Balloon Rally & Glow!

On Saturday, we did something that I've wanted to do for a LONG time!  Ever since we moved up here, I've been hearing about the Wausau Balloon Rally & Glow that happens in Mid-July at the Wausau Airport.  For whatever reason, we've never gone.  Well, all that changed today!  After all our hard work at the Fireworks Tent, I decided that we needed a treat!  We didn't have a lot of money to spend, and this event was FREE, so what could be better?!  


There was also a "Rib Fest" to go along with the Balloon Rally!  How cool is that?  There were four vendors, or competitors . . . here's a few pictures 

It was very cool to watch them cook the ribs and see their setups.  It's really nothing like what we've seen on Food Network!  

We tried the food from the first vendor in the first picture.  I had a BBQ pulled pork sandwich ($8) with a side of cole slaw ($2) and a side of baked beans ($2).  Erica had the same sandwich as me, with a side of baked beans, and Abby had the Rib Sampler ($8) and a soda ($2).  Yes, it was expensive, but all four vendors had the same pricing (conspiracy? LOL!).   The rib sampler was pretty small . . . only three ribs!  You could also get a half rack (6 ribs) or a  full rack (12 ribs), but those were way too expensive!  Greg didn't want to eat anything, and saved his appetite for pizza when we got home!  LOL  

We ran into my cousin Jeff and his lovely wife, Ellen just after we got our food.  We ran into them again, later on, as they started filling the hot air balloons!  

Jeff is such a ham!  I haven't seen him or Ellen since my dad's funeral, so it's been three years.  We ended up using them as a "home base" as we all walked around and checked out the various balloons and other happenings.  

Bi-Plane rides were being offered  . . . but we decided that was a little too rich for our budget. The bi-plane was pretty cool, though! 

We got some really great pictures of one of the balloons being set up.  These folks were really nice, and even let me come to their side of the ropes to take some pictures! 

A big fan is used to help blow up the balloon: 

As you can see, the basket is on it's side.  It's not easy to get these things up!  The pilot has to crawl in the basket on it's side to get things working.  Once there's enough air in the balloon, they turn on the fire!    

Here, you can see the balloon starting to rise up off the ground: 

The pilot is keeping a close eye on his balloon!

I love those pictures of the flame!  

We had a brief shower, which cooled things down a bit, and gave us some awesome storm clouds!  










This is a picture of the inside of the balloon being "raised" in the pictures above.  I love the smiley face!  (The smiley face is at the top of the balloon, so you can only see it from inside.)

FIRE ... up close and personal! 

Once it was dark enough, they had the "glow" part of the rally! 

Here's a couple of short videos I took of the balloons: 

At the end of the night, there were fireworks!  This was one of the best shows we've seen in a LONG time!   All in all, we had a GREAT time!  It was great to see my cousin again and to spend time with the girls -- something we don't do often enough.   


Hope all is well with everyone! 


God Bless! 


Julie