First ride in hot-air balloon a storybook come true
I woke up early on the morning of Sept. 19 – and I stress early – to my blaring alarm, reminding me that I was supposed to be at the old Itron headquarters, for Balloons Over Valleyfest, where I would take my first ride in a hot air balloon.
When I walked onto the lawn, just past 6 a.m. and saw the first of two balloons being inflated, I definitely had a feeling I wasn’t in Kansas anymore.
Television news crews from KHQ and KREM were setting up their cameras, preparing to shoot live coverage of our take-off. I met Denise Pauling of Unlimited Marketing and Design, not far from the first balloon, and we shouted over the noise. The immense flame being shot into the balloon sounded like a lion roaring in a cave. Through the excitement and commotion, I learned that illustrations of potatoes on the growing balloon symbolized the focus of the weekend’s Valleyfest – to help feed the hungry. “This year is all about the hunger,” she said.
Pauling explained that I would be traveling in the second balloon with George Maupin, from KHQ, along with a KHQ intern, and Shannon Kinney with KREM. My day of firsts was stacking up and I was definitely getting more than I bargained for.
Our pilot was Spokane Valley resident Forey Walter, who built the balloon that we were going to fly across the Valley. “He is a balloon master,” Pauling said.
I looked down at my feet. Shoot, I forgot my ruby slippers. And, I wasn’t wearing tennis shoes, either. One of the pilots in passing had said it wasn’t a round-trip flight. I hoped there would be another way back “home.”
The other balloon took off and Walter and his crew started to inflate our balloon. We waited in anticipation; some were nervous, but I wasn’t so much. Only a month ago I had ridden an elephant when the circus was in town and was ready to parachute out of an airplane, given the opportunity. The balloon was ready, and everyone was quick to climb aboard. Before I knew it, we were off.
As we floated up, I thought of Dr. Seuss’ “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” “You’ll be on your way up!” Boy, Dr. Seuss wasn’t kidding – we were traveling pretty fast, at first. Then, we slowed to 4 miles per hour.
“You’ll be seeing great sights!” Right again, Doc. We watched the sun creep up over the mountains when we took off and as we drifted over the Valley, I could see almost everything, old and new, in all of its beauty and splendor. “You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.” I couldn’t have said it better, Seuss. We lost the other balloon somewhere midflight. They must have been traveling mighty fast. But, we were flying high. At one point, we were at 4,000 feet – higher than airplanes fly for skydiving.
Everyone in the balloon was having a great time. All of the uneasiness had faded and I was enjoying the flight. Kinney asked our pilot if he knew where we might land. “I’m pretty sure we’ll land on the ground,” Walter said. We all laughed, but I think everybody was still wondering where we would end up and how we would get back. We were drifting to the other side of the Valley, more than a few miles from where we started.
Walter had been keeping in contact with his crew, watching for a safe place to land. Looking over the side of the basket, I could see Hutton Settlement and Arbor Crest – two gorgeous Spokane Valley landmarks, still as spectacular as the day they were built.
Our pilot announced that we would be landing in the field next to Hutton. As we floated down, I saw a van and trailer waiting for us to reach the field. And,Walter, his crew, and Maupin helped us all reach the ground safely.
We jumped out of the basket and they immediately began unhooking and putting the balloon away. In no time flat, they had the balloon bundled up in a special bag, the basket on a trailer and everybody was piling in the van.
Whew, I would get back OK – I didn’t need Glinda, the Good Witch of the North or the ruby slippers. I hitched a ride with our pilot and crew who brought us down to safety, just in time to grab a cup of coffee before heading off to work.