ToadDate 0012.10.10.2016-NM
Thanks, Myles, for doing a post on Sunday while Elaine and I were out at the Balloon Fiesta field.
Elaine and I began the day as usual at 3:45 am and were at the Balloon Fiesta field by 5:00 am. The conditions were good for flying, the balloon was stood up at 7:21 am.
Stacy was selected as the passenger and was so excited to be flying with her dad (she was in the balloon within 20 seconds of being selected). Unfortunately, there was a delay to check out the weather conditions. During the delay Stacy decided that since she had ridden in a balloon before that someone who hadn’t should ride in her place.
Stacy, thank you for an awesome adventure! I got to make my first balloon ascent and joined all who had gone before, all because of the Montgolfier brothers.
Over 233 years ago, on 19 September 1783, the Montgolfier brothers‘ balloon Aerostat Réveillon was flown with the first (non-human) living creatures in a basket attached to the balloon: a sheep called Montauciel (“Climb-to-the-sky”), a duck and a rooster.
How did I feel about the flight that David took me on? Very excited, relaxed and comfortable during the excellent flight. The ascent was very much like a swiftly rising elevator, without walls and with a terrific view. The flight itself was very stable, quiet and relaxing. The descent to the landing field (balloon friendly and marked with white sheets) was gradual, controlled and followed by a perfect landing. Our chase crew had not arrived but another crew on the landing field assisted us until our crew arrived.
Marauders’ Mark is the name of the balloon and also of the crew. You need people to assist when you are ballooning, David has a great crew.
After the balloon was packed, we returned to the Balloon Fiesta field. The crew held a short ceremony, commemorating my first balloon flight. In short this was an amazing adventure, one that you should put on your bucket list.
Rambling Toad 