National Balloon Classic

On Saturday, the kids and I headed down to Indianola with Grandma and Grandpa for the National Balloon Classic. This was my first time attending this event, and it was a lot of fun! The event runs for about ten days, and each night they have different events involving hot air balloons. Saturday was the last night, and the event for the evening involved the balloons lifting off somewhere out in the country, then flying over the spectator field where there was a giant red "X" marked off in a field. Each pilot had a bean bag, which he tried to drop right in the middle of the target. Closet bean bag wins $2,000!

This year, over 75 pilots competed in different competitions throughout the event. They came from 12 different states, but it seemed many were from Iowa. The announcer did a great job sharing tid-bits about the event and balloon-ing in general, as well as introducing the pilots as they came in to make their bean bag drop. Jonah got a bit antsy waiting for the "ba-yoons" to start flying, but once they started making their way over our heads, he got pretty into it.

This is what happens when I try to take pictures of my children...evidently I wasn't fast enough and Jonah was ready to move on to something else :)

I have heard a lot about the National Balloon Classic, but having never been, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. There was quite the crowd, and everyone was taking pictures :) The colorful balloons were easy to photograph, especially since it was getting close to sunset towards the end. 

At first the balloons were coming in one at a time, but then things really started picking up. The announcer said some of the pilots like to hang back and see how the winds carry other balloons before they make their one pass to drop the bean bag. Here you can just make out the red "X" that was their target, just below the horizon and a little left of center.

 The award for most unique balloon goes to: Peg Leg Pete, the Pirate Parrot. Can't be easy to steer that massive thing! He didn't pass anywhere near the target. And he ended up landing in the parking lot of a car dealership in town. We passed him on our way home, balloon still inflated, in the middle of the parking lot next to the highway :)

At one point, things got pretty crowded, and these two balloons bumped into each other. I wonder if that is part of the strategy...bump the other guy off course.

I liked when the balloons would go right over our heads. It really showed off the colorful designs of the balloons.

It was a late night for the kids, but it was a fun and unique outing! Thanks for taking us, Grandma and Grandpa!!