Where've we been?

I just realized we've been off the blog an unconscionable length of time. It's true ... time flies when you're having fun!

We spent the weekend in Bluff and Mancos. This was the weekend for the 2011 Bluff Balloon Festival, so we went up Friday, stayed for the balloons on Saturday and Sunday, went to Mancos on Sunday and returned to Silver City last night with the last of our "stuff" that was still left at the Mancos house. Now to unload, return the U-Haul, pick up the dog and try to figure out where to stick the "stuff."

Back to Bluff. We realized that we really should have planned ahead earlier and come up on Thursday and stayed in Bluff. By the time we made reservations, everything in Bluff was sewed up, so we had to stay in Blanding, half an hour away. Also, we didn't get to see and photograph the ascensions on Friday. We both went out for an hour or so on Saturday morning, then spent the next hour setting up our booth for the arts and crafts show in the Bluff Community Center. Tom then went out for another hour of photography.

We have a new Epson Picturemate printer that does a great job of printing out 4x6 color prints, just the right size for our keepsake photo cards. So, we were able to print and assemble cards of balloons that had flown that very morning!

We were swamped! One pilot wanted a card of her balloon inflating for every member of her crew!

While it was GREAT to have such a positive response to our pictures and the cards, we were just not as prepared we'd like to have been. So, we learn.

We've already made our reservations in BLUFF for next year, and we will go up on Thursday, not Friday, so we can catch Friday morning's ascension. We'll have those photos ready to go and plenty of pre-printed backs for Saturday's show ... next year.

The chances of being bogged down in mud were too great again this year, so Sunday's flight was in the Bluff area, rather than Valley of the Gods, where it was two years ago. Still, the thrill of standing on Cemetery Hill, surrounded by colorful balloons and red-rock cliffs in the constantly shifting early morning light was wonderful! It was like being in the middle of a balloon rodeo, with a different picture opportunity in a different direction every second!

Well, we survived the excitement and headed for Mancos. 'Twas nice to have the apartment to fall into for the next two nights. We took in the MLK Breakfast at the Mancos Community Center, where we saw lots of Mancos friends. We got the U-Haul trailer loaded with the rest of the "stuff" in the afternoon and got an early start for the trip back on Tuesday. Sunny and uneventful all the way ... it's great to be home! tv