PT Cruiser Convertible

Hot Air

Ballooning

"Dancing with the Cars"

By The “Good Guys in the Black Hats”,

Patsy Buchwald and Ken Tadolini

Ridgway, Colorado is located approximately 260 miles and five hours from Colorado Springs. Their fifth annual hot air balloon event, titled BALLOONS ~N~VAROOM, meant another road trip for the OUTLAW Balloon Team on Mother’s Day Weekend.

Beautiful Ridgway, with 100-year-old cottonwoods in the town park, is nestled in the picturesque Uncompahgre Valley and surrounded by tall majestic snow-capped peaks of the Cimarron and San Juan Mountains. It continues to be one our favorite ballooning destinations.

The organizers, Gary and Carolyn Woods, are friends of ours and do an incredible job producing this event with the resources of a small town. Ken and I have a friendly competition with them to see whose balloons get photographed more.

While the custom design of our OUTLAW balloon is our favorite, we have always admired the spiral design of their balloons.

Last year as they were deciding to downsize their company, San Juan Balloon Adventures, Ken and I were deciding to expand our pay ride operation. We purchased their Firefly 140,000 cubic foot balloon and named it BANDIT. They kept the “smaller twin” name SKYWALKER, a Firefly 90,000 cubic foot balloon.

The new common goal is see how often we can fly the spiral balloons together and get photographed!

We arrived in Ridgway on Thursday. Friday was a cold but incredible morning for flying. Gary briefed the pilots to keep the flights short today due to forecasted weather that should come in around 10 AM.

With great skills, the pilots kept the balloons within a few miles of the launch site. With limited crew, I was appreciative when, after about 45 minutes, Ken landed about a block from where he took off. But the best part of the day was when a dad and two sons, Leif, Owen and Wheeler Jeull who were waiting on the school bus, helped us pack up the balloon.

We love sharing those experiences and made sure Owen had balloon cards, pins and Classic programs to take to share with his classmates.

While some of us still enjoy those after flight morning naps; some of us prefer to head out on adventures which always include shopping and dining. Today a group of pilots, sponsors and crew went to Ouray which is less than twenty miles from Ridgway.

Saturday’s weather was not as good to us. We woke to rain, went to the launch site to be briefed that the flights for all 24 balloons were canceled and the possibility of pulling off the balloon glow that night looked slim.

Some teams headed back to their motel. Ken and I headed out on an adventure to Telluride which is also the home of a balloon festival at another time of the year.

Even with the cooler wet weather, it was an incredible drive. And what did we find in Telluride? More balloonists!

After having lunch and shopping, we headed back to Ridgway to be informed the balloon glow was canceled and the BBQ had been moved indoors to the 4-H Center.

We learned this year’s festival fundraising efforts would benefit “A PLACE TO PLAY", a new gym and music room for the secondary school.

With that in mind, we purchased tickets to the BBQ, tickets for door prizes, and bought dessert from the school kids.

The car show, which was to have included 100 cars, trucks, off road vehicles and motorcycles, and the dance competitions had also been canceled due to the weather so no “Dancing with the Cars” for this year.

Sunday’s flights were awesome! Photographers were abundant taking shots of the balloons with show cars, balloons doing a splash and dash, balloons in the sky with snow capped mountains as a backdrop and balloons taking off again and again.

When it was time for “the” tailgate party, the SIMONSEZ balloon team provided freshly grilled homemade brats. Oh man, were those delicious!

We were on the road back to Colorado Springs to have Mother’s Day dinner with my son and his family when we got the call that my Dad was in the hospital. Within 24 hours, he was in ICU.

Georgia is so far away when the heart is called. My youngest sister Rita was in China on business and I was half a country away.

Our family made a pack years ago that those there would decide if those out of town needed to come. Rita, Ken and I were told to not come to Georgia yet.

Pneumonia had caused major reactions to his diabetes and blood pressure but my Dad is tough. Thankfully, under the watchful love of our family and the care of wonderful hospital staff, he got to go home in a week.

Ken and I always remember that we have lots of family. Some of them are balloonists who have the title of friends and some of them have the traditional titles of family. We are very grateful that my Dad is doing so well, that our family in Georgia knew how to handle all of us and that those in aviation continue to bless our lives.

· Local Female Pilot Organization: Pikes Peak 99s, http://pikespeak99s.spaces.live.com