October1999
favorite balloon events of thesummer,the
Billings Ocean Spray Big Skyfest balloon
event. Wenormally take two days to drive
the1,100miles toBillings,but this year
didit in one long daybecause of work at
home. We arrived well after midnight, so
I letthecrewsleepinwhileI gotupto
photograph the media flight. Later Thurs-
day afternoon we registered for the event
and met up withour local crew.
Friday morningthe wind was blow-
ing pretty hard when we showed up forthe
pilots briefing. The weatherman said that
hethoughtthatthewindswoulddrop
down after sunrise and we would be able
to fly.After awindy inflation we launched
the balloon with our sponsors hanging on,
but looking forward to a memorable flight.
Weflewoverthetreesanddescended
downtoasandbarinthe middleof the
YellowstoneRiver.Ihadtoreloadthe
filminmycamerasandwashappythe
wind hadcalmeddown enoughtoallow
this landing. After launching back into the
windthattookusdowntheriver,we
encounteredabeautifulGoldenEagle.
The eaglecircledusafew timesbefore
flying off down the river. After spooking
upa few WhitetailandMule deer along
theriverbanks,wefinallyhadacalm
landing in a big field.
Saturdaymorningwehadaneasy
launch, but were soontravelingdue west
at over 35 knots. We flew after the Hare
balloon and covered 28 miles in less than
anhour. After a third place throw on the
X,welandedinanopenfieldashort
distance away at over 17knots.
Sunday morning we again flew to the
west at a slower pace. The two flights on
SaturdayandSundaywere the firsttime
inthe event historythe flights went west
down the Yellowstone River. We landed
large rolls of hay. We had a great flight
and saw a lot of wild life along the way,
but did miss the field with the X. Sunday
afternoon most oftheballoonists and crews
traveled to a ranch 16 miles east of Bill-
ings for what was billed as a Montana
Steak Cookout. Wewere greeted by Joe &
JoAnn Feist and were treated to a pit BBQ
of steak and all the fixings. After most of
us to his hilarious comedy routine. There
were hayrides, walks by the stream, and
even a spooked black bear that made the
afternoon very special. Sunday night’s
flight was cancelled just like Friday &
Saturdays, because a high winds. After a
short tether by a few of the balloons, a
short awards ceremony was held.
