Danielle and I received a balloon ride as our wedding gift from all of our friends at Evolve. We finally took advantage of it and scheduled our ride for this last weekend. We were hoping to wait till October so that the fall colors would fill in, but we couldn't wait any longer, we were too psyched! Fair Winds was the Hot Air Balloon Company we went up with. The entire staff and the owner Jeff were the funniest people ever. They totally love their jobs and you could tell.
The Fair Winds Balloon Company has about 5 balloons. You can fit about 4 to 8 people per balloon basket depending on the basket. We had to be at the launch site at 6:30 a.m. in Gunbarrel. We took off around 7:30ish and stayed up for about 2 hours. It was super calm, about a whapping 4 miles per hour. The views were spectacular and the weather was perfect. There was not a cloud in the sky and it was actually warm that early in the morning. We thought it was going to be cold higher up in the atmosphere, so we dressed in pants and brought sweatshirts. Because you stand right below the burners, it felt like your hair, neck and shoulders were going to catch fire. It gets really warm in the basket, especially when the pilot hits the burners.
We floated along the Boulder skyline and enjoyed all the views of the Rockies, Plains and Front Range. Jeff, our pilot gave us all kinds of Boulder trivia and some cool history lessons of the area. We took tons of photos and just relaxed, enjoying the peaceful calm of the balloon ride. Because you float with the wind, you actually don’t feel any breeze at all. The balloons fallow wind currents and can change their direction by lifting or falling to other wind currents. The wind currents blow in different directions depending on the elevation you are at. The only time you feel any breeze is when you rise or fall to a different wind current. The balloons go up early in the morning because of wind speeds and because of air temp. The cooler the atmosphere, the easier it is to heat the air within the balloon, giving them the lift they need. I guess the wind speeds needs to be pretty minimal or it gets really difficult to control the balloon on the ground and in the air. Jeff told us that he has clocked himself at 40 miles per hour once. Landing in those conditions can be very dangerous.
Now, trying to find the right place to land sounds pretty easy, right? I guess in Boulder County, you can’t land in open space. Each balloon has a catch team that fallows them. Once the balloon lands, their catch team rolls up in either a van or a towed trailer. They then break down the balloon and away they go. The owner Jeff has been landing in various areas around Boulder for 30 years and knows just about everyone. We had landed in a spot, but realized we were in open space. We took off again and looked for another landing spot. Jeff started to land on a farmer’s property while asking his ground support crew to ask the farmer if it was ok via warlike talkie. We came in kind of hot. Jeff had to bypass a pond while trying to avoid a tree and land quick enough to not take out the farmer’s fence. It was as pin point as you could get. Jeff dropped us right between a fence and a fire pit. We were all impressed to say the least.
After we all helped break down the balloon, we met back at the launch site. Jeff and his crew gave everyone that flew that day a goodie bag with a t-shirt, a small bottle of champagne and a bunch of coupons to help support local business. The tradition goes; in France where ballooning started, farmers thought that ballooners were devils. When the ballooners landed, they would give the farmers either a bottle of wine or champagne to show where they were from. Today, ballooners carry bottles of wine or champagne to give to the farmers where they have to land to say thanks.
Danielle and I had wonderful time learning about hot air balloons and the traditions that encompass them. The Fair Winds team gave us a wonderful experience that we will remember for many years to come. We can’t wait to do it again.
The Fair Winds Balloon Company has about 5 balloons. You can fit about 4 to 8 people per balloon basket depending on the basket. We had to be at the launch site at 6:30 a.m. in Gunbarrel. We took off around 7:30ish and stayed up for about 2 hours. It was super calm, about a whapping 4 miles per hour. The views were spectacular and the weather was perfect. There was not a cloud in the sky and it was actually warm that early in the morning. We thought it was going to be cold higher up in the atmosphere, so we dressed in pants and brought sweatshirts. Because you stand right below the burners, it felt like your hair, neck and shoulders were going to catch fire. It gets really warm in the basket, especially when the pilot hits the burners.
We floated along the Boulder skyline and enjoyed all the views of the Rockies, Plains and Front Range. Jeff, our pilot gave us all kinds of Boulder trivia and some cool history lessons of the area. We took tons of photos and just relaxed, enjoying the peaceful calm of the balloon ride. Because you float with the wind, you actually don’t feel any breeze at all. The balloons fallow wind currents and can change their direction by lifting or falling to other wind currents. The wind currents blow in different directions depending on the elevation you are at. The only time you feel any breeze is when you rise or fall to a different wind current. The balloons go up early in the morning because of wind speeds and because of air temp. The cooler the atmosphere, the easier it is to heat the air within the balloon, giving them the lift they need. I guess the wind speeds needs to be pretty minimal or it gets really difficult to control the balloon on the ground and in the air. Jeff told us that he has clocked himself at 40 miles per hour once. Landing in those conditions can be very dangerous.
Now, trying to find the right place to land sounds pretty easy, right? I guess in Boulder County, you can’t land in open space. Each balloon has a catch team that fallows them. Once the balloon lands, their catch team rolls up in either a van or a towed trailer. They then break down the balloon and away they go. The owner Jeff has been landing in various areas around Boulder for 30 years and knows just about everyone. We had landed in a spot, but realized we were in open space. We took off again and looked for another landing spot. Jeff started to land on a farmer’s property while asking his ground support crew to ask the farmer if it was ok via warlike talkie. We came in kind of hot. Jeff had to bypass a pond while trying to avoid a tree and land quick enough to not take out the farmer’s fence. It was as pin point as you could get. Jeff dropped us right between a fence and a fire pit. We were all impressed to say the least.
After we all helped break down the balloon, we met back at the launch site. Jeff and his crew gave everyone that flew that day a goodie bag with a t-shirt, a small bottle of champagne and a bunch of coupons to help support local business. The tradition goes; in France where ballooning started, farmers thought that ballooners were devils. When the ballooners landed, they would give the farmers either a bottle of wine or champagne to show where they were from. Today, ballooners carry bottles of wine or champagne to give to the farmers where they have to land to say thanks.
Danielle and I had wonderful time learning about hot air balloons and the traditions that encompass them. The Fair Winds team gave us a wonderful experience that we will remember for many years to come. We can’t wait to do it again.
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