I woke up early this morning and as I started to greet the day I thought it'd be nice if we had some fresh bagels for breakfast. I got in the car and started driving off to my favorite bagel place and as I reached the intersections of McCaslin Blvd. and Rock Creek Parkway (this is one of the high points in elevation in the town of Superior) I spotted them off on the horizon – hot air balloons!
Seeing hot air balloons when you're out and about in the early morning in the town of Superior is not really that much of an oddity in and of itself. In fact on most early mornings from springtime through fall you can see them, when the weather is cooperating.
Hot air balloons are a curious technology. It has been enabling humans to float in the sky since the late 1700's. If you read about them a little, you learn how buoyancy is created from the heated air in the balloon having a lower density than the relatively cold air surrounding the outside of the balloon. That's all very well and good, but as I watched these magnificent floating spheres this morning I realized that there has to be more to it than that.
Indeed, there is magic involved. The magic raises these giants into the air. It has to, there's just something joyous and happy about inflating a giant, colorful balloon to the point that it levitates people in a gondola high into the air (remember Uncle Albert in the movie Mary Poppins). The magic makes most people that see this beauty floating in the sky smile too.
Since I had some time to myself this morning, and since I noticed that the camera was in the car, I thought I'd get some colorful pictures.
I know that more than once I've caught myself rushing out of the house, hastily running for an early morning appointment, not really “seeing” my surroundings, and then I see the balloons. Instantly it reminds to slow down, be aware, and enjoy the moment. Like I said, magic.
This morning I could hear one of the balloons beckoning me to get closer. Of course, I had to give chase and follow the call.
I was lucky today and was able to meet up with the balloon as it came back to earth. I watched as one of the people in the gondola calmly gave the instructions that enabled all of the crew and passengers to safely disembark and then gently collapse the balloon, making sure not to rip or snag the balloon on anything. There was a zen-like aspect to how well this process was orchestrated.
After the balloon folding was underway, I introduced myself to the gentleman that had been providing guidance to the team. He turned out to be Tommy Cederlund, owner of Sunny Day Fly Away (it's a real interesting web site if you'd like to learn more about Tommy's interesting past and ballooning in general). Tommy took a few minutes and kindly talked to me a bit about ballooning and encouraged me to book a flight. Something that I now feel I will be doing soon.
I went and finally got the bagels and headed home, feeling happy and grateful for what I was able to experience this morning. The bagels were tasty too. I guess that's just a lingering part of the magic.
If your interested in looking for magical places around the Superior Colorado or Louisville Colorado area, I invite you to give me a call. Even if your not in the housing market. This is an amazing area and I love sharing things about it - I can give you an insider's look into the area, as only a “local” can.
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