Seems like everyone I talk to wants to fly in a hot air balloon and this year's Casper Balloon round up gave dozens of people just that chance.

It was my first time in a hot air balloon and I'm not gonna lie, it was kind of an eerie feeling as the basket leaves the ground as it goes up, up and away.

I'm not afraid of heights, but the lift of the balloon was a unique feeling and made me a bit weak in the knees.  Once we leveled off at around 1200 feet above the city, the view from above was breath taking!

The balloons were able to launch both Saturday and Sunday during this years festival.

Our launch took place Sunday morning at around 6:30 am at the Central Wyoming Fairgrounds, as dozens of balloon pilots took their passengers skyward.  Some pilots stayed low just a few hundred feet above the ground. Some opted to try 'splash and go' maneuvers with their passengers (touching down briefly on area ponds at local golf courses and getting the bottom of the basket wet) before returning to the sky.

The Casper Balloon Roundup brings amateur balloon pilots from all over the country to Casper to participate. Casper's beautiful back drop with the mountain and wide open views along with fan response from the community, our hospitality and enthusiasm is what they love the most.

After an hour flight which seemed like it only took a few minutes, we set down in Evansville.  Our pilot called it picture perfect as we had an almost straight vertical decent the final couple hundred feet before setting down in the middle of Platte Park Rd.

A huge thanks to Neal and Mary Jo Hibschweiler owners of 'Diamond Eyez' the balloon we got to fly with for taking us up on this fantastic flight!  And a huge thanks to all the crew, the chase vehicles and of course all the sponsors including Remax The Group for hosting the event and to the Black Gold Grille for sponsoring our balloon and allowing us to fly!  I for one, can't wait for next years Casper Balloon Roundup and will keep my fingers crossed for another chance to soar high above the city!

Enjoy all the photos!

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