For the past couple of years we have gone to the Balloon Fest in Provo that is part of the Freedom Festival. This year we decided to go on July 3rd so that we would miss the crowds on Independence Day. I am so glad we went because we had a wonderful time!
First of all, we had to get the kids up before 6 am. That means the sun was not even up. Here is a picture I took of the sunrise on our way to see the hot air balloons.
Isn't that gorgeous?! It almost makes me want to get up to see the sunrise more often. Almost.
We got to the field just after 6 am, which was just in time to see the balloons finish inflating.
It was so much fun to watch the silk envelopes fill up with hot air and rise up off the ground.
Before long, most of the balloons were filled. It was really neat to walk around with all the hot air balloons all around and above you.
Then they started launching some of the balloons to make room for the ones that still needed to inflate.
Before long, most of the balloons were slowly rising off the ground.
The best part was when the sun finally came out from behind the mountain and illuminated the colorful balloons.
This year the weather was really great for navigating the balloons. In years past it seemed the balloons just went up and drifted away rather quickly. This year there wasn't too much wind so they were able to stay near the field for longer.
I loved this because I seemed to be able to get tons of really great pictures!
This post may seem picture heavy, but not when you consider the fact that I took over several hundred pictures while I was on the field! Here is one of the kids' favorites: the chilli pepper balloon.
I love the colorful balloons and it is awesome to watch them fly right above you!
They are so beautiful!
I think one day it would be really awesome to take a ride in a hot air balloon!
One of the last balloons to inflate was the coca-cola balloon. That made for some really cool pictures, and I think this one is my favorite.
Of course the Smokey the Bear balloon was there too. I took this picture especially for you, Auntie Em!
In years past they have had a target on the field, but very few balloons made it back over the field to try to hit the target. This year there were six or seven balloons that managed to drop their targets over the field.
In addition they had several large balloons on the perimeter of the field, and the goal was for the balloonists to pop these balloons. We had never seen that happen before! This year several of the balloons got popped! Here is a hot air balloon that is about to pop the red target balloon.
So there was much more to watch at the Balloon Fest this year!
And there seemed to be many more opportunities to to take awesome pictures!
Another one of my favorites is this picture of three colorful balloons with the mountains in the background. So pretty!
By the time they roll the length of the balloon they get pretty dizzy! It is hilarious!
I think we stayed longer this year than we typically have in the past because we were having so much fun. There was so much to look at and enjoy!
Here is the piggy bank balloon, which my kids loved to see. I loved the multicolored balloons.
This "tropical island" balloon was one of my new favorites. It has a slightly longer shape than the other hot air balloons, which I thought made it look interesting.
On our drive home we got to see some of the balloons that had drifted north. Apparently the balloonists just find an empty field to set down in when they are done with their flight. We passed a field in Orem where they were deflating some of the balloons, so we stopped and watch that for a minute.
The boys had a great time, and it was definitely worth getting up so early! I am sure we will go see the balloons again next year as it is rapidly becoming a family tradition.
I love all your pictures of the hot air balloons, they are so colorful. Did you all have stiff necks from looking up? :) What a great think to do as a family.
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