Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE3
“Would it be all right to land in
your backyard?” our pilot, Rick
Behr, shouts across the grass at the
squinting figure of a woman standing
on her patio, over the sound of four or
five hound dogs barking up at our balloon. This question does not indicate
an ill-planned rogue landing. It is in
fact the apex of a delightful, cloudlessblue-sky hot air balloon ride, drifting
just outside Charlottesville, Va. with the
best possible view of the Blue Ridge
Mountains. With ballooning, landing in
a stranger’s yard is just what you do.
The woman – and her dogs – don’t
really mind.
“That ride was the best you’ll get,”
the crew tells me later, glasses of sparkling cider in hand (champagne
after a balloon ride is traditional, but it
is only 9 a.m., after all). They tell me
with satisfaction that we traveled
about 14 miles in the hour-long flight
and rose at our highest to 3,400 feet
above ground level.
My eight fellow balloon riders,
around me now at the Boar’s Head Inn
lounge, are all marking birthdays and
anniversaries with their first hot air balloon rides. Thus the mood is already so
celebratory that I suppose we can’t truly
appreciate the perfection of our ride,
having nothing to compare it to anyway.
DE 3 | BlueRidgeCountry.com
Hot air balloons exist in a
magic world where the rules of
reality do not apply – see
Phileas Fogg in “Around the
World in 80 Days,” Dorothy
in “The Wizard of Oz” or even
Winnie the Pooh floating up
and away.
But come to think of it, it did take
some effort to attain such a smooth-sailing experience. I learn that hot air balloons are very susceptible to weather.
Behr is professionally cautious. He goes
up only in the mornings, only when the
weather is just right, and only when
enough other people are going up too.
So, not being a part of a group or party, I
called Rick each day of the week in
hopes of a ride the next morning. “The
weather has been mind boggling, how
bad it’s been,” he says on the phone.
Apparently the East coast’s weather in
general is not ideal for ballooning, but I
would say the bird’s-eye view of my
Standing tall
It’s difficult to appreciate the sheer size
of a fully inflated balloon until you’re
standing next to one for the very first time.
http://BlueRidgeCountry.com
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013
Cover
Contents
Letters
Digital Help Guide
From the Editor
From the Farm
Our Readers Know
The Hike
Mountain Report
Creature Feature
Events & Festivals
Great Buys
Country Roads
Worth a Click
Leaves, Laughs and Luxury: 25 Great Excursions for Fall
DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE: Ballooning in the Blue Ridge
Fall Photoessay: The Greatest Hits Collection
Trout’s Eye View: Photo
Horse-Powered Logging: A Once and Future Past
Tracking Down the Family Past in the Great Smoky Mountains
Bridge of Beauty
The Last Mountain Man?
Flavors
Cabin in the Woods: Living Like a Wrangler at Clear Creek Ranch
Mountain Garden
Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Cover
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Contents
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 5
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Letters
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Digital Help Guide
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - From the Editor
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - From the Farm
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Our Readers Know
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 13
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - The Hike
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 15
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Mountain Report
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Creature Feature
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Events & Festivals
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 19
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Great Buys
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Country Roads
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Worth a Click
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 23
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 24
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Leaves, Laughs and Luxury: 25 Great Excursions for Fall
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 26
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 27
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 28
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 30
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE: Ballooning in the Blue Ridge
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE2
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE3
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE4
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE5
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE6
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE7
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE8
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE9
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE10
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE11
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE12
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE13
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE14
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Fall Photoessay: The Greatest Hits Collection
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 36
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Trout’s Eye View: Photo
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Horse-Powered Logging: A Once and Future Past
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 41
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 42
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 43
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 44
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 45
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Tracking Down the Family Past in the Great Smoky Mountains
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 48
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Bridge of Beauty
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 51
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - The Last Mountain Man?
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 53
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 54
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 55
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 56
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Flavors
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 58
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Cabin in the Woods: Living Like a Wrangler at Clear Creek Ranch
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 60
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 61
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Mountain Garden
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 63
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 64
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 65
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Cover4
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