Up close to the balloons

I decided to go across the street and watch the balloons take off from the field.  You can get up close to all the balloons and thousands of people are everywhere on the field.  It is very exciting to be there in person.  Besides the balloons, you also get to see what they call the “Zebras”.  They are the folks who originally dressed in referee costumes and actually direct the balloons and tell them when they can take off.  They also keep the crowd away from the takeoff zone of the balloons.  Some of them are very colorful and  go to extremes with their costumes as you can see from this pic.

First balloon of the day

They send up several balloons which are called the Dawn Patrol.  They usually go up about 6:00 when it is still dark.  The glow of these balloons are really neat.  About 7:00 they send up the first balloon with the “Stars and Stripes” hanging from it.  They also have someone sing our National Anthem.  It is very emotional.  Today the first balloon that went up was called the “Dream Weaver” from Albuquerque, NM.

Thanks Millie for all the great comments!

While on the field I took many pictures.  This is one for my favorite friend Millie who you may have seen her many comments on my blog.  She works at State Farm and is very near retirement.

Thanks Terry for watching my money!

Then I can’t forget my financial broker Terry who works for Wells Fargo Advisors.  My 401K may not be going up, but the Wells Fargo balloon did a pretty good job of climbing.

The next couple of pics shows the balloons preparing for the “Mass Accension”.

Then I took a few pics of individual balloons.  This is Skywalker from Ridgeway, CO

Here we have Kachina from Witchita Falls, TX.

And finally one of my favorites Lindy from Saint Louis, MO.

Breakfast at the Mule Barn

On the following day I went to breakfast with Steve, Annie and Rick at Murphy’s Mule Barn.  The place is not much to look at but if you are looking for good food at great prices that is definetely the place to go.

North to Alaska!!

At 12:00 we all got together for a talk about traveling to Alaska.  Linda and Carole headed up the group but there were several others who have already been there and much was learned about what to expect, the pros and cons, where to camp, and what to see.  It was very interesting and it has me thinking about heading north.  Thanks Linda and Carole you really have me thinking of making a trip to Alaska.  Now I just have to save my $$$$$.

Mike and Lisa’s Barbeque.  Umm Good!!!

We had a 4:30pm pot luck dinner/cocktail hour and Mike and Lisa Sylvester supplied the delicious barbeque.  Then Mike gave a great talk all about RV refrigerators and water heaters.  He gave us a lot of great tips on keeping those appliances going and what to do if we have problems.  Thanks Mike and Lisa for a great time!!!