Hot Air Balloon Ride, Canyonlands, and Moab to Brigham City

Hello Again!


This post is coming from Brigham City, Utah.  Yesterday was a fun filled day starting with my Hot Air Balloon Ride (a gift from Jim) in Moab, UT just outside of Arches NP.  I'd been looking forward to this event since I made the reservation back in January!  The day started at 5:30 AM with a ride out to the launch site where our group of 12 passengers watched the balloon inflate.  I have many pictures of the process but only the last one is of interest to an observer.

 

Before we took off, the team who got us in the air took photos of us on our cameras for posterity.

 

I took lots of photos from the air but it was a bit hazy so the shots did not come out as well as I hoped as you can see.  At one point we were about 2700 feet up and the view was amazing.  When the burner was not on (to keep the hot air hot) the ride was so peaceful.  And it was always smooth.

 

Anyone familiar with hot air ballooning will tell you that once you are airborne, the balloon follows the wind.  In our case, we flew over Arches National Park.  One of the real landmarks in Arches is Delicate Arch.  Jim and I did not get to see it in 2007 because the road was closed.  This time, I got to see it from the air.

 

I took about 900 shots on the trip but those are more for my memories than to bore you.  In the afternoon, Jim and I went to Canyonlands NP - essentially across the street from Arches.  The shots below are typical of what you will see at this park.

 

 

Despite the awesome parks, Moab was a bit miserable.  It was over 100 degrees and the day we arrived we experienced very high winds that created miserable dust clouds all afternoon.  The day of the balloon ride and the park visit was better since the wind had died down but the temperature was still high.  Also, Colorado is not the only state experiencing drought.  Moab is extremely dry so everything is a dull brown - partly because everything is covered in dust.  If you visit this area, I suggest late April or May.

 

We left Moab this morning headed for Brigham City.  This drive is mostly just a way to get to Smoot, Wyoming to visit our friends Brent and Judy.  We did take the scenic Ogden City Scenic Drive where the photos below were taken.  After all the dull brown in southern Utah, it was great to finally see some green, healthy vegetation along with the mountains.

 

 

Also, just outside of Provo, we saw the lovely Bridal Veil falls, seen here.

 

                                       

 

So as stated earlier, we are headed to Smoot tomorrow AM after attending Mass in Logan, Utah.  We will stay with our friends until Thursday morning when we will take off for Rawlins, WY.  Our next post will come from Rawlins and will update you on all the thrilling activities we engaged in with our friends in fabulous Smoot! 

 

Later!   Mattie and Jim