Spirit of Boise Balloon Festival







http://www.peakbroadcasting.com/pages/spirit_of_boise_main

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Most years, there is a balloon festival in the park next to my apartment. There are some trees in the way preventing me from watching the filling up, but otherwise I can watch the balloons from my balcony. Above is a picture of some balloons being filled. They let people watch from up close. One festival, while standing around watching, someone asked whether I wanted to help on a crew. So I helped fill a balloon, chase it across town, and pack it up again. It was fun and interesting. Maybe you should try it sometime.Above, you can see the target they set up for a competition. Boise has "box winds" that blow different directions at different heights. So balloons can drift away and then back to try to toss a marker onto the red 'X' that is surrounded by port-a-potties.
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One of the evenings during the festival, they put on a night show. The balloons can not fly at night, but they fill them and use the burners to light them up from the inside. It is pretty impressive. 
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