 |
| Bluff Balloon Festival in Valley of the Gods |
 |
| Valley of the Gods, 2019 |
Then, life happened (especially the disastrous 2020 experience) and I forgot about it.
Last year, after the Colorado Springs Labor Day Liftoff, Caty and I started looking into other balloon festivals and rediscovered Bluff. I put it on a real “must go” list by booking a room and crossing my fingers that weather wouldn’t interfere.
 |
| We were hoping for pretty skies |
Our plan was to leave Colorado Springs on Caty’s birthday, January 16, and drive to Bluff (a 7.5-hour drive) so that we could be there for all three days of festivities.
The schedule, posted online, looked like this:
So, that would be two days in town and one day where we really wanted photos: Valley of the Gods. I wrote about it here if you need to know.
Planning a drive and planning for a heavily weather-affected event in January has risks.
Fortunately, the drive was fine. We left before a snowstorm hit the eastern flanks of the Rockies and returned home after the worst had passed and the roads were (somewhat) cleared. Our driveway was still snow-covered when we got home, but it was OK. Understand that to reach Bluff and get back home, we have to drive over the Rockies. Our route took us up to 10,856-foot Wolf Creek Pass. So, weather is very important.
Fortunately, two of the three days of the festival were sunny and calm. Cold, but sunny enough to make that a non-issue.
 |
| Glorious desert skies |
Day two was sunny, cold and super windy. No balloons flew, but, also fortunately, there are many pretty things to see nearby – some we’ve seen before and some new. We kept plenty busy.
 |
| Monument Valley is 41 miles from Bluff |
We arrived in Bluff in the early afternoon and were surprised that there were no crowds or signs or much of anything to indicate a balloon festival.
 |
| Twin Rocks tower over Bluff |
We did see some balloon trailers and our hotel gave us an upstairs room because all the downstairs rooms were occupied by balloonists, so we knew we were in the right place. But, it was pretty slow.
Understand, Bluff is tiny. It has only 245 residents. So, quiet and slow are not a surprise.
 |
| Bluff is adjacent to the Navajo Nation and has been inhabited for at least 1,375 years |
We had enough time the first day to do a little exploring, but I will talk about the nearby places (some of which we visited multiple times to get different lighting) after I talk about balloons. Chronology isn’t important here.
 |
| Goosenecks State Park was also on our radar |
We had intended to attend the Navajo Taco benefit at the elementary school, but didn’t make it back in time. Oh, well, we had some great Navajo tacos elsewhere and I sent a donation later. I was a bit sorry to miss that.
 |
| Navajo taco: frybread with chili, tomatoes, onion and lettuce; Photo: Scott Stevens |
Even though there is a festival, this was offseason for Bluff, so very few things (including things the Balloon Festival website recommends as other things to see) are closed. The only restaurant open on Thursday night was the Cedar Shack, a pizza/appetizer snack bar at the very chichi Bluff Dwellings Resort & Spa on the outskirts of town.
 |
| Local dining option; Photo: Bluff Dwellings Resort & Spa |
 |
| We had breakfast on Sunday after the flyover at the Twin Rocks Cafe; Photo: Scott Stevens |
 |
| The cabins were fully booked, but the rooms were fine; Photo: Booking.com |
The included breakfast was lacking, but most are. We were surprised (at first) that they didn’t adjust breakfast hours for the early morning balloon start.
But!
First of all, there really wasn’t a need to get up early to fight the crowds for decent parking. There were only about 40 or so cars parked around to watch the balloons when they took off.
 |
| Most people watched from the cemetery on a hill above town |
Second, the “7:30 a.m. Balloons fly over Bluff” was inaccurate. The pilot meeting was at 7:30. The first balloon didn’t take off until after 8:00 a.m.
And, the drive for viewing was short. In fact, a few balloons launched from next to the Desert Rose.
 |
| Getting ready to launch |
Bluff Fly-Over
Unlike Colorado Springs and Albuquerque, the two places I have attended balloon festivals recently, Bluff doesn’t have a central launch point. Any flat surface will do. The majority do launch from the Community Center Parking lot, where the pilot meeting is held.
 |
| In the main lot |
But, it’s rather willy-nilly and casual.
Once they were up, it was lovely, with balloons dancing over the bluffs that give the town its name.
 |
| In the gap |
One, piloted by retired Utah State Senator Curt Bramble, even landed in the Bluff Elementary School playground while the kids were at recess.
 |
| Politicians!!!! |
 |
| Here it is from the air (I circled us); Photo: Jerry Garcia |
 |
| A boring pink/gray balloon that turned out to be a cute elephant ... |
 |
| A kachina head that looked much like a kachina we inherited from Scott’s mom ... |
 |
| Another, more regal-looking, kachina ... |
 |
| Lots of pretty colors |
There were none of the bigger, special-shape balloons; just your standard look and size.
 |
| But, boy were they pretty against the blue, blue desert sky |
Because Friday had only the fly-over and there were so few people, we wondered whether we should have just driven on Friday to attend just Saturday and Sunday’s events.
When the next morning dawned breezy – no, windy – we knew we had made the right choice.
 |
| Balloons can't fly if winds exceed 10 mph |
We suspected that balloons would not fly on day two, but had a hard time finding any definitive information. Then we noticed that the festival website referred to a Facebook Page for updates. So, we watched that and found very little info.
 |
| Playing with the Moon |
Later, we discovered that there are TWO Facebook Pages:
Even bumbling about, we managed not to miss anything truly important.
 |
| Eclipse |
With no lift-off on Day Two, we spent the whole day exploring. As a result, we missed the Art Fair (we hate those, anyway) and the
Evening of Fire and Ice (Ice Cream & Chili Social, music and Glow-in tethered balloons).
Had we thought a glow-in was possible, we would have come back, But, it was brutally windy. We heard there might have been some candling (releasing flames from the gondolas without an inflated envelope), but I am not even sure that happened.
 |
| A candle in front of an inflated envelope at Colorado Springs' Labor Day Liftoff |
Valley of the Gods Flyover
Fortunately, after Saturday’s wind, Sunday was calm. Still cold, but nice. The festival offered the opportunity to travel to Valley of the Gods with a caravan that departed town at 7:00 a.m., but we went early so that we could photograph sunrise.
 |
| Morning in the Valley of the Gods |
That was a good call.
 |
| Amazing |
Valley of the Gods is part of Bears Ears National Monument, the place that Obama declared a National Monument in 2017, Trump significantly diminished in his first term and Biden re-established on day one of his presidency. I suspect Trump will trash it again soon.
It is a gorgeous sandstone valley with rock formations similar to those in Monument Valley.
 |
| Spires and buttes |
The reddish-brown mesas, buttes, towers and mushroom rock are remnants of an ancient landscape.
 |
| The formations are great for balloon maneuvers |
It is (now) protected public land administered as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
 |
| The color is not enhanced here; it really looks like this! |
Valley of the Gods can be toured via a 17-mile gravel road that winds around the formations.
 |
| The road; Left: Jerry Garcia; Right: Scott Stevens |
Because a balloon blocked the road on our way out, we only drove roughly half-way in. We should have driven through on Saturday.
Still, it was wonderful.
 |
| The prettiest place I've ever seen balloons |
We stopped at the first pretty vista to capture the sunrise.
 |
| Beautiful! |
Then, as balloons started to arrive and set-up, we moved further in.
 |
| The first arrival |
Just like in town, balloons were launching from multiple locations. We ended up in the middle.
 |
| The prettiest view was right in front of us |
 |
| Other balloons were back-lit behind us |
We were in the midst of it all.
 |
| You can see how close Scott’s car was to inflating balloons |
Scott took off way across a field to take photos.
 |
| Quite far away |
And, Caty and I climbed up a hill to try and get photos without the cars, trucks and trailers that lined the road.
 |
| Caty and I are circled; Photo: Jerry Garcia |
 |
| We did not, however, climb as high as this guy |
Spectators were instructed to park on the road while balloonists could use pull-outs, the road or the field.
 |
| It was pretty junky at road level |
We were fairly successful (and Photoshop took care of the rest).
 |
| It was gorgeous from the hill |
We counted about 25 or so balloons, most of which we had seen the previous Friday.
 |
| The biggest group |
They took off ...
 |
| ... by us; Photos: Caty Stevens ... |
 |
| ... in front of us ... |
 |
| ... and behind us |
Then ...
 |
They flew in front of the magnificent scenery … |
 |
| Many played touch and go with a tall spire ... |
 |
| Some snuck by a butte beside us ... |
 |
| And, several flew right over our heads |
 |
| It was everything we wanted! |
After the balloons started landing ...
 |
| Landing |
... we hit the road, stopping for breakfast in town and then hurrying to get home before dark and hoping we wouldn’t encounter snow and ice. We saw a little of the white stuff, mainly after crossing over Wolf Creek Pass and we made it home just at dark.
It was worth taking the winter risk.
In my next post, I’ll talk about everywhere else we visited.
No comments:
Post a Comment