Firelake FireFlight Balloon Festival Ride

The things we do for our jobs amiright? Going up in a hot air balloon was truly something I thought I would never do. I’m rather terrified of heights so it’s just never made the bucket list. That said, when the Gazette asked me to attend the media preview for the 2021 Firelake FireFlight Balloon Festival, it was hard to say no.

The Gold Hour was casting its beautiful glimmer over Shawnee as the field started to hum with vans backing in, wicker baskets sliding onto grass, crews unrolling rivers of color. Fans roar to life, burners are tested with a thunderous whoosh, checklists clicked through with calm, practiced hands. We joined the RE/MAX team as they assembled a balloon from a tightly rolled bundle of fabric into an enormous breathing giant.

The cold air goes in first—huge fans billow the envelope until it swells like a sleeping whale. Then the heat: a deep, dragon-throat blast and the balloon rises, slow and certain. After an awkward climb into the basket with a death grip on it’s railing, the ground simply…let go. No jolt, no drop. Just a weightless shrug and we were sailing.

From a few hundred feet up, everything shrinks to toy scale: tiny people waving, more balloons waking in a chorus of color. The world softens—the only sounds are wind in your ears and the burner’s heartbeat when the pilot nudges us higher. We floated over patchwork fields and the lazy S of the river, golden light pouring across the landscape. 

Enjoy some of my favorite snaps from this unforgettable little adventure and make sure that you check out the Firelake FireFlight Balloon Festival.