Balloons & FireworksJul 15, 2017
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Getting blown up
Wondering what's going on so early
If only I could get inside
I got up early for the Balloon Rally (Sue doesn't do 0700) at the local collage on Saturday. There were about 30 balloons the inflated and took off. It was a pretty calm morning and most of the balloons landed within a mile of the launch field. A couple were able to double back and land on the launch field. It was fun to watch and I got a few nice images. To top off the morning, I had pancakes and sausage at the Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast.
Sue went with me Saturday evening to see the After Glow performance by the balloon teams. The balloons are inflated and tethered to the ground while they periodically turn on the burners to light up the balloon envelop. Some of the team did not inflate their balloons, but were positioned around the perimeter and lit off their burners as the balloons did. This performance was not nearly as impressive as the on they do at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, but then again this rally was small in comparison.
Following the After Glow, we drove up to Airport Hill to watch the fire works. It was the best fire works display that Sue and I have seen in years. It was a half hour of continuous fireworks. You could never tell which display was the finale because there were several. Near the end they set off some kind of explosion on the ground that reminded me of foo gas (flame fougasse to be correct). A variant of napalm that is set off along the ground. It created a wall of lame about 50 ft long and at least 20 ft high. It was a real shocker because it was so unexpected. The area around Riverton is so dry, that the fire works wound up starting several brush fires that the fire department had to extinguish while the show went on. The fire works were a great way to end the night.
