Day 73 – Rob got up at 6 & I got up a little before 7 a.m. It was 60 degrees & cloudy. We went to the Ranger’s Station & paid for another 2 nights at this campsite. We plan to stay here for a lot longer, but if we pay for the whole stay in advance & have to leave early, there wouldn’t be any refund. The Ranger told us that only one campsite was left open, and once that was gone they’d be booked solid for the weekend. Soon thereafter they filled that site. So far the people immediately surrounding us have been quiet, but there’s a large party with at least four trucks occupying the campsites across from us & over by two sites. We’ll see how that goes. It is the weekend after all.
We spent the afternoon in the screened tent. It was supposed to be 84 degrees today and sunny but that didn’t happen, more like 70 degrees & cloudy. You can’t trust the weather forecasts. After dinner, (leftover Potato Soup – we’ll be eating it for days), we went to the 15th annual Crown of Maine Balloon Festival (COMBF) in Presque Isle.
Aroostook County in Maine is known as The Crown of Maine. Not far from Aroostook State Park is the Transatlantic Balloon Launch Site which was the place where the first successful transatlantic balloon crossing was launched on August 11, 1978, so hot-air balloons are a big deal around here. The Festival lasts for four days each August with various activities, displays, vendors, a craft fair, and balloon-related events. It is held at the large park & field Fair Grounds in Presque Isle.
After looking at the Festival Schedule online, we’d decided to go on Friday evening for the lighting of the balloons. When we arrived, we were disappointed to see only one hot-air balloon in the field. There was a line of people with tickets waiting for their turn to take a tethered balloon ride. It was a really beautiful balloon, and the event was crowded – for a small town venue. We took a few pictures and thought, “Is this all there is?”, and we wandered over to the craft fair.
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As it got dark, we noticed activity was picking up on the field as trailers arrived with folded-up balloons and they began to pump air into them. I thought it was really amazing how you can get a balloon that large folded into such a smaller bundle, and how quickly they can be set up and put down again.
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Once the balloons were “up & running”, it was such a gorgeous thing to see. All different colors lit up and swaying in the breeze. Then the wind picked up, and for safety reasons, they discontinued the lighting display. The balloons were starting to sway more & more, and they were huge. If they lost control of a balloon, it could’ve been disastrous. Nevertheless, we were really glad we came. It was beautiful.
Click on any picture below to see a slideshow.
It took awhile to get out of the parking lot, and it was close to 9 p.m. when we got back to the RV. The high today was 71 degrees, breezy, partly cloudy. The campground was full but quiet by the time we got home.