The Balloons

We didn't attend the reinvented Old West Balloon Fest in Mitchell this year. I love hot air balloons--who doesn't? But I don't care much for hoards of people and bumper-to-bumper traffic, especially before sunrise, and Bill wasn't available to go with the kids and me, so we stayed home. There's always next year--at least, I hope so, because I really do love hot air balloons.


I've seen some awe-inspiring pictures of the balloons, and even some photos and videos taken by friends who reveled in their first balloon ride ever, this past weekend. I must say that this year's digital photos are much clearer and crisper than these photos I took twenty-some years ago, when Scotts Bluff County's Old West Balloon Festival began for the first time. Back then, Bill was privileged to be part of a chase team for one of the balloon crews, so our whole family got up long before the sun, and drove over to Scottsbluff to help inflate a balloon, and then follow it in the official chase vehicle until it came down in some field outside of town. The second year, Bill and six-year-old Erin got to ride in the balloon, while I snapped a few photos and rode in the chase vehicle with too-little Meagan.


As I was reading all about this second year of the renewed Balloon Fest, I couldn't help but think back to the fun we had so many years ago, when Meagan was young enough to require a stroller that we pushed across the bumpy terrain to get close to the balloons. Back then, I only grumbled a little bit about losing sleep for a chilly, early morning adventure. And the sight of those balloons inflating, as the sun began to light up the eastern October sky, followed by the balloons launching into the air and floating silently into the distance--yes, those majestic balloons made our early awakening worth the hassle.


Levi says that he has no interest in seeing a bunch of hot air balloons inflate and lift off the ground at the old Mitchell airport. Really, though, I don't think he knows what he's been missing. And, for that reason alone, I think we will need to take him, and Victoria, too, to see the balloons next year. And, we might as well take the grandchildren along. It's been quite a while since I pushed a stroller across a field before sun-up, just to see some awesome hot air balloons, but I don't think I've lost the knack.


What's a little lost sleep, when we can watch the hot air balloons?



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