The White Mountain Balloon Festival took place June 24 & 25, 2022 at the Mountain Meadow Recreation Complex in Pinetop-Lakeside. Every detail of the festival was carefully planned in advance. An early monsoon arrived on June 18, the 20^th anniversary of the Rodeo fire, to upset the plans.

Thursday, June 23, at work the phones at the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside Visitor Center rang all day with the questions, “Is the Balloon Festival happening?” “ Are the balloons going to fly?” The answers were, “Yes,” and “Nobody knows until 15 minutes before launch time.” Thursday evening the Pilot Reception ended in a thunderstorm with rain.

Friday, June 24, dawned pretty but the winds were contrary so the balloons couldn’t fly. That evening the free concert and festivities started as planned, but a thunderstorm canceled the balloon glow.

Undaunted, all 18 balloonists appeared at 5 AM Saturday, June 25. The nine who were scheduled to fly began preparing their balloons.

At 5:45 AM Balloon Meister, Doug Lenberg summoned the pilots for their pre-flight meeting. The weather forecast from Show Low airport was favorable. He warned them about powerlines and other hazards to beware of as they flew. Two small black helium balloons were released to test the local winds. They floated up on the desired flight path, but suddenly veered east. Flights would be slow and short, but the balloons could fly.

Balloon flights are reserved for the event sponsors. I was granted one of the Town’s tow passenger flights in the balloon Takach Another Breeze, piloted by Keith Takach. When the balloon envelope was inflated, upright, and starting to lift the basket we were helped aboard. Keith launched the balloon.

Takach Another Breeze floated gently northwestward into a spot so calm we stopped, suspended quietly in mid-air. Below us a peacock shrieked, dogs barked, and children shouted and waved. We waved back. We could see horses and cattle in several places but none of them paid any attention to us. I looked around, orienting myself to this perspective on Pinetop-Lakeside. A balloon floated under us, rose rapidly on our left, and flew west. Another balloon ascended behind us then went over us and flew toward Rainbow Lake. Yet another balloon flew east so rapidly we thought it was going to McNary. Nine balloons were scheduled to fly, but there were soon 15 balloons in the air! Only the three balloonists who did a static tether for public viewing and education stayed on the ground.

With all of the balloons accounted for, Keith ended our hover with a short burn that lifted us enough he could quickly change propane tanks. Then he took us up into the westerly winds. A balloon to the west of us was already descending. We couldn’t go very far west because we needed to stay clear of the Mogollon Rim. The winds made it very easy to go west or east but Keith was having to tack like a sailboat does to move north.

We watched other balloons do splash-and-dash maneuvers in Rainbow Lake as we flew in that direction. There were at least a dozen kayakers on the lake and a line of waterfowl in the middle. Keith descended as we approached Rainbow Lake for our own splash-and-dash. A stronger wind blowing downstream accelerated our approach to the water. The line of Canada Geese scattered. Keith warned, “We’re going to get wet!” The other lady grabbed the top of the frame and lifted her feet just as the bottom of the wicker basket hit the lake, tipped forward, and began to sink. Water rushed through the basket and swirled around our knees. The propane burner overhead whooshed as Keith applied more heat. After a momentary battle of forces, the hot air in the balloon tugged the basket free of the water’s cold grasp.

We got a clear view of the Rainbow Lake dam as Keith sailed east to avoid the powerlines. We had a fine view of Lake of the Woods, part of Show Low Lake, Jaquez Marsh, Scott Reservoir, and Porter Mountain.

We watched two balloons descend. One landed beside the intersection of Porter Mountain Road and White Mountain Blvd. A town police unit blocked traffic while the crew walked the balloon across to the parking lot beside the Navopache Electric Cooperative business office. Walking a balloon involves the ground crew holding handles on the outside of the basket and walking to where the envelope will be deflated while the pilot keeps the balloon aloft carrying the weight.

We floated backward south and east and observed a balloon landing in a vacant lot beside Woodland Road. We were floating over the forest between Big Springs and Woodland Lake when Keith began tacking northwest again, following Walnut Creek and looking for a place to land. After considering several possibilities Keith opted for the field where the other balloon landed.

We ascended to fly over the houses in Wonderland Acres, the powerlines along Woodland Road, and a patch of Spruce trees, which briefly blocked our view of the landing site. Keith began a rapid descent the moment we cleared the trees. He warned us to grab the handles on the inside of the basket and flex our knees because we were going to have a firm landing to avoid the powerlines on edge of the field. He intentionally brushed the basket through the tops of two small Ponderosas to retard our forward motion. A child yelled and waved but he only replied, “Hi, I’m really busy right now so I can’t talk.” The other balloon’s crew ran toward us.

BUMP!

The crew swarmed our basket to stop it as soon as it hit the ground. Keith looked at us and asked if we were okay. We were both fine. When the basket settled, the crew helped us out. Keith’s chase crew arrived and the two crews walked the basket to where the balloon envelope could be laid down diagonally across the field.

We all helped deflate and strap the balloon envelope, holding it off the ground to avoid dragging it across the numerous small cacti while folding it into its bag. Keith’s chase crew driver brought their suburban and trailer into the field where we rolled the balloon bag and slid the basket into the trailer. He then very expertly did a complex backing maneuver to get out of the field. We all piled into the suburban and drove back to Mountain Meadow Recreation Complex.

Back at the festival grounds, we were given the traditional first-flight initiation ceremony. This involves the story of the origins of ballooning, a balloonist’s prayer, and a bottle of champagne. I won’t spoil it for the uninitiated other than to say, no one got hurt. No one got drunk. I did wash the champagne out of my hair before going to a funeral later that morning.

Saturday afternoon it rained but the weather cleared enough that the evening concerts and balloon glow happened as scheduled. An estimated 9,000 people attended the 5th Annual White Mountain Balloon Festival despite the rainy weather.