Balloon Ride

Last year for Christmas, Thunder's brother and wife gave us an awesome present that we would never get for ourselves...

... a balloon ride!

We were able to schedule it for the day after our anniversary.  It was so amazing!

We arrived at 6:30 AM. After unpacking the balloon, the tour operator hooked up all the ropes and fuel lines.

Then he pointed a few high-powered fans into the balloon and it began to slowly inflate.

After everything was hooked and quite a bit of air was moving inside the balloon, he started some short puffs from the propane burner to heat up the air inside the balloon.

Soon it was upright and time to climb in!  I'll admit I was nervous climbing into the tiny basket that would support all of us 1,800 feet in the air.

Then we were off! Can you see our shadow in the trees?  We were pretty low to the ground for a while...

and then he found a great air column and we rose to 1,800 feet!

It was wild up there!  It was so still and peaceful (except for my pounding heart).

11 years!  The views up there were incredible.

The landing was a bit bumpy and we barely missed the pointed top of a roof.  We landed in the parking lot of the outlet malls in Park City.

Then it was time to roll it up and put it away for another day.  It was truly an experience we will remember forever!