Emergency Landing

Remember the "Low Flying Aircraft" image from yesterday? Well, it came in a bit lower. In fact, it landed right in our neighbors front yard. That's the "chase van" in the foreground. I guess when you own your own hot air balloon, your spouse (or someone) has to drive around in the Chase Van following you ... and being ready to assist with the landing, which could be just about anywhere.

Angie's taught me how to remove powerline poles and wires from my pictures, but this time, I left them in -- so you could see how close to the power lines the balloon is. And it was CLOSE. One strong gust, and the balloon probably could have taken out half the neighborhood's power! Still, the pilot seemed to know what he was doing, and the balloon really didn't stay inflated much after this pic was taken. Wait until you see what happens next ...