Not 1, not 2 but 3 hot air balloons. We see hot air balloons out here occasionally as it is high desert and in places, very flat. This is also the home base for the Reno Hot Air Balloon Races but when they they land right in your neighborhood, well, it is a big deal.
Scroll down for more photos. Click for enlargements.
The first to land and with whom I spoke was "Hotflash," piloted by Brenda Hungerford. This is a large balloon and is 57 feet at its equator and is EIGHT stories high holding 90,000 cubic feet of hot air. The balloon is made of 900 yards of rip-stop nylon. You must have a pilot certification to fly a balloon and they are registered with the FAA.
Brenda and her crew were most gracious and didn't mind the photos and the crew had a wonderful sense of humor. I could hardly believe how fast they took the balloon down. They spread a huge tarp down (looked like more of the same nylon) and the three crew gathered the balloon, tied it up and in a matter of 10 minutes they were just about done.
The following two photos were of the other two balloons.
Thanks Brenda and Crew!! You were great sports. Happy Ballooning!
I was pretty lucky to have had my camera with me too!!
If you would like to see some photos of the Reno Hot Air Balloon races, here are a few that I took:
http://www.artfromthesoul.com/RenoBalloonRaces.html
http://www.artfromthesoul.com/RenoBalloonRaces2005.html
and just in 2007:
http://www.artfromthesoul.com/RenoBalloonRaces2007.html
Enjoy!
