16 years ago, I helped with a balloon rally and crewed for a pilot. That's all it took, and I was hooked. I crewed for the local balloon pilot when I could. And then in 2012, 2 ladies and I rescued the Teton Valley Balloon Rally from being totally cancelled. One lady was the local balloon pilot, and the other was an event planner.
I learned that planning the event was VERY stressful. Every year, I'd say, "Why am I doing this? This is hard! I am going crazy." The first morning of the event would arrive, the balloons would start filling up, I'd see the smiles of the spetators and I would say to myself, "This is why I do this."
When I moved to Nevada in 2018, I stopped helping with the event, which was really sad for me. But being down south, my balloon world opened up. There are rallies all around all winter. I go to as many as I can. I have gotten to know many pilots and crew members. They have become dear friends, and I call them my balloon family because we are a family.
What I love the most about the hot air balloons is seeing people's faces light up when they look at them. Even the scariest person you could ever imagine meeting in a dark alley turns into a little kid. This makes me smile.
My favorite event is the nighttime glows. I love bringing the children up to the basket, letting them look inside the basket, and touching the basket. The pilot will sometimes let them pull on the burner. Of course, the children get their pictures taken. I love to see the children's curiosity and watch their fear turn into smiles.
The balloon community I hang out with is aging. We need more young people to become balloon pilots.
This is the balloon I crew for. Her name is Itzee. Each balloon has a name. I have been crewing for this pilot for 5 years, I think. We have crew members who follow us to different rallies. We always have a new crew member at each event. If they are a newbie, they usually get hooked as well.
This is my favorite balloon, because I love music. I was able to ride in her last year.
If you ever get a chance to crew or fly, do it!
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