by Kris Neri of the Femmes Fatales
I floated up where the clouds reign recently, and it was awesome. Joe and I took a hot air ballon ride through Northern Lights Balloon Expeditions in Sedona, AZ.
In case you’ve ever thought you might like to try it, let me tell you about this amazing experience.
The pick up time was 5:20 am. Ungodly early, but the wind is tame at that hour. The payoff for that is seeing the sunrise from the basket of a hot air balloon! Although I wore a T-shirt with 3/4 sleeves, I was still chilled and I wished I’d worn a sweatshirt while we waited for the balloons to be readied. Little did I know I’d be warm enough once we were aloft, thanks to all those blasts of burning gas that hot air balloons require.
It’s really kind of fascinating to watch the balloon prep. They spread the giant balloons out on the ground and shoot burning gas into them, to heat the air inside. When the air is warm enough, the balloon rises.
The funniest part — and the most unexpected — is climbing into the basket. I just assumed they’d have portable stairs. Oh, noooo. Instead, you stick one foot into a slit along the side of the basket, and then you throw your leg over the side, as if you were climbing onto a horse. I did okay climbing in; maybe not so graceful climbing out, after my poor old joints had stiffened a little during the long ride.
Amazingly, you don’t even feel that you’re lifting off the ground, it’s that smooth. I had to look down to realize we’d started our rise. But our pilot, Blair, had been flying balloons for 29 years he told us, and his touch with flying the balloon was as light as flying on a feather.
Most of the people who take hot air ballon flights here are probably tourists. I imagine visitors see the scenery differently. Try seeing your own locale from the air — but not too far up; not like from a plane — and it will look entirely different than you think it does. For instance, there’s some space around some of our neighborhoods around here. When you drive past in car, the space between goes by in a flash. From aloft, I could see those spaces around neighborhoods were bigger than I thought.
And here in Sedona, while on the ground, the eye is always drawn to the arresting red rock formations. From the air, the balance between the red rocks and green hillsides was more evident.
One of the coolest effects occurred when we approached a hillside, with the sun behind us. Our balloon cast a shadow on the hill.
We saw that same effect again when we were headed in for a landing. That time we didn’t just see the shadow of the balloon, but the basket as well.
There were three balloons in the sky the day we went up. It was fun to watch the other pilots’ movements. They would occasionally drop down and catch a breeze, and travel sideways on it.
Our pilot brought us all down in a big open field, along with the other balloons and their passengers. There they gave us mimosas, strawberries and whipped cream, and fritters as a little brunch. Apparently, it is a ballooning tradition to always have champagne after a flight.
There really aren’t enough superlatives to do it justice. Even better than being a bird, this must be what it’s like to ride on a cloud.
It’s the most fun thing I’ve done lately. How about you?
What a gorgeous trip, Kris. Thanks for sharing it with us. Your photos are amazing. I took one balloon trip in St. Louis, and though I hate flying in airplanes (who doesn't?) a balloon ride was a whole different experience. We flew over the city, and I could hear dogs barking and talk to the people on the ground. I also found out there were no steps into the balloon basket -- in fact, I fell in head first.
Posted by: Elaine Viets | September 02, 2017 at 09:17 AM
I have always wanted to take one of those balloon trips! It sounds fabulous! But I'm somewhat acrophobic . . . should I even try?
Posted by: Donna | September 03, 2017 at 08:28 AM
I've been on two ballon rides.
One was a surprise on. My father and I were at a balloon festival in Statesville, NC, and one of the participants landed a bit short of the desired field. Nearly on top of us! So we helped him get situated , and in return, he let me hop on board for a short ride to the field.
After that, we had to do a full ride. So on Halloween of one year, Daddy and I were up in the sky. Amazing!
Fun fact 1: Balloon baskets have tiny little glove boxes. Okay, maybe it's just a storage box, but it looked like a glove box from a car.
Fun fact 2: The balloon pilot for ours had a tape player, and the tape inside it was the soundtrack to TOP GUN. Amused the heck out of us!
Posted by: Toni LP Kelner | September 03, 2017 at 10:53 PM
Wow. What fun! Wish I had taken a balloon ride when we lived in Sedona. I would see them on my morning runs. Beautiful.
Posted by: GregLilly | September 04, 2017 at 07:35 AM
Elaine, your flight sounds great, too. If Joe hadn't caught me getting out, my face would have hit the dirt. With all the stuff they cart around, they can't include a little set of stairs?
Posted by: krisneri | September 04, 2017 at 10:24 AM
Donna, as great as balloon flights are, they might not be for you. They do float up ever-so gently, but then when you look down, it's clear the balloon is a long way up from the ground. If heights are a problem for you, you might want to pass on this experience.
Posted by: krisneri | September 04, 2017 at 10:26 AM
Toni, your flights sound great, too. How terrific to get a short, unexpected one! I missed the little glove box; too busy studying the gas canisters, I guess.
Posted by: krisneri | September 04, 2017 at 10:28 AM
Greg, it is a not-to-be-missed experience, but I'm sure you'll have other chances. You see them in lots of places. Your turn will come.
Posted by: krisneri | September 04, 2017 at 10:30 AM