February 2000
triptoGallupfortheannualRedRockBalloon
Rally,thatIwouldnotbeabletohaveanyofmy
crew willingtogo again.I will refresh your memo-
riesandgive briefhighlightstothosewhomissed
lastyear’sarticle.TheReadersDigestversion;
Good launch,nice flight, winds came up, caught rip
lineontreebranch,carriedballoontoroad,high
winds,snow,anda 10hourdriveturnedinto an18
hourmarathonwithlotsoftrucksliding.Stillthe
crewreturnedwithtwonewcomers.
Thisyearpromisedgreatthings.Thosethat
arrived a dayearly tofly Friday were unfortunately
met with high winds at dawn. Veryfewpilots even
botheredtoventureontothelaunchfield.Demon-
strationswerestillheldattheschools,without
inflations of course, muchto the joy of the children.
MyintrepidsouthernCaliforniacrewandI,
aftervisitingthelargestWal-MartintheUnited
States,wereofftoasightseeingexcursiontoEl
Morro,a large rock that hadgraffiti onit that dated
back to the 1600’s when travelers marked and dated
their visit.Todaytheywouldbe arrested,fined and
madetocorrecttheirheinouscrimeandprobably
made to do community service as well. The rock was
pretty,interestingandCOLD!
As we made our way back to Gallup we encoun-
teredasnowstorm.Lastyearsmemoriesflashed
beforemyeyes.Gotaflattireourherelasttime.
WhenwefinallyreachedGallupwefoundithad
alsosnowedthereandnowit wasmuchcolder.
Fridaynight broughtNewHope.Weatherwas
discussed.IhavelearnedthatatGallupthatif
weatherisnotdiscussedattheeveningbriefingit
means weprobablywon’tfly.Ifthe organizersgo
intogreat detail,it meansweatherlooksrealgood.
Saturday brought clear calm skies. The tempera-
turehoweverwasreally,reallycold.Somewhere
between 3 degrees and 7 degrees F. I need to remind
allofyouIamfromsunnySouthernCalifornia
really,reallycoldis48degrees.AsIas-
sembledmysystemandchargedmytankswith
nitrogen, Ifound myfingerssticking to the balloon
stuff.Offtothebriefingforthefinalgoaheadfor
today’s launch. With approximately 185 balloons to
deal with (the largest groupto date) the launch went
surprisingly smooth. As I lifted off, the memories of
last yearfadedthe numbness in myfingers and toes
became unnoticeable, and I once again realized why
I put myselfthroughall ofthis.Flyingat Red Rock
State Parkisone ofthe most beautiful places inthe
world tofly.The groundstill had alight dustingof
snowfromyesterday.Theballoonsglowedinthe
sunlight,framedbythemajestyoftheredrocks.
Very light windsandveryclearskiesmadefor one
of the best flights ever. As I flew right over the center
of the target I let my sponsor, who was in the balloon
for his first ride ever,drop the marker. Close but no
cigar. Of course due to traffic congestionI was200
feetabovethetarget.Imanagedtogive7people
ridesthat day.Thispleases me.Itisalottoaskof
peopletocrew underthese conditions.
Sundaybrought evencalmerwindsandclearer
skies.Italsobroughttemperaturesapproaching0
degrees.My crewwas ontheground busilycheck-
ing out other pilot’s bigger trucks, lift gates, trailers,
fans etc. and busily making their shopping listfor me
fornextyear.AsIonce againfoundmyselfflying
right over the center of the X, I realized I had left my
marker on the dash of the truck. No prizes for me this
year.HoweverI left TheRedRockRally a winner.
Thisiswhatsportballooningisallabout.Itake
memories of experiences, new friends and “As Good
As It Gets” ballooning home with me to treasure and
share with those not fortunate enough to accompany
me.MycrewandIwill bebacknextyearfor“Red
Rock2000” the 20thanniversary ofthe event and a
hopeful200balloonstocelebrate oneofthefinest
balloonralliesinthe world.
February 2000
