Gatesway Balloon Festival 2005

This weekend saw the return of the Gatesway Balloon Festival here in Tulsa. In 2003, they were severly rained out. Last year, they took a hiatus. A move across town from Broken Arrow to the West banks of the Arkansas river seem to be a positive move, with reports of record-breaking attendence for this year. We tried to go see the glow on Friday night, but we drove through rain and lightning the entire trip across to the park. Upon seeing the mass exodus of people, we went home and tried again on Saturday. This time, it wasn't raining...but it was hot as all blazes. We all had a great time, though and really enjoyed the scenery. Griffin was particularly pleased to see an exotic animal rescue exhibit, where they let the kids see and pet all kinds of interesting animals. They had tortoises older than anyone reading this blog, camels, snakes, alligators and lots of birds. I think GT was just as taken by these animals as he was at the huge fire-belching balloons.

As luck would have it, though...just as the sun was setting and many of the balloon operators were preparing to fill for the evening glow, a concentrated cell moved right over us. Crack!! The first good lightning strike hit. Literally within 60 seconds, every balloon the place was laying on the ground. Another 5 minutes and every one of them was flattened and bagged up. I was amazed to watch this synchronized process of a balloon team.

All in all, it was a great time. I wish the best for the Gatesway Foundation, who uses this event each year to raise money for its work with disabled children and adults.

Oh yeah...I must commend my somewhat less than patient wife. On the way home, I ran into some construction that prevented me from heading back to I-244 the way I normally would. This resulted in us taking an extended scenic trip back to East Tulsa via Sand Springs! It was a nice night for a drive anyway, I attempted to explain. She was remarkably understanding, calm and only dished out sample size portions of grief over my lack of orientation skills. For this, I was truly grateful.