this morning we arrived at the sign-in area for the balloon rides… there wasn’t much wind and we could see lots of stars… the energy seemed higher but we didn’t want to get over excited…

we were called up to the lines and then the pilots came over and got us… we went to the seven sections of the field which were each divided into five or six areas…

the teams started to get their equipment out… it was amazing to stand in a field with thirty plus balloons filling with air…

each of the four times we had been, we took a photo in front of one of the trucks… this time we are in front of the balloon we will rise in…

after filling the balloon with air, they start to heat it and the basket stands up gently…

and the next thing we are in the air… we were the third balloon off the ground… watching the other balloons rise from the field was truly an unforgettable event…

we flew for 45 mind-expanding minutes and then floated down into a soccer field…

we walked the balloon from one end of the field to the other and then everything happened in reverse order, although the balloon didn’t want to give up flying and it was difficult to get the air out…

there were six balloons which landed in the field and everyone supported everyone else… great to see…

after a great ride back in the pursuit van we got a picture of the Intuit team, captain Hal Cooper, his two sons and two volunteers from the Festival, as well as the four of us who rode in the balloon…

the twenty-five year wait was worth it… I wasn’t afraid for even one second… wow…