A ride in a hot air balloon! 
Here’s our “captain,” Lucas Hess (in the blue shirt) and his ground crew putting the power source on the basket. 
An inside look at the basket, laying on its side. Lucas rode in the half of the basket with the gas tanks; the rest of us divided ourselves in the remaining two quarters. 
All the equipment is driven to the launch site in a trailer. Here you can see one of the crew with the balloon, which is all bundled into the purple bag. 
The van pulls forward and the balloon is strung along behind on the ground. 
Large fans blow air into the balloon to straighten it out. 
We were the first ones to board. Here we are laying in the basket, still on its side. Actually it was easier to get in this way than to clamber over the side when it was upright. 
The balloon is tethered to the van lest a strong wind come up and blow it around. The gas burners are lit to produce the hot air to inflate the balloon. A million BTU’s --- hot! This picture is taken from our prone position in the basket looking back over our heads and up into the inside of the balloon. 
We lifted off from the Smoketown airport (Lancaster County) with 7 passengers and our pilot. 
Some bird’s eye views. 
We had some neighbors in our air space. 
It was so wonderfully quiet up there, except for the occasional roar of the gas burners. You could hear the clopping of the horse’s hooves on the pavement far below. 
As we drifted south of route 30, the scenery became more rural and we could see farm animals. 
(notice the blue heron in the foreground of this picture), 
(a close up of a rabbit in the field below us.) 
There were Amish going about their tasks. 
Lancaster County is a perfect place to take a hot air balloon ride. The fields form their own patchwork quilt. 
This field with its hay bales reminded me of a running sewing stitch. 
Our ground crew kept us in sight, chasing us across the countryside. 
There was a joke for this one: How many dead people are buried here? All of them. 
We cast a big shadow. The balloon was 216,000 cubic feet. Our highest altitude was a little over a mile high. 
The Strasburg Railroad steam train was making an evening run. 
Some Amish farms.
A cryptic spot in the field. 
We sailed over a quarry 
Just skimming this tower. 
The orange markers denote where the blasting caps are located for the next explosion of rock. 
Some waterfalls in the quarry. 
We came close enough to these trees that we flushed a flock of vultures that made this dead tree their home. 
To gain height, Lucas would ”give it some gas” 
Then we would quietly continue to sail on our way. 
Soon (we had an hour and a half ride) it was time to begin to look for a good landing spot. Hmmm, this looks like a good place…… 
Smooth landing! 
We had an audience when we landed, including this group of kids who were just in awe of the balloon. 
Deflation and bundling the balloon up for the next ride. 
A grand and memorable ride! 
