You should definitely add a ride in a hot air balloon to your list of things to do before you die.  It’s a relaxing way to spend the day, and the sights are truly exhilarating.  It’s a perfect way to celebrate a birthday or anniversary.

1-2:  It’s amazing to watch a basket and pile of cloth pulled from a truck, and turned into a flying machine.  What’s more amazing is that the first manned hot air balloon flight was in the late 1700s!

3: Two of the four balloons in our group, right before takeoff.  Right beside them are the vans and trailers used to haul them.

4:  Balloons are definitely not the fastest way to travel.  However their slow speed makes them an excellent platform for taking aerial photos.

5-7: The scenery can range from towns to farmland.  Tractors look like Tonka toys, and farmland looks like a patchwork quilt from these heights.

8:  An experienced balloon pilot can skim the surface of a river or lake.

9: Cloth, fuel, and fire combined together to create flight seems contradictory.  

10: One by one, the balloons land after a successful day of flying.