My Life and Travels
Back to Quartzsite for a couple of nights.
The triangle is where we are today the dot just below it is where we were the first of the week.
I want to wash and wax the drive’s side of the coach before we head north. Where the coach sits in the backyard it is difficult to wax this side.
81 today low 56.
I spent some time working on a couple of pictures from the Fiesta. When we are traveling data usage is always a challenge and today is the first day of our cellphone billing cycle.
Here are a few pictures from two of the evening glows.
Drove from Quartzsite to Phoenix area today, 170 miles. Here so we can go to dinner with the Gails tomorrow.
In site 84 for two nights.
Back to Quartzsite for a few days, highs 80-83 lows 56-60.
Campsite pictures:
We like it here this time of year. In December and January people will be parked all over this area with only a couple of feet between coaches. There will be a lot of generators running, we enjoy the quiet.
Had to leave the southern RV Park by 11:00 a.m. We were out by 8:30 on our way to a laundromat and then heading to the warmest place I could find. We should be so Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument by tomorrow.
After Brian’s balloon flight I had to add more pictures.
This is Bruce, his 37th Fiesta.
View from balloon.
Where they landed.
Jean took this picture while looking for her son flying in a balloon powered by hot air. Brian and Bruce stayed north and east of the RV Park.
Here are more pictures of Brian’s balloon flight. Don Clapp took these pictures while we were setting up the balloon.
Brian’s Flight:
Landing site:
Pictures of setting up the balloon and leaving earth.
The balloon got up today, light winds moving towards the northwest.
Bruce splashed the balloon in the Rio Grande twice and then the wind changed to the north and he landed in the reservation. The tribal police were very nice however they will not let any travel off the main highway without an individual escort.
Today’s flight, the blue dot is where we are camped, just north is the launch field, red pin is where Bruce landed.
Where he landed.
Bruce and John were able to move the balloon to this point before the wind came up and they had to let the envelope down. The chase team was not allowed to step off the main road ( highway 313) until given permission which was after the envelope was down and folded up by Bruce and John.
We had to carry the envelope and the basket to this point next to the highway.
Here is where the balloon landed, GPS coordinates.
Denise took this picture as we were driving over the railroad tracks.
It was a fun day.
The balloon flew again today.
This is picture of Bruce’s balloon I got from the internet.
I don’t know where it was taken. Working on the crew does not give me a lot of time to take pictures of the balloon.
The flight was from the north end of the launch field, southeast, north, south over the museum ( first landing target), northwest to mid launch field, south to land due west of the museum by a quarter mile. Chase Crew got to the balloon three minutes after Bruce touched down, another chase crew caught him and helped us bring the envelope down. A beautiful morning.
Brian got to ride in a hot air balloon today, ZROZRO7 pilot Bruce Skach from Wichita,KS.
We have been crewing on Bruce’s balloon all week and we have sure learned a lot about ballooning. This is Brian’s “I’m going to fly where in what?”, look.
It is truly an honor to fly in a balloon you just got to help lay out, inflate and now get off the ground.
Morning balloon crewing.
I got to work on the crown line again today. Their was no wind on the field however at 1000 feet above the grass the wind was blowing 15 to 20 mpg. The field did fill up with balloons tethered to chase vehicles.
We all took turns in the basket with Bruce and someone would lay on the ground and take a picture or five. It was a fun morning.
Brian and Christine got here yesterday and will be here until Tuesday afternoon.