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- We participated in the “Walla Walla Hot Air Balloon Stampede” in Walla Walla, WA – the event has been ongoing for 35 years now.
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- The various competing balloon teams arrive early in the morning and get everything set up for the event.
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- There’s lots of activity and work to launch all of the balloons on time for the competition.
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- Ground crews help each other out once their balloon is set up and ready to launch.
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- It takes a lot of space to lay the balloon’s envelope out and inflate it properly.
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- Hot air balloons seem to literally “grow” out of the ground as they inflate around the event grounds.
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- At first a large fan is used to open the envelope enough until it’s safe to lite the burners.
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- Once the burners begin adding hot air, the balloon “comes alive” – rising up naturally due to the lifting power of hot air.
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- Everyone is engaged in pre-launch activities as all the crews busy themselves in preparing their balloons for the initial mass launch.
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- One by one the balloons start to “grow” and rise up from the grass into towering spheres of brilliant colors.
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- It’s a visual smorgasbord – literally a “feast for the eyes” in color and movement.
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- So many balloons and so many colors, blend with the sounds of burners lighting and crews scrambling around preparing their balloons for launch.
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- Simply a rainbow of colors everywhere you look, set in motion by balloon envelopes filling and rising into towering mushroom forms across the event grounds.
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- “Miss Electricraft” – our store’s hot air balloon and our entry in the competition slowly “comes alive” as well.
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- As the hot air begins to fill the balloon’s envelope, the balloon slowly starts to “stand up” on its own.
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- With “Miss Electricraft” nearly ready to launch – we say, “let the competition begin!”
