About 20 colorful hot air balloons took flight above Cortez this weekend during the annual three-day Cortez Rendezvous Hot Air Balloon Rally.
The first balloons launched about 7 a.m. Friday at Parque de Vida, piloted by balloonists from all over the Four Corners.
The rally wrapped up on Sunday morning, dotting the sky of Cortez with balloons as hundreds of residents took to the sidewalks, yards and roads to catch a close-up look at the balloons and to capture photos of the annual event. Balloonists also held a Balloon Glow in Parque de Vida on Saturday night.
Most of the pilots traveled from New Mexico, Arizona or Utah to attend the rally. A large part of their lodging, transportation and meals were paid for by sponsors, who rode in the balloons alongside the pilots. Two winners of a drawing by the city of Cortez also got to ride in the balloons, as a reward for donating to the Good Samaritan Center in a recent food drive. Representatives of the Special Olympics sold coffee and breakfast to pilots and spectators, who gathered about 6:30 a.m. for the launch.
Everyone is welcome to watch the launch, balloon crew chief Cookie See said, but the balloons could also be seen floating around the Cortez area until after 9 a.m.
Balloon chaser Jenny Janson, of Balloons Spirit in Sky, was tracking her group’s two balloons as they hovered over McElmo Canyon on Friday morning. She said the conditions were very good for the pilots.
“They are raising and lowering to catch winds going different directions – that is how they navigate,” she said. “The light and variable winds today are really ideal.”
Pilot Craig Pendleton said the flight went well, and the passengers enjoyed cruising through scenic Hartman Draw.
“We saw deer, rabbits, squirrels. Little kids came running out waving and shouting good morning,” he said. “People have been so friendly.”
Janson noted that “landowner relations, courtesy and respect” are a big deal for balloonists because they sometimes are forced to land on private land.
Pilot and chaser Maebell Pendleton watched with pride as her son Craig softly touched down.
“He has a real good feel as a pilot. I started his training, and his daughter is learning too,” she said.
Balloon flying was a family tradition for many of the pilots on Friday. Neida Courtney Bueno, who traveled from Albuquerque to attend the rally, said she learned how to fly a balloon from her parents when she was 9. Her 14-year-old son, Adrian, was a member of her crew, and he said he hopes to follow in her footsteps.
See, who has organized the rally for about 13 years, said all the pilots are experienced balloonists, and most are familiar with the Cortez area. Most of them know one another from other balloon events, and their camaraderie was obvious on Friday as they joked and swapped stories during the launch. This was only Bueno’s second time at the rally, but she has decades of experience going to other events around the country. She was even the “balloon meister” for two years at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, one of the largest events of its kind in the world.
“I’m an air junkie,” Bueno said. “There’s something about being up where you can see everything, and you’re floating along, and you’re in control, but you’re not in control. You’re at the mercy of the wind, essentially ... and that’s kind of exciting.”
Bueno piloted her friend Bill Noe’s balloon, Up to Noe Good, for about a half-hour flight before she touched down in a field on the west side of Broadway. Although it was a short flight, she said she was pleased with the weather and the speed of the balloon, which got up to 9 mph. She said she planned to return to the Cortez rally next year.
All three balloon launches Friday through Sunday were open to people of all ages, and there was no charge. Some Cortez residents came to help crew the balloons, like Barb Headley, who said she takes every opportunity to ride or watch hot air balloons though she isn’t a pilot herself.
“I’m one of those folks that is not good with heights,” she said. “A 6-foot ladder is plenty. But the balloons, I love. They don’t bother me at all.”
Throughout the flight, pilots waved at Cortez residents from the air and answered questions on the ground. After landing, Bueno invited a family with children who were watching from nearby to come closer, see the inside of the balloon and take pictures. She said her favorite part of being a balloonist is sharing her hobby.
See said the launches all depend on the weather, and she and another experienced pilot monitored the forecast all weekend.
“If I don’t feel that the weather’s good, I don’t let the balloons go up,” she said.
Journal reporters Stephanie Alderton and Jim Mimiaga contributed to this story.