Wasted days and wasted nights.... not so much waste as frisky

This weekend is the TOP GUN Rio Grande Classic balloon competition.

It is always on Memorial Weekend.

What does that mean to you... dunno.. how interested are you in Hot Air Balloon Target shootin?

Its a three day many State group competition.. targets and process heavy mappin, checkin, judgin, scorin, insane flyin good time.

I was not really going to go out and I expected to just spend the memorial weekend sitting and editing or just playing on the xbox...maybe working on the balloon or back yard but I kinds threw that out the window and went out yesterday and today. Yesterday the targets were in good places and there were many to choose from and also the winds were more functional for such flying. Today it was bad. Changing and not very useful winds for deciding where to put targets and if you set them a certain way the winds would change and you could never get to them.... balloons go with the prevailing winds... No beating that*

*most times..

It was a blow out day today. After many changes it was called off. I had the perfect location for shooting on the ridge above the Fiesta Park. Watching to get shots of the inflation's and launches then I expected to jump in the truck and get to the first target only a few blocks away and shoot the Pilots dropping in on it.... nope... Took a picture of a feather... a sign and some of the ride balloons across the valley but only one envelope stood up .. Good job Mezz... But even he laid it down when the competition was called off... so what do you do then.... Me.. go on field and take pictures of everything else as well as a new Lindstrand USA Racer balloon.

Ill post some pics from yesterday and today in a moment but let me just note the differences in this racer to mine. Mine is a 69,000 cubic foot envelope with a flat top and solid floor basket and Jetstream Series 2 double burners and dual turning vents, Diamond Weave 100% with hyperlife crown.

This balloon is a 77,000 cubic foot envelope with a flat top and wicker floor and the new Vortec double burners and dual turning vents, rip stop bottom and it looked like two upper bands of hyperlife fabric and crown also. I probably need to validate all that.

Very nice.... Differences... size. When I had mine built 69,000 was the largest racer you could buy. Flat top is great for safety and comfort, I went solid floor as we have lots of volcanic rock here and the wicker gets chewed up  quickly.. but this new balloon resides in California so that's fine. The new burners are awesome... Id love to have a set but they are not any more powerful or functional than my set... very clean and shiny and nifty and all get out though.... I have been lazy and have not cleaned mine in a while.

Other differences... and I have not asked why they did what they did ( nor is it good or bad.. just different ) but I will... I went full diamond weave as it is much stronger than regular rip stop and I didn't do the two bands of hyperlife at the top because there is a noticeable color change in the types of fabric... That's me and my OCD... CDO. The hyperlife lasts longer under the heat at the top of the envelope. I expect to replace panels sooner than hyperlife but that was okay by me and as I fly a more limited hour set per year and they will probably last me a very long time.

This new Lindstrand USA system is of the excellent build process expected. Love that attention to detail that is clearly missing in most other manufacturers. Really.. Go look.. closely.. you will see what I mean. Some are good but never as good.  Yes I am biased but for good reason.

I didn't mention anything about the bolsters and uprights.. OMG.. they are shiny! New fabrics instead of standard black leather... Wow... very shiny!

I added padding to my insides of the basket and also french hooks to my control lines ( per Craig Kennedy's suggestion ( A very good one too )).

Love Lindstrand balloons.

Okay.. limited shots. Go to my website to see the full photo shoot of the new 77 Racer....

http://invisibleblack.zenfolio.com/

One sheet for one task.... yeah.... with a truck.

I think we are under surveillance.

If the target isn't right.. make it right.

Droppin baggies all over the place.

Fling!

Zip!

Special Shapes in the sky.

Hold my Beer!

And a hit on the X. ( it was not a score-able target sadly ).

Cycling the wind levels.

I know it fell around here somewhere...

Psycho Rabbit!!! Didn't care at all.. hopped about regardless of what we were doing.

Day 2 on the ridge at Gate 14A! Exciting!

Rainbow Ryders bounding down the river area....

Balloon Museum and other bright things.

World Balloon Co. and Rainbow Ryders Co. duke it out in the upper layers.

Even if you are short a few things.. flaunt it. Scoring and bystanders assemble on the field after the comp was called.

77,000 Lindstrand Racer. New, Shiny, cool!

So clean and crisp. Mine used to look like that.

There were other things going on this week but really nothing to compare with the fun to be had with the Top Gun group.

Tomorrow is the last day and I hope we get some flying in so I can take pictures of it all.

Its what I do.

I did edit two more videos of flights since I was able to get my editing program to work again. I have a backlog of video footage needing editing...

http://InvisibleBlack.zenfolio.com/p715442282/e8ba62692

and

http://InvisibleBlack.zenfolio.com/p715442282/e8b9f85b9

Enjoy!

Sunday and the restoral of the soul. Or Coffee

Sunday plans have all been chucked out the window. They are doable.. just no one has the will power to push them and we all just want to lay on the ground. I think I can get something done if I have enough coffee.....

No... No It Does Not.

It will make sense though from my perspective....  I think.


It was another week of ups and downs. What life isn't in that cycle... must be very boring. I could use a little more boring and less upheavals.... smaller ones then. Or happy modifications.. hows that?!

Things I intend to do: Fix the back shelf in the living room, purchase a metal feeder for pond, spray weeds, schedule fish and plant transfer, talk to landscaper and get estimate for back yard regrade and rock, install upper bolster in trailer, buy hand lift for basket for Fiesta, get annual on In Czech done with two fixes and one modification, etc etc etc.... I love lists.. I really love checking things off of lists.. I hate doing the things that let me check things off lists... ok.. I hate outside stuff.

Lets set that aside for now....

Holbrook and the road trip to get there and back..... Where is Holbrook.. Its just the other side of the border between Arizona and New Mexico. Whats there.. Not Bloomin Much! Its a transitional space.

Holbrook is a place people stop on the way to somewhere else. Not unlike Wendover Nevada, places you wonder why exist... Who lives there... what were they thinking....

I do a lot of traveling.. I did a lot of traveling and have been through places that were once teeming with people and now are a few shacks on the side of back-roads. Its novel to think that people just loved a place so much they put down roots and then it all blew away.....

There is so much existential thinking going on with all this that it just boggles the mind. I need to start a group. Pizza and Perplexity. Its the P&P group meet.

First topic... Where are you going and why? Assess your journey through life? What is your goal?

Second topic... Are you living in a place for a job? A life style? Because you don't have the strength to move farther? Why not? Whats holding you here?

Third topic... Where would you really want to be? Why?

There are more but that's the gist.....

Back to Holbrook... Why.. Because that is the midway ( kinda ) between Phoenix and Albuquerque.... It is also where we were going to pick up a burner set and two 15 gallon tanks for my sons balloon.

By mapquest it was 3.5 hours of driving one way. We made it in much less but I also left early because I hate to be late to anything. I-40 Westbound is a nice drive. The weather was fractious though. Gusting North to South winds leaving the Q then rain then snow then sunshine.

Left at 7am returned at 3pm.

Below are some ( a very small segment ) of the shots from the road. I drove most way but when Mo drove I took pictures of things I want to take pictures of. I would really have liked to stop and take fixed pictures but we would still be on our way if I tried.

Trains. Long and far reaching transfers. Love trains.

One of the many Indian trading stations along this route. I liked the cliff.

All the signs...all the signs... how to interpret it all. Mile 0!!!

Glued on fake animals caught my eye.. hilarious.

One of the many points of my .. why.... thought. Not wrong or bad or crazy.. just why. I know going up to someones door and knocking to ask why ...would be very strange... but there are times I want to do that... even in town.

What caught my eye in this picture... its easy.... "Free Ice Water".. really.. no hooks to the deal?

More questions and a supposition.. but questions.

I love these roads... I love this viewpoint.

I am missing my tail so I will eat this fake person..... show me some love.

Another trap for unsuspecting tourists... though in its own is pretty cool to go see... this one is over run with more dinosaurs.

Not even a tree for shade from the merciless solar barrage.... question.

The original banner shot going by fast. I shake my head.

Fav.. ROOT 66. With the novel name of Sun Valley. No way!

2nd Fav shot. Billboard Sky.

I really like Arizona's Logos. Impressive... bold... makes my CDO happy.  OCD for you noobs.

Now all that equipment is heading to the repair station to be checked and tested. Along with MRGM and PIC envelopes for their inspections.. some repairs and modifications. All that documentation will be processed for the packages for Fiesta and that will be that for 138 days. Probably 136.

Aside from that road trip I bought some music off of the nets. Mostly 1970s best of the rest kind of stuff. It sounds better than almost everything coming out now.

There was going to be a run to Santa Fe to Meow Wolf but that got killed by restless nights, barking dogs and bad sleeping surfaces. I wished I could find a guaranteed good mattress so I could get some unbroken sleep cycles in. Worn out to all get out.

Now to think of what I can do today.. what needs doing.. what order.. what time limit.. and tomorrows fun.

Last gasp.... Love my Nikon D7100. its not full frame and its buffer is limited but the glorious 24 meg pixel output is most excellent. If you are looking for a camera that will give you pictures you can edit without losing quality.. that's the camera. The 18 200 mm Nikon lens is still my favorite and is very versatile.

I had links to share but... Meh. its all  meh so far.

One last thing.. I hate when tech web sites politicize crap. If I want politics Ill read the news.. If I read a tech web and you add a political slant to it you damn well better be able to support your argument in the tech or you are just a waste of air and carbon. I despise you for wasting my sight.

Silly amounts of Weekend fun.

OMGosh... fartoomuchstuffgoingontokeepupbeforeifalldown.

Wow what a weekend.. and its not near over yet even!

Quick synopses.

Friday: Prep for possible flying on Saturday morning.
Saturday Morning: Fly awesome.
Saturday Early Afternoon: Process video and pictures taken as well as logs of flight.
Saturday Evening: Wedding of good friends.
Sunday Morning: AAAA rally on Fiesta Park Double Awesome.
Sunday Early Afternoon: Download over a 1000 shots and process the cream of the crop quickly.
Sunday Afternoon: Impending Granddaughter.

So yeah!... A very packed weekend... and I am not even finished with it yet so lets just bag the whole conversation thing and do the picture thing... I can comment on those...

Saturdays clips from the Kodak 360 and Nikon.... I think I have shots from the Nikon processed...

Inflating upside down.. or in Australia if you like.

Reflections of the envelope in the sunglasses effect as well as checking where the flame is going. I did land right on the road ...yeah.

Landed..walked ( ported ) to the field and clearing the burners. The good crew walked me to a nice field South of where we landed.

Laying down and checking and shutting off all the instruments. Ipad flight logger worked great.

Removing the 360 while Ted advises.

Alternate view to a burner set.

Those were fun and the video is going be a laugh as I did three pirouettes about 7 feet above the ground before landing. Yes I spun counterclockwise three times before setting down. ( That should keep the evil spirits from finding me now! ). That's for Tim Powers.

The start and run North with a quick drop and rocket over the arroyo.

The landing and three spins. There are three notches in that line. Those are the spins. The 6040 GPS probably has a better view of it. I have not had time to go look yet though.

Whew!

The wedding was cool. Started at 6 pm way out North at the Tamaya Resort. We left at 10pm due to having to get up at 5am. The party was just getting started. 30 minutes to get home. Was fun.

Up at 5amish and out to the Fiesta Park. Pibal went North, up, drifted East towards the casino, then skittered South.. That worked and the target was identified and everyone started laying out and launching. I ran from one end to the field to the other over and over again to catch as many balloons with the 10.5 fisheye as I could as well as with the regular 18 to 200 mm lens. Whew. Blew up my pace chart completely.

Shots...

This Nikon 10.5 fisheye lens is so versatile and it has so many ways to create an excellent shot it boggles the mind... So here is my playing with it as this is the perfect venue to use it.

Basket view of an inflation.

Heating things up.

Keith adds a bit more of that warmth. Love the blue flame at the bottom.

Off on a record day of fun.... Straining to get airborne. Our best and brightest Women Pilots kicked target butt today during a commercial instruction flight. Multitasking at 300 feet.

What do men who fly the most impressive aircraft in the US military do for kicks.. they fly balloons... yeah baby.

Men who protect our nation and risk their lives to keep us safe ride the winds in their beautiful balloons. They are supported by their fantastic wives ( on Mothers day even ) and family and crew.
So very awesome!

While our lonely target team leader waits and ponders if they can get their butts to the target so he can score some baggies .. damnit! Hahaha... It was a good variable day and ways to the target were many.  I believe Larry was about to assist in this arduous task also.

It was a cracken day and I didn't even edit some of the other things going on behind us here or even the standard shots and I completely didn't add the regular shots from yesterday and none from the wedding so there you go.....

Now I have to get ready for the Granddaughter so off I go.. and I will edit more tonight if I don't fall asleep right after she goes home.

If it aint a packed day then you are wasting daylight.