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Saturday, September 19, 2009
Photo gallery: Hot air balloons attack East Plano
It was unclear if these landings were completely unorthodox or standard operating procedure for the balloon festival.
When balloons attack -- East Plano edition
(Click photo to see entire gallery)
Watch out for the wires!
My wife and I have attended the Plano Balloon Festival at Oak Point Park since we moved to the area, something that has its highs (proximity to balloons taking off) and lows (the crowds). We decided against going this year for various reasons; little did we realize that the balloon festival would be coming to us.
Sometime around 7 p.m, we heard what sounded like racing engines being repeatedly fired. After about the fourth or fifth time, we went outside to investigate only to be greeted with the sight of multiple balloons floating low over our neighborhood. And when I say low, I mean low -- it was obvious that they were all coming in for a landing. This was alarming since there seemed to be few, if any, places in our area that would lend themselves to such an event.
As it turns out, several balloons were able to find small grassy spots wedged between high wires and an apartment complex -- not exactly ideal in my estimation, but they made it work. Even more harrowing was the landing spot the My27 balloon chose -- the front yard of a house on 15th Street. It was unclear if these landings were completely unorthodox or standard operating procedure for the balloon festival, but they certainly caused a stir in East Plano.
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Pooua, anonymous:
I saw the balloons, too. I followed several of them as they landed, from landings on 14th Street, down as far as Summit Avenue.
Here is a link to some of my photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/imagebuf...
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Pavel Lishin, verified:
My dad and brother told me a story about hang-gliding around North Texas, and coming to a landing in someone's front yard.
I think the only reason he's not dead is because those folks had some company over and didn't want to explain the concept of castle law to them.
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Alex Bentley, staff:
Nice pics, Pooua. Do you know if this happens every year or was this unusual?
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Travis Bush, verified:
Alex..the Plano Balloon Festival has been around since 79 or 80 I think..
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Alex Bentley, staff:
Thanks, Travis -- what I meant was whether the balloons always land in the middle of neighborhoods like they did this year. The past two years, I was at the festival, so I never knew where the balloons went after they left the launch site. Seems kind of strange to me if this is SOP, but I guess there are odder things in the world.
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Travis Bush, verified:
Sorry, Alex..I'm a bit slow today. I've wondered that too, but I guess they have to come down somewhere. So, if a balloon lands in your backyard do you get to keep it?
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Pooua, anonymous:
Thanks, Alex.
Yes, this is SOP, not only in Plano, but in every community I've ever visited that hosts balloon festivals. The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, held in October, is much larger than Plano's, and those balloons can come down anywhere! A few crazy people even fly their balloons over the mile-high mountain next to Albuquerque (and a few live through it!).
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Pavel Lishin, verified:
"So, if a balloon lands in your backyard do you get to keep it?"
Hey, check out this great balloon I got! What? No, I'm sure those are ketchup stains. On an unrelated note, can I borrow a shovel?
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Tracy Yost, verified:
Alex - it depends somewhat on the weather. We've seen them flying low as far west as Legacy/Custer, although we didn't see any this year....
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Alex Bentley, staff:
Thanks for the info, Tracy!
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nunyabeezwax, anonymous:
With the unfair weather lately, I was sure it would have rescheduled. I didn't see any balloons the entire weekend but a few comments leave me wondering...did the show go on?? Did I miss what I have been waiting all year to see??
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Alex Bentley, staff:
Yeah, sorry to tell you, nunya, but the balloon festival went on as scheduled.
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What do you think?