I posted an album with the photos I took in Granbury this past weekend, both during the hot air balloon event and also exploring Granbury.
After I left Albuquerque on Monday, I drove straight through to Granbury, Texas, so I could attend the hot air balloon event here. They were supposed to have about ten or so hot air balloons, in reality there were six. I guess this is for the best since the weather was not good and because the winds were too high for the balloons to fly safely. There was one morning when the winds were borderline to fly and a couple of pilots decided to fly. I’m guessing it was a rough landing since wind conditions on land were pretty brisk. Also, since none of the pilots or their crew were from this area it would be a challenge for the chase crew to get to the pilots when they landed. I’m glad my pilot didn’t fly this day. I know the spectators were disappointed that the hot air balloon event did not happen as planned.
When I arrived in Granbury, the temperatures were in the 90’s. I looked for a RV park and the few I found were already full and had no space for me. I stopped at a RV store and they also had a RV park, but it was full. I was going to stay in the Walmart parking lot and drive to the municipal airport where the hot air balloon event was taking place, it was about a 10 or 15 minute drive. But, it was really too hot to not have electricity hookups unless absolutely necessary.
Since it was still early in the day, I decided to drive to the Granbury Municipal Airport and see where the event would be happening, and perhaps they had a parking area where I could park my camper so I wouldn’t have to drive back and forth every day. When I arrived at the airport, I went to the airport office and told the staff that I was here for the balloon event and that I was a volunteer. The airport staff was really nice, they said they want to be known as the friendliest municipal airport in the country. Based on my experience and interaction with them, I would definitely give them that title.
The airport manager said since I am volunteering and helping at the event, they had a spot for me to park, and it also had electricity. They parked me under an airplane hangar and plugged my camper cord into an outlet. I was really happy and also surprised. This way I not only had electricity, but also shade. Where the hot air balloon event took place was a short 5 minute walk from where I was parked.
This is a really busy airport, and not only during the day, but all night long. Careflight which is a company that flies people to hospitals is located next door and they fly all night long. So, it was not a quiet place to stay, but I was still very grateful to be parked there for several days. This airport had showers and a small kitchen, and I was told to make use of whatever facilities I needed. Since I had not had a real shower in several weeks, I took advantage of taking a long, hot shower. When I was in Albuquerque, I washed myself with a washcloth, washed my hair with jugs of water, and washed my clothes in a bucket. So, it felt really good to take a shower and wash my hair thoroughly. There are rocking chairs out front of the office and the porch roof is held up by propellers which looks really cool.
It seems that every morning, and throughout the day, there is a group of men that are pilots that come to the airport and sit in the lobby and eat donuts, drink coffee, and visit with each other and tell stories. It was a really nice group of men and I was invited to sit and join them, so I did several times. One of the men offered to drive me to do some of my errands so I would not have to unhook my camper. We also ate lunch out a few times while we were doing errands. It was really kind of him to do that for me. One of the restaurants we went to was really interesting. They had pictures of soldiers on the walls from every branch of the military, and from all of the wars.
One morning I heard a really loud sound and when I went outside I saw a large helicopter. I went and checked it out and found out from speaking with the pilot that it is the same type of helicopter that the President uses because it’s extremely reliable. This helicopter just arrived from the Pacific Northwest, it was up there helping to put out the forest fires in Idaho, Oregon, California, and other northwestern states. It is here waiting for instructions on it’s next destination to fight fires. I got to go inside the helicopter and see all of the gear they use. They had large pumps and hoses that were used to suck water up from ponds, lakes, etc. that was used to help extinguish the fires. The helicopter is equipped with both water and fuel tanks.
All types of small aircrafts used this busy airport. Some people flew in and parked their airplanes, got in their cars, and drove home. I guess they commute to work by plane, that’s pretty cool. Other planes stopped to refuel and then continued on their journey. There was a small plane, I don’t remember what kind, but it was an old plane that was recently refurbished and the owner gave paid rides during the balloon event. I was given permission, after being told what I could step on and hold on to, to look inside the plane.
I got to see some really beautiful sunrises and sunsets here.
On Saturday afternoon, my friend Sue, who lives west of Fort Worth drove out to visit me. We went into the town of Granbury and walked around the square looking into the different stores, and we stopped at a restaurant for lunch that was an old gas station They had the most unusual menu. The food dishes were named after car parts, or different types of references relating to vehicles. If you click on the menu pages you should be able to read the items. We had a great time walking around and visiting with each other.
I did show up every day morning and evening for the balloon event in hopes that we could inflate or fly, but it didn’t happen. When I was in Albuquerque at the Balloon Fiesta I was in the Cameron booth, they are the maker of balloon baskets and balloon envelopes, and other related items. I saw a really cool balloon basket in their booth. Instead of having to climb into the basket which is over 36″ high, this one had a door that opened so a person could step into it rather than climb into it. I was surprised when I saw the same type of basket at this event. I went over to the pilot and said I saw a basket like this at the Balloon Fiesta. He said he just got back from there, that he went there to get this basket that was specially made for him. So, the basket I saw there was this one… pretty cool. Small world. One of the pictures I took with the pilot, and his passenger who happened to be a congressman, looked like it was taken with a painted backdrop, but it wasn’t, it was a real sunrise that was absolutely beautiful. God created this amazing background for us.
During the weekend, even though the conditions were not always good to fly, there were times when we were able to inflate the balloons and glow which was nice since people came out to the event to see the balloons. We were all glad we could do this for the visitors, even if it was only to inflate the balloons. And a few of the pilots even decided although the winds were questionable that they would fly. I crewed for Rodney, who is one of the pilots I crewed for in Longview, Texas, in July when I was there for the Nationals. That’s how I learned about this balloon event, Rodney told me about it and since it fit into my schedule after leaving Albuquerque on my way to Waco, I decided to stop and volunteer and crew for him. Most of the time when pilots travel, they do not bring crew members with them, so they are happy and grateful to have volunteers crew for them.
On Sunday, after it was determined the weather was not good for the balloons to inflate or fly, I said goodbye to everyone, I also thanked the airport staff for their generous kindness and hospitality, and I headed to Waco for a visit with my friends.
have fun my friend!