Gracious southwestern hospitality in Nevada’s tropical paradise in the desert, along with the promise of up to 100 colorful airborne balloons, attracted thousands of tourists to Laughlin in October. This marked the second year for Laughlin’s RiverFlight hot air balloon race and festival held October 20-22, 1995, sponsored by the Laughlin Visitors Authority and the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority.

"Laughlin is the ideal location for a hot air balloon race," said Betty McCreless, event director and 15-year veteran of hot air balloon rallies. "I’ve organized and flown in numerous races, and nothing compares to the open desert and beauty of the Colorado River found near Laughlin."

The three-day hot air balloon festival was scheduled to begin with a mass ascension Friday morning at 7:00 am, but was cancelled due to wind conditions. Despite the cancelled launch, visitors were still able to browse the arts and crafts booths, exhibiting hand crafted items from balloon collectibles and southwestern apparel, to Native American jewelry and Holiday crafts.

The Ramada Express Hotel and Casino north parking lot was the site for Friday night’s pre-festival "mini-glow." Just after dusk, 8 balloons participated in the incandescence, showing Laughlin visitors what was in store for them for the weekend. Also pleasing the crowd was a country and western band and food service to satisfy their hearty appetites.

The weather was in our favor Saturday morning, as an anxious crowd gathered in the field at the corner of Big Bend Drive and Edison Way, anticipating a full sky of excitement. With clear skies the Sonic hare balloon ascended into the placid sky over the Mojave Desert, followed by 65 eager hound balloons on its tail. Once the hare designated the target site (in a shallow gully next to the road), the hounds skillfully maneuvered themselves into scoring position.

One by one, the aeronauts moved in over the target to toss their markers. As we approached the area, our pilot, Jerry Guenther, carefully calculated the distance, then tossed his bean bag at the target and landed within a few feet of center. There were only two other markers closer than ours, but a dozen balloons were still in the sky behind us, waiting their turn. Jerry then maneuvered "Tiffany" to the right and found an air mass to take us over the Colorado River for a refreshing "splash and dash." We soon found ourselves enjoying the current as we descended over the river and dipped the basket in for a cleansing. It was so inviting that we didn’t want to leave but soon found ourselves being carried towards the bank and Jerry had to hit the burner to rise above the embankment for a quick get a way.

Once we rose above the River’s bank, we joined several other balloons and landed in the clearing along side the road. There were so many balloons lining the sides of the road, that traffic was detained as we each landed and prepared to deflate. We later found out that the pilot was not an official participant in RiverFlight ‘95, but instead, a local pilot out for a recreational flight. The newspaper reported that the Davis Dam substation experienced an outage affecting homes and businesses, reaching as far east as Kingman, Arizona. The names of the balloonists were not released.

The day’s activities picked up again Saturday at dusk when 15 balloons gathered in the festival field for a brilliant night glow. Thrilling the crowd that had gathered, they hit their burners and created a radiant glow, displaying the intensity of color and detail unique to each balloon. After the night glow, Neil Sedaka took the stage to entertain the capacity crowd with his musical pop hits such as "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do," "Calendar Girl," and "Laughter In The Rain."

The weather report had forecasted high winds to hit the area by the evening and as the night wore on, the prediction became a reality. In the early morning hours on Sunday I was awakened by the howling wind from my eleventh story hotel room. As I went to the window to look outside, I was greeted by 25 mph winds whipping across the desert, bringing clouds of dirt and sand along with it. Recognizing this was not balloon weather, I crawled back under the warm sheets and told myself this would be a good day to sleep in.

Since Saturday was the only day of official racing, the top ten pilots from the single day shared the $10,000 prize money. First place was won by Paul Cheatham who came within 2’ 8-3/8" of center, winning $3,250; in second place was Jodie Smith, pilot of the "Just Say No" balloon who came within 2’ 9-1/2" of center, winning $2,150; and in third place was Jerry Guenther, who came within 4’ 8-1/4" of center, winning $1,150. Pilots placing 4th through 10th won prize money, starting with $800 for 4th place, and decreasing in increments of $100, down to $200 for 10th place. No matter what direction you’re coming from, it’s easy to find Laughlin. Located just 90 miles south of Las Vegas, Laughlin is only a few miles north of Interstate 40, the main east-west route from Southern California and Northern Arizona. Situated on the southern most tip of Nevada, the gambling resort of Laughlin has transformed part of the arid, rugged Mojave Desert into a fast-growing tourist destination.