January 2000
spentseveraldaystouringaround
Utah, thenheaded off toReno onThurs-
day. We had to leave Utahveryearly, so
thatwecouldmakethe600-
mile drive and arrive in Reno in
time for pilot registration. Reg-
istrationforthe18thAnnual
GreatReno BalloonRacewas
heldatanewvenue,theNa-
tional Bowling Stadium. There
wasagoodselectionof food,
drink,andsomefunbowling
competitionbetweenthebal-
loonists.
FridaymorningIwasas-
signed to fly acameraman from
one of thesponsoringTV sta-
tions. This year we were spon-
sored by the GRBR to fly press
&VIP’s, along with Koh Murai.
Theboxwindswereworking
well on Friday and Iwas able to
flysev eralpasseso verth e
launchfield,whichmadethe
TVstation very happy. As soon
asIlandedtheballoonina
residentialneighborhood,the
cameraman was picked up by a
carfromthestationandwas
rushed back to thefield forpost-
production.Mycrewshowed
up and we deflated the balloon
inthestreet,withthehelpof
manyoftheresidents.Friday
eveningtheballoonistsand
sponsors were treated to an ex-
cellent buffet and Motown Party
Saturday morning begins at 5:15 a.m.
with a unique event, the Glow Show. This
Balloon Race
morningballoonglow isfollowed
by the Dawn Patrol at5:30 a.m., and the
regular balloon launch starts at 6:45 a.m..
MyassignmentfortheSatur-
day morning flight was the still
photographer forthe Reno Con-
vention Bureau. Since the load
was smallerI wasalsoableto
fly oneof our crew members on
herfirstballo onflight.Our
flightwassimilartoFridays,
but I decided to make it easy on
the chase crewand landed back
atthe park. Sunday morning’s
scheduleandflightwerethe
sameasSaturdays.Afterwe
wrappedupour flight, packed
upourequipment,wehitthe
road for another leg of our road
trip.
We left Reno around noon
on Sunday and drove550 miles
to St. George, Utah. Monday &
Tuesdaywevisitednumerous
scenicareas insouthernUtah.
Wednesday morning we drove
toLake Powell, Arizona todo
breakfastwithanoldfriend,
thendrovedowntotheHopi
Reservationtovisitsomeof
ourHopifriends,andafew
galleries. We stopped fora early
dinner in Gallup, NewMexico,
then finished ourfinal600 miles
into Albuquerque.
Be h r m a n n