We stayed at the Blue Ox RV park located in view of the Timber Linn Park & County Expo where the Balloon Festival was taking place. Timber Linn Park is a wonderful combination of a park like setting with an amphitheater for concerts.
After dinner Sharyn and I walked to the park across the field where the Hot Air Balloons will take off tomorrow morning toward the Night Glow and concert.
The Night Glow is all about lighting up the Balloons (well some of them) at night and it's quite a sight.
One balloon was already inflated and the music was just starting.
On Stage was Curtis Salgado who performed beautifully and was still playing, after a brief intermission, while Scrabble Queen and I fought it out in the RV. We were able to hear the entire concert.
"Curtis Salgado was born in Everett, Washington and is now a Portland, Oregon based blues, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter. He plays harmonica and fronts his own band as lead vocalist. Curtis was the inspiration behind John Belushi's creation of the Blues Brothers characters in the late 1970s. They met and became friends while Belushi was in Eugene, Oregon filming the movie Animal House. The Blues Brother's debut album Briefcase Full of Blues is dedicated to Salgado and Cab Calloway's character in The Blues Brothers film is named after Curtis. For six years he performed with Robert Cray's band, and sang lead on Cray's debut album. Later in 1995 he spent a short stint as the lead vocalist with the latin rock band, Santana."
It wasn't a hot air balloon but it was an inflatable Noah's Arc sitting on the ground as the crowd was still gathering.
Then one by one...
... the other balloons began to inflate.
There was more hot air than a convention of fishermen talking about the "one that got away."
The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology and is a subset of balloon aircraft like the Hindenburg.
"On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air balloon created by the Montgolfier brothers. Recently, balloon envelopes have been made in all kinds of shapes, such as hot dogs, rocket ships, and the shapes of commercial products."
... taking turns rising up from the field...
... and hear the blast as the hot air was blown inside.
A hot air balloon consists of a bag called the envelope that is capable of containing heated air. Suspended beneath is the gondola or wicker basket which carries the passengers and a source of heat, usually an open flame. The heated air inside the envelope makes it buoyant since it has a lower density than the relatively cold air outside the envelope.
Finally they were all standing tall and taking turns lighting up as the hot flame heated the air inside the envelop.
Just a note, it was pretty dark and while some pictures look like they are in daylight I assure it was dusk and the sun was down. Even in this picture the sky was already dark.
We were lucky the event could happen because earlier in the day we had a pretty good rain and it was very windy.
Unlike gas balloons, the envelope does not have to be sealed at the bottom since the air near the bottom of the envelope is at the same pressure as the surrounding air. In today's sport balloons the envelope is generally made from nylon fabric and the mouth of the balloon (closest to the burner flame) is made from fire resistant material such as Nomex.
As you can see here the flame shoots up about 20 feet into the envelop.
We were so happy to make it this year after having to cancel out of reservations last year due to a more pressing conflict.
As we walked back a "Light Saber" salesman was showing his wares and at $8 a Saber I hope he sold them all. I have always admired the gumption and sincere hard work some of us undertake to put bread on the table. If anyone deserves Health Care Reform and assurance they can go to a doctor it's these small business entrepreneurs who work so hard to feed their family.
Scrabble Score ~ Scrabble queen 302 - The Contender 335
Santos Dumont designed, built, and flew the first practical dirigible balloons. In doing so he became the first person to demonstrate that routine, controlled flight was possible. This "conquest of the air", in particular winning the Deutsch de la Meurthe prize on October 19, 1901 on a flight that rounded the Eiffel Tower, made him one of the most famous people in the world during the early 20th century.Quote of the Day ~
"The balloon seems to stand still in the air while the earth flies past underneath." ~ Alberto Santos-Dumont
Between 1898 and 1905, he built and flew 11 dirigibles. Some were engine and some pedal powered. With air traffic control restrictions still decades in the future, he would glide along Paris boulevards at rooftop level in one of his airships, commonly landing in front of a fashionable outdoor cafe for lunch.
1 comment:
A beautiful blog...
I hope to make my one very soon, and that you like it.
pf
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