October 6, 2010 Passengers: Raphael Bressel Smith (Birthday Boy), Don & Patty Rowe, Anita Risberg, Francis Curtis We have a “full” load today…really and a fun group to play with on a beautiful early fall day. I call for the Brooks site as the winds are out of the north up top and calm on the surface. We have a special guest today our birthday boy is Raphael, at the “heavy” age of 18…congrats! The gang gets to work on the balloon and I call for the passengers to “come on board”. With the addition of a bit more heat we’re off to the south and today’s “adventure”. The gang gets the site cleaned up as we drift over the harvested hops and over the Knife River operation. We are in the farm area for the first part of the flight and we pass over a large tree nursery and the color change is becoming very dramatic. We are moving right along and I have the gang move across the I-5 as we will be working the east side of the freeway today. I drop down to get a shot at Chemawa Indian School and get a bit of a hook so we will miss that LZ today. We cross the tracks and will be off Lancaster Drive soon. The gang beats feet and moves to an open field we use now and then owned by Larry Epping and builder in town and VERY balloon friendly. The boots get there and catch us as we clear the trees on the north end of the field. We get the deflate started and the balloon is tied up for the bag. The passengers get the “sit” done and we have plenty of “buns” to get the job done. We get the gear loaded and head back to the Airport for the picnic. I get the story started, the toast is done and the certificates are presented. PASSENGER COMMENTS: Raphael: “That was an awesome ride! Can’t wait to do that again!” Patty: “Heh Jim, Jan & Boots! We had a super ride on a gorgeous early fall Oregon morning. It truly doesn’t get any better than this.” Anita: “This was a lovely experience. Flying dreams made real by riding in a balloon. Farm land and tree tops, spectacular!” Francis: “Great experience, I would recommend it to everyone. I loved the fun in the trees.” A BIG thank you to today’s Crew (I can’t get in the air or back on the ground without’um) Jan, Cecil, Tim. Al T. TRACK Average Speed: 7.0 MPH Distance Flown: 5.9 Miles Websystem hosting provided by WolfPk. | Site Map Copyright © 2003-2017 Balloon Flying Service of Oregon, Inc. Legal Information All Rights Reserved.