Holy Balloons, Batman

I spent this last weekend in Steamboat Springs, AKA SkiTown, USA. What does one do in SkiTown USA where there is no snow? Well, quite a lot, actually! A friend planned a trip for her husband's 30th birthday, and she did a great job. We went to the farmer's market while the guys golfed, went tubing down the river (got tourist suckered on that one, for sure. $17 to rent a tube? Not a problem. Only allowed to go down once and done after 30 minutes? Problem. Ah well.)

That evening we headed to Strawberry Hot Springs, natural hot springs that flow into 6 pools. Clothing optional after dark. eek. Very relaxing, though! The crew. (Minus me. Harder to set your self-timer in a pool.)

This weekend was also the 30th Annual Hot Air Balloon Rodeo! A few of us got up early to see the balloons take off around 6:30 a.m. Early, yes, but so worth it! I can't remember ever being that close to a hot air balloon, much less that close to 30 of them. So warning - here come a LOT of balloon pictures. But it was just so darn picturesque!

The inside

Steph, I took this picture for you!

I like the circus balloon in the back. It looks vintage. Although, if I were going up I'm not sure I'd want to ride in a "vintage" balloon.

The balloon "going vertical"

Well, hello, there!

A challenge - the "Splash N' Dash". They had to drop down, dip their basket in the pond, then rise up again. Pretty cool.

The road trip (and early morning) crew! We have about 300 pictures between all of us, so if you're in need of any balloon pics, just let us know :)

It was an awesome trip, and Natalie did a really good job planning. Hmmm...my birthday is coming up soon.... Travis, did you take notes?!?