Up, up and away!

[Desert Rose]

The 2009 Festival of Color "lifted off" on Friday morning in Sierra Vista, Arizona. NetG and I went for the Saturday balloon lift off and festivities. I've never had the opportunity to see the hot air balloons being filled and prepped for lift off. It is quite an ordeal! It was a lot of fun and we met some really nice people. Unfortunately, the weather grounded the balloons prematurely. The high winds made ballooning too dangerous to continue.

I've posted more photos on my flickr if you enjoy these and would like to see more of the 2009 Festival of Color.


Beautiful blue Arizona sky!
"GEMINI" owned by Frank O'Neil (Vail, AZ)
(red/white/blue) owned by Barney Brenner (Tucson, AZ)



Close up of the "Blue Southern Angel" balloon. What a terrific crew this was!
"BLUE SOUTHERN ANGEL" owned by Orbin & Janette Stone (Las Cruces, NM)



Looking down at his crew.
"ARIZONA DAWN" owned by Tom Connolly (Glendale, AZ)
distant balloon is "GEMINI" owned by Frank O'Neil (Vail, AZ)



This guy went straight for the tree! He hit the right side of the tree top. There was a little boy and his Mother on board. In other photos I have you could see the little boy's hand reaching for the tree as they passed it.
"CONCHO" owned by Ron & Margret Aros (Tucson, AZ)

[vimalkv]

Beautiful shots...Vibrant colours and nice contrast against the blue sky...Thank you for sharing

[VegasMike]

Very nice set. I love the colors in the second shot. Thanks for sharing.

Mike

[leonaashlee]

Great shots of this event.

[Steves Shots]

Beautifull shots, love the first shot of the two balloons thanks for sharing.

[Desert Rose]

Originally Posted by vimalkv

Beautiful shots...Vibrant colours and nice contrast against the blue sky...Thank you for sharing

Thank you vimalkv! The sky was beautiful in the morning but soon turned to full cloud cover. Kind of put a damper on the balloons that were going to do tether rides.

Originally Posted by VegasMike

Very nice set. I love the colors in the second shot. Thanks for sharing.

Mike

Thanks Mike! The balloons were really vibrant.

[Aegea]

Love those saturated colors.

[equilution]

Hey....I know that sky!! That's in my backyard!! Beautiful colors, DR!! I don't recognize any of the balloons, but, wow they're spectacular!

[Desert Rose]

Originally Posted by leonaashlee

Great shots of this event.

Thank you Leona! You should have driven down there. It was so pretty, but a little cool and windy as the day progressed. It actually rained on me on the way home.

Originally Posted by Steves Shots

Beautifull shots, love the first shot of the two balloons thanks for sharing.

Thank you so much Steve.

[SoxAddict]

Awesome shots! Love that sky, & those colors are a treat.