Would You Like to Fly in my Beautiful Balloon
- Ash Collins
- Aug 14, 2020
- 4 min read
One of our 'bucket list' activities whilst living in the North Bay was to take a ballon flight over the Napa Valley wine region. A week ago that 'bucket list' item received a big tick...well a half tick at least.
Whilst attending a Calistoga Wine Region function last year, I placed a bid on a silent auction prize. After last bids were called by the auctioneer, a couple of souped-up ladies thought they would try and gazump my bid by 20 bucks. Unbeknownst to these wine sodden fillies, I was watching over my (final) bid with the arousal level of a starving guard dog. After some deliberation between the sore looossssers and the auction ref, we collected our envelope of prizes and headed home as pleased as a dog with two willies. The prize package included one night's accommodation at the Calistoga Motor Lodge & Spa, a flight with the Napa Ballooning Company and a private blending + tasting at Bennett Lane Winery.
On a sunny Wednesday evening we packed the car and headed North on our 90 minute drive along the 101 to the Petrified Forest Road into the Upper Napa Valley region on to our final destination, Calistoga. Checked-in, and bag unpacked, we took the short walk into the town center to find a place to eat and imbibe. For a small town, there are multiple options available however with COVID breathing over the shoulders of the world, we had to find a location with an outdoor patio. Lo n' behold the Napa Valley Brewing Company became an easy choice. Unlike the two old soaks from the auction, the NVBC was no second prize (cheers Barnsey). With a sizable food & drinks menu, Trace and I would settle in here for not one but two nights.
Decades ago when backpacking, it was difficult to connect with people around the world and for that matter, closer to home. Nowadays, technology and transportation have made the world feel a great deal smaller. As luck would have it, as Trace & I were leaving the NVBC night 1, we bumped into a couple of friends (Justin & Chandrika) celebrating C's milestone birthday at the bar. With a 4am kick off the following morning, we reluctantly left after couple of drinks. We did however leave a placeholder for a rendezvous Thursday afternoon to celebrate the the big day...needless to say it was a little messy.
And now for the serious business...Trace's alarm rang loudly at 4am signaling time to roll outta bed, get dressed, brush the ivories and jump in the mota for the 40 minute drive to our ballooning pick up point at the Vintners Golf Club. With 5 minutes of the drive remaining, my phone rings; anyone who has previously been ballooning would appreciate the panic of the moment. Sure enough, it was the ballooning company calling to advise that Napa was closed in by fog. Like Eisenhower, we could postpone and fly another day or pull the trigger and GO! Go it was albeit the downside was that we would not be flying over wine country 🤬 🤬 🤬. Instead we would drive a further 40 miles east to a place called Winters to launch as there was no fog, and for that matter, no wineries.
We arrived in Winters in time to see a spectacular sunrise. Still fuming that Mother nature had not switched off the fog, she did turn on a magnificent dawn providing an awesome back drop for the crew as they unravelled the mammoth nylon fabric in preparation for the the canopy inflation.
Once in the air, we soon realized that the landscape, albeit not wine country, provided a spectacular 360 degree vista. Our landmarks included California's capital, Sacramento, located to our East along with the Napa Valley to our West. The agricultural land below was littered farms cultivating a variety of produce. The sunflower, walnut and tomato farms with the odd bespoke vineyard were prominent from the air. The out buildings, swathed by the growing produce, cut an almost geometric pattern on the very defined lines of each farm. Another highlight were the other balloon companies flying in our vicinity. As these balloons gained elevation, their canopy design and patterns were offset by the Monticello Dam, and Lake Berryessa sitting in the Vaca Mountains. These visible landmarks sat beneath the enormous fog bank that had engulfed the entire Napa Valley.
With the ground crew having received permission from a local farmer, the hour long flight concluded with our pilot pulling the ropes to take the air out of the experience to land on a dirt track located in a private farm. Given the difficulty pilots have maneuvering these huge canopies, our pilot (Chris) landed our balloon on the target, that from the air, looked no larger than a postage stamp. As the ground closed in upon us, pilot Chris blurted out instructions to grip the rope handles inside the basket and prepare for landing...touch down, the balloon has landed. Once secured by the ground crew, we scrambled out from the basket and were herded into the awaiting bus to be transported back to Yountville.
I would highly recommend taking the time out to book a ballooning flight for those planning a trip to NorCal and the Napa Valley. To avoid the fog, your best bet is to fly in September / October to almost guarantee your flight over wine country.
Cheers and safe travels to you all as and when safe to do so...
Comments