Up Up and Away

September 19, 1783 ~ A sheep, a duck, and a rooster become the first passengers in a hot air balloon launched by the Montgolfier brothers, Joseph and Ettienne. No joke. 

November 21,1783 ~ The first recorded manned flight in a hot air balloon took place in Paris. Built from paper and silk by the Montgolfier brothers, this balloon was piloted on a 22 minute flight by two noblemen from the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. From the center of Paris they ascended 500 feet above the roof tops before eventually landing miles away in the vineyards. Local farmers were very suspicious of this fiery dragon descending from the sky. The pilots offered wine (later on, champagne) to placate them and to celebrate the first human flight, a tradition carried on to this day.

June 27, 2008 ~ Ryan and Kami make their inaugural hot air balloon flight together and get engaged.

I had what I can only refer to as "truly an experience of a lifetime." Hovering quietly around 13,000 feet over the mountains of Park City, UT while the sun was rising, I asked the love of my life, Kami to marry me.

About 5:15am, Kami and I woke up early for a little suprise I arranged for the two of us. Trying figure out how I could concievably pull this off took a little bit of advanced prep work. Kami knew something was up. Strange things were afoot at the Circle-K. I kept giving her cryptic hints as to what she might want to wear, as we'd likely be taking a few photos of this moment, and really who doesn't want the chance to look good for the camera. Not that she doesn't look beautiful in sweatpants and no make-up mind you. But I figure it's for posterity, right?!

Kami had no idea as to what I was up to as, the pre-flight meeting place is actually at the Peaks Hotel, where we loaded onto a shuttle van, and drove to whatever launch site was going to be used that morning (which depended on the winds). She looked oddly confused as we got out of the car to walk into the hotel lobby. It was then the vans pulled up with their big bright balloon decals...and the jig was up! However...the best suprise was still yet to come.

We launched out of a parking lot in Kimball Junction on the west end of Park City. If you've never seen the process of inflating a hot air balloon, it's kinda fascinating. It has to be partially inflated with two giant industrial fans to partially open the "envelope" before the crew can fire up the four 5,000,000 btu burners to give it lift. Those LPG gas burners throw out quite a bit of heat, so we weren't the slighest bit chilly. Maybe is was because I was too nervous to notice the cold.

Our balloon was aptly named Dreams Aloft II. I say aptly, as this was to hopefully (if everything went according to plan) be the start of a wonderful life together with the woman I coudn't imagine being without. A woman who's very smile lets me understand the meaning of love. This IS the stuff dreams are made of.

We floated up over the junction, and headed west almost following I-80 towards Jeremy Ranch. We were carried by the wind, unlike a sailboat being pushed by the wind...you don't notice any blowing unless the current changes direction or speed and even then it's only a brief breeze. We drifted past the Utah Olympic Park, now bright green with the summer folliage. Heading out over the valleys and mountains we saw a huge herd of more than 30 elk, and a single buck deer bounding over the river below to find some coverage in the aspen stands.

Our pilot gave us the rundown of how we change direction, steer the balloon and control our speed. We don't.  It's entirely up to the wind. The wind does funny things in the mountains and valleys of the high desert. By mid-morning the winds normally become too unstable for balloon flight, which is why they launch at sunrise. Basically at different elevations, the wind can have varying degrees of temperature and direction, which is how a balloon travels from point "A" to point "B" with C,D,E,F and G being all plausible landings. ANYWAY....

From so high up in the sky, you could see over Parley's Canyon down into Salt Lake City and even as far as the Great Salt Lake! It really is hypnotizing with the silence and the gentle breeze and the warm sun. In fact as long as the burners weren't firing you could even hear traffic half a mile below.

Just past halfway into our flight I figured it was time to play my other cards. I had another reason than just a beautifully scenic flight in mind when I got out of bed that morning. About two weeks before the flight, I had gone down to SLC to do two things. First I went to Kami's father to ask his permission and get his blessing for me to ask Kami to marry me. We sat and had a 5-plus hour talk about all the things that are important to a man like her father. In the end he wished nothing less than for her happiness and gave me permission to ask his daughter. Second, I went and picked out a ring. A perfect ring, a beautiful ring. A diamond solitaire that pales in comparison to the love I feel for Kami. No diamond would do her justice (but I aimed to try anyway). While it may just be "a rock", there is something to be said for goofy tradition. It doesn't seem so goofy now, and does it EVER look beautiful on her hand (if I do say so myself).

So there we were, me standing behind her, my arms wrapped around her waist and my chin on her shoulder...looking out over the horizon together as the morning sun rose. Yeah, it was perfect. I reached into my pocket, pulled out the box and with both arms holding her close to me, lifted the lid to show her the ring. She placed her hands on either side of the box while I spoke quietly. I told her I love her, and then asked, "Kami, will you marry me?"

Lucky for me...she said yes.

I'm not really entirely too sure about what happened next. But I can tell you this. I'd never up to that point in my life been happier. Our dreams...we'll build them together. That much I know, and it's an amazing feeling. I can't imagine doing this crazy thing called life without her. We eventually floated down (physically anyway), had a perfect landing and then the traditional champagne toast. The other folks on the balloon toasted us, and wished us health and happiness. Cheers to that!

And I REALLY would love to thank Park City Balloon Adventures...a heck of a great operation. Good people, lots of fun and a wonderful crew. Particularly I want to thank our pilot for the morning, Logan and the President/Chief Pilot of the company, Miles for making our special day, an unforgettable adventure. Thank you both! See you guys one our one year anniversary!