of it!

Enjoy

... and here is "Kearney's Mistress" after dropping us off and picking another pair of passengers.