Northern Light Balloon Expeditions:
An outstanding excursion with a very professional outfitter.
Flight on Sunday, October 11, 2015; reviewed November 7, 2015 See this review on Trip Advisor or the track on Ramblr.
Taking a balloon flight over the wonderful red rocks around Sedona is something that my wife and I have thought about during our last couple of visits, but for whatever reason we just never did. This year we had the proper encouragement as were meeting in Sedona with a large group of friends and a few others of the group also wanted to give a balloon flight a try. OK, we’re in!
While a hot air balloon tour is on the expensive side and we did have to get up very early on a vacation day, those are minor issues compared to the fun and exhilaration of the excursion. We were having a blast from the time we met Captain Blair at the rendezvous point in West Sedona. Once at the launch site we got to watch the process of standing up the balloons and a few of the passengers were enlisted to help with getting the craft airworthy. There were five Northern Lights balloons launching this morning which just added to the fun and made for some interesting sights.
Several of my friends were surprised that I was taking a balloon ride as they know about my aversion to edges with steep drops, however I had no worries at all as my concern is not about the height but rather the exposed edge. I was totally at ease in the basket of the balloon and enjoyed taking in the views in all directions, including straight down.
Speaking of the views, that was my main reason for taking the flight. This would certainly provide a unique view of the red rocks around Sedona. And in that we were not disappointed. The views looking back to the east were of course into the rising sun so they were a bit washed out, but to the west and north the red rocks were well lit up. As mentioned the sky was clear, but there was a little be of a haze about, but not enough to affect the views that much. We topped about at about 7600 feet about sea level or 3000-plus feet above the desert floor. At that height we had a wonderful view of the region. We spotted Jerome off in the distance perched on its mountainside home. I was keeping track of the other seven balloons floating along with us and using them as subjects in my aerial photography session. It was very peaceful during the flight, well except when Blair had to fire the burners. That was deafening. Not a lot of talking, just oohing and aahing at landscapes.
An outstanding excursion with a very professional outfitter.
Flight on Sunday, October 11, 2015; reviewed November 7, 2015 See this review on Trip Advisor or the track on Ramblr.
Taking a balloon flight over the wonderful red rocks around Sedona is something that my wife and I have thought about during our last couple of visits, but for whatever reason we just never did. This year we had the proper encouragement as were meeting in Sedona with a large group of friends and a few others of the group also wanted to give a balloon flight a try. OK, we’re in!
While a hot air balloon tour is on the expensive side and we did have to get up very early on a vacation day, those are minor issues compared to the fun and exhilaration of the excursion. We were having a blast from the time we met Captain Blair at the rendezvous point in West Sedona. Once at the launch site we got to watch the process of standing up the balloons and a few of the passengers were enlisted to help with getting the craft airworthy. There were five Northern Lights balloons launching this morning which just added to the fun and made for some interesting sights.
Several of my friends were surprised that I was taking a balloon ride as they know about my aversion to edges with steep drops, however I had no worries at all as my concern is not about the height but rather the exposed edge. I was totally at ease in the basket of the balloon and enjoyed taking in the views in all directions, including straight down.
Speaking of the views, that was my main reason for taking the flight. This would certainly provide a unique view of the red rocks around Sedona. And in that we were not disappointed. The views looking back to the east were of course into the rising sun so they were a bit washed out, but to the west and north the red rocks were well lit up. As mentioned the sky was clear, but there was a little be of a haze about, but not enough to affect the views that much. We topped about at about 7600 feet about sea level or 3000-plus feet above the desert floor. At that height we had a wonderful view of the region. We spotted Jerome off in the distance perched on its mountainside home. I was keeping track of the other seven balloons floating along with us and using them as subjects in my aerial photography session. It was very peaceful during the flight, well except when Blair had to fire the burners. That was deafening. Not a lot of talking, just oohing and aahing at landscapes.
As someone who works in the aerospace community it was interesting to get to see the details of hot air ballooning. There is a lot more to piloting a balloon that I thought and there is a lot of coordination that goes on with the ground crew. But this was all extremely well-coordinated and practically invisible to the passengers. But Blair was more than willing to answer any and all questions about the flight, the balloon and the area.
Overall it was an amazing morning floating over the desert west of Sedona. As mentioned we had some time at significant altitude to get the big picture views, but Blair also took us down to ground level a couple time to get the up close view of the terrain and to see if we could spot any wildlife. We did see several mule deer but Blair said that he’s seen bobcats and cougars before, so you never can tell what is lurking out in the desert.
After the flight we headed back to Sedona for the traditional champagne toast and a lite breakfast. Blair gave us a little history of ballooning as well. It was a nice way to end a wonderful morning adventure.
I thoroughly enjoyed this excursion and would certainly fly again with Northern Light Balloons Expeditions.
Overall it was an amazing morning floating over the desert west of Sedona. As mentioned we had some time at significant altitude to get the big picture views, but Blair also took us down to ground level a couple time to get the up close view of the terrain and to see if we could spot any wildlife. We did see several mule deer but Blair said that he’s seen bobcats and cougars before, so you never can tell what is lurking out in the desert.
After the flight we headed back to Sedona for the traditional champagne toast and a lite breakfast. Blair gave us a little history of ballooning as well. It was a nice way to end a wonderful morning adventure.
I thoroughly enjoyed this excursion and would certainly fly again with Northern Light Balloons Expeditions.
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