Had an incredible time out west over the holiday weekend. After working a day shift on Thursday, I headed out with Kay West and Connie
Sauur to Custer to spend the night before flying in the Black Hills on Friday morning. Once out west, we picked up Kay's husband Mark from the Rapid City airport and headed to the cabin to get the balloons ready to fly in the morning.
On Friday morning we met up with Walter from Black Hills Balloons. Mark was running a little behind, but on the way out to the launch spot he saw five Elk! We launched a
pibal and from downtown Custer and based on the readings we got, we set out to a predetermined launch spot. With the predominant south wind, we took off south of Custer and flew back to town. North of Custer there is very little in the way of roads and with the slow winds, we made sure not to get north of the main highway. Connie and Kay flew Whatever, while Mark, Wayne and I flew Red, White and Poo.
Crazy Horse is slightly visible in this picture (left of center).
Thereafter, we packed up and headed for Devils Tower. We pulled into town, unpacked, and before long all 27 of us were gathered around telling stories and eating a great potluck dinner. Over dinner, I got to meet Don Day of
Day Weather. It was so cool being at an event with another meteorologist!! The next morning we awoke and the winds were a little faster than I would have expected. A
midlevel atmospheric disturbance was passing through, however was expected to clear the area with the first hour after sunrise. After a small weather hold, the southerly breeze dropped off and Mark and Bob took to the skies headed towards Hewlett. This looked to be the most marginal of the flights, but still worked out nicely for those who chose to fly.
After the flight, some people went to the car show while others stayed cool by the pool or playing horseshoes with a cold beverage in hand. We also went on a drive scouting out potential launch spots and landing spots that would allow us to fly over Devil's Tower on Sunday and Monday morning based on the
forecasted wind directions. That night, we gathered together for a milk can dinner and to cook
smores over the campfire. As the sun set on the horizon, many retired early for what looked to be great flying conditions in the morning.
Sunday morning turned out even better than expected, with light north winds near the surface and south winds aloft. I was given the opportunity to fly with Heather Day, and for the first time, I was able to experience box winds. We made three passes by the tower, before flying over the tower. The sight was just incredible. Once we were aloft, we were traveling at 35 mph but down near the surface winds were 2 mph or less. We ended up landing near a grove of trees adjacent to a giant hay field two and a half miles away from the tower. Heather had a great landing and made use of the drop line in her basket to work closer to the hay filed before deflating. While walking her, I was sure to make lots of noise to scare any nearby snakes away (I am petrified snakes). We located a propane dealer that was from the neighboring town of
Moorcroft to refuel. He had a collection of cars at the car show, and needed help driving them back. I was given the opportunity to drive a car that was 50 years older than I, a 1930 Ford Coupe. After getting fueled, we headed back to the camp site to take naps under the tree in the hammock, hit the pool, or discuss some of the incredible sights from the flight earlier in the day.
Legend has it that there is a book on top of Devils Tower that everyone signs. Can you see it?
That night we once again gathered for another potluck dinner and more
Smores (yum). The atmosphere really had a hard time settling down that night, and the winds gusted up and down much of the night as a weak area of low pressure formed just east of the Rocky Mountains. Because of the marginal conditions, everyone stayed on the ground Monday morning. We ended up eating lots of leftover food for breakfast and hit the road back to our respective states.
We ended up going back to Mark and Kay's cabin, and tooled around the Black Hills that afternoon. We went to
Sylvan Lake, and then to the Custer game loop where we fed the Donkeys and saw tons of deer with HUGE racks. On the way out of the park, we also came across a rattler stretched across the road. This was my first experience being that close to a rattler, and it was something I have to say I could have done without (but fortunately I survived).
We traveled back to Sioux Falls on Tuesday without incident. On Wednesday morning I was headed to work and was involved in a minor fender bender exiting the freeway. My rear bumper is slightly damaged, but otherwise there are no lasting scars. Will be taking care of that soon. Well I have written enough for this chapter for the night, will write more soon...
