morning glory balloon tours

We had signed up for balloon trips before, but always ended up with weather cancellations. We finally got our trip with Kurt and Melinda, and it was worth the wait. We watched the sunrise over the valley on a beautiful, crisp fall morning. We spent a lovely hour plus traveling down the Methow valley, looking at the surrounding rivers and mountains. So calm and glorious. We finished with sparkling wine, homemade goodies, and a toast to our successful flight - all part of the package. Highly recommended.

What did I like about this...... Everything1) The Views (this area of the North Cascades is a bit of heaven on earth. Seeing things that I'm quite familiar with - from the air - all the usual landmarks look totally different. 2) The sensation of lifting off the ground in the big basket - not like anything I've ever done before. 3) The Pilot - he's the best too...... very friendly AND competent. We did this with friends the first time (in May) and liked it so much that we took our daughter & son in law (in March). If you've never gone in a balloon before, don't worry about being too cold - even in March layering kept us plenty warm.

Kurt, Melinda and crew are experienced and top notch Balloonists. The ride was absolutely awesome over the Methow valley. These people make the trip exciting and easy. They instill great confidence and make the whole trip fun.

Even if you are afraid of heights, DO THIS! The feeling of rising up in a balloon is like nothing else in the world. There is no feeling of movement. You move up and up until the land looks like a photograph. Kurt, owner and pilot, has YEARS of flying the valley and is very funny. Melinda, ground crew and wife, inflates the ship, insures a perfect launch and then chases down the balloon to the landing place with a pick up and crazy cross-county skill. The view is undescrib-able. You have to get up early to insure the perfect no-wind air. It is TOTALLY worth it.

We arrived early in the morning to find Aeronaut Kurt checking the winds while the balloon was just starting to get filled up. That gave us an opportunity to take pictures and see the balloon up close. The flight itself, seeing the river, the patchwork of farmer's fields and mountains in the background was just gorgeous. Kurt and Melinda were excellent hosts and the Mimosas, scones and stories after we landed were almost as good as the flight itself. Great time, great people, highly recommended.