Welcomed With Softness

Hot Air Ballooning - Part 3
Nov. 2, 2012


"Let's go!" Ryan called out.

"That's you. Go!" Jason prodded.

"What?!" I was caught off guard.  "Oh my!  This is it!"

I sprinted towards the hot air balloon colored like the American flag. Greg Szymanski, the pilot of Free Spirit, was already in the gondola ready to take flight. Wanda, his wife and crew chief, walked over and asked me to sign a waiver.

Greg Szymanski, pilot of Free Spirit, from Boise Idaho.

Ryan, who was helping Greg, showed me the small hole on the side of the wicker basket. It's the foot hold so I could easily prop myself up and into the gondola.

"What should I hang onto?" I asked looking for rope handles.

"Anything leather," both Greg and Ryan answered.

Greg pumped a few blasts from the propane burner and then we started to float.  "This is really happening!" I got really excited.

I waved goodbye to these folks as we slowly drifted upwards.

~ ~ ~

In my previous blog posts ("Up, Up and...Um Not Yet" and "A Different High"), I wrote about my close encounters with these lovable aircrafts but have never experienced a hot air balloon ride.

Who would have known that it was going to happen on this day?

Sheldon Grauberger, a pilot of Vegas Balloon Rides, told me about the Las Vegas Balloon Fest. I came to the event because I was interested in the Glow Show -- when balloonists blast propane bursts while it's still dark in the early morn.  The hot air balloons look like they're glowing.

The hot air balloons twinkle in the twilight
during the Las Vegas Balloon Fest's Glow Show.

They're like giant colorful lightbulbs flashing on and off. It's a visual delight!

Didn't expect to ride a hot air balloon at all. I was even wearing heels! I was just taking pictures and chatting with Jason Abbott (marketing director of Vegas Balloon Rides) when Ryan, also from Vegas Balloon Rides, surprised me with the opportunity.

I was so thankful...and happy!

~ ~ ~

When the basket first lifted off the ground, I was thrilled! "This is going to be so cool!" I thought. But as we drifted above street lamps and trees, it finally hit me that we're going really high up.  I must admit I was white-knuckled for a while.  I wanted to take pictures or tweet about what was happening but I was afraid to let go of my grip.

"Did I forget to tell you that I'm afraid of heights?" I asked Greg.

"So am I," he replied in a grandpa kind of way.

I took this picture as we rose higher and higher.
The hot air balloon ride was as peaceful as this sunrise.

Ours was only one of the multiple balloons that launched
 for the mass ascension during the Las Vegas Balloon Fest.

Soon enough I relaxed. I didn't even feel that the wind was carrying us towards the east. We slowly rose higher until I could see a great view of the valley. Around us were the other balloons in flight.  It was incredible!

The experience was exactly how Jason (Vegas Balloon Rides pilot) described it to me, "You feel completely detached from the ground and you get this motionless sensation. It's like canoeing in the sky."

View of the Las Vegas Strip from one side.

View of the Red Rock Mountains on the other side.

"It's like canoeing in the sky."

I asked Greg about the gadget hanging from his neck. He explained that the instrument helps measure altitude, rate of climb, and the balloon top's temperature. Then he started whipping out facts and figures about hot air balloons. I was bummed I didn't have my notepad to jot them all down.  He even said that our balloon could fit 90,000 cubic feet of air. "That's 90,000 basketballs," he put it in perspective. I looked up in awe.

"And who is this fella," I then tapped the stuffed animal hanging on one of the support poles. 

"That's my hitchhiker," he laughed and pressed a button on it. The song "Wild Thing" started to play and we both cracked up.

The hitchhiker on Greg's Free Spirit Hot Air Balloon

"It's a beautiful day," Greg emphasized. The weather was perfect and there was no cloud in the sky.  I told him that I got my wish.  And how elated I was to get a private ride. It was worth the wait.

Later he scouted the area where we could safely land.  He pointed to a truck on the ground, "There's our chase crew following us." I wasn't really sure how or where we could touch down. We were gliding above homes.  I saw some great backyards and swimming pools, by the way.  Then he pinpointed an elementary school playground.  That became our landing pad.

"We're going to bounce," Greg warned me. "Bend your knees."

The basket gently hit the ground and bounced back up. We hit the ground another time and then slightly skidded to a halt. Some teachers and kids came out to see the balloon up close.  They all took pictures while I was still in disbelief.  Ryan and Wanda soon arrived and we all helped put the balloon away and back into their trailer.  It was a lot of work but they got it down to a system.

"So how was it?" Ryan asked me.

"IT.  WAS.  AH-MAZING!" I exclaimed.

Smiling for the camera after a great landing. That's Greg and me.

Ryan and Greg using a squeezer to force the air
out of the envelope a.k.a. hot air balloon

I was so grateful for the incredible ride of my life. Oh but wait...there's more!

Greg and Wanda weren't just going to let me go without the full experience. They signed and handed me my certificate. "You are now officially an aeronaut," Greg declared. He gave me a little hot air balloon pin that looked just like what we rode. It was inscribed with "Free Spirit Balloon Team."

Next, he pulled out 3 flute glasses and poured champagne into them. We all raised our glasses for a toast and what he recited almost made me cry...

The Balloonist's Prayer:

"The Winds have welcomed you with softness.  

The Sun has blessed you with his warm hands. 

You have flown so high and so well, that God has joined you in your laughter. 

And He has set you gently back again into the loving arms of Mother Earth."

"Cheers!"

Free Spirit Balloon Team

Greg writes my name on the Certificate of Aeronaut

Ste Chapelle champagne for toasting