Lift Your Spirits with Up In the Air!
by Elmer Prather, guest blogger
My most recent puzzle is a 500-piece titled Up In The Air by Cobble Hill Puzzle Company. Before I spend the time putting a puzzle together, I must have a connection to it. My connection to this puzzle is my interest in hot air balloons.
This was a fun puzzle to put together. Pictures tell a story, this puzzle picture highlights forty-eight beautiful, colorful, and interesting hot air balloons each flying at different heights. Some of the balloons were equipped with baskets that held two people, some had baskets that held four people and the largest held as many as sixteen people. The hot air balloons pictured in the puzzle were all different in size, colors, and designs.
After I finished putting the puzzle together, I did some research on hot air balloon and found that the average hot air balloon flight lasts about an hour and costs approximately $550.00 per person. The balloons are propelled by propane gas and when enough of the air inside the balloon gets warm enough it will lift and be blown in whatever direction the wind is blowing.
Hot air balloons are more common in states like Colorado and New Mexico where there are not a lot of trees. The hot air balloon pilots have control of how high they lift their balloons and when it comes time to land, they turn down the propane gas flow so it will hopefully land where they want it to. If there are a lot of trees on the ground landing one of these hot air balloons can be dangerous.
Hot air balloons have been around for centuries. They are certified aircraft for those looking to take the slow scenic route but owning one can set you back considerably. New balloons, depending on size, cost from $20,000 for one that will carry two passengers to $60,000 for giant balloons that will carry sixteen plus people. Used hot air balloons can range from $10,000 to $25,000.
I once saw a group of hot air balloons flying just outside Phoenix, Arizona early one Saturday morning as I was driving from Sedona, Arizona to the airport. I pulled off the road and spent so much time watching the balloons I almost missed my flight home. As I sat in my car watching those hot air balloons floating across the sky, I wondered what a breathtaking experience it would be soaring through the air in the basket of one of those hot air balloons from a prospective of almost a mile higher than my view from the ground. I felt blessed just to be able to watch all those balloons slowly travelling along in the sky with the wind taking them where it pleased.
Elmer Prather
Canton, Georgia
U S A
