The 8th annual Balloona Vista Festival! Look at all of these beautiful hot air balloons. Saturday, June 8, was a really nice morning with little wind which made for optimal hot air balloon riding. "Balloona Vista" is a play on our town name of Buena Vista (pronounced BYOU-nah VIS-ta) and happens on the second weekend of June each year.

Last year, I must confess, I slept in even while I could hear the sounds of hot air balloons floating above my home. Thankfully, Paul deBerjeois, a professional photographer from Colorado Springs, captured some very good shots and submitted them for Scenic Buena Vista: 2007 Balloona Vista.

I took a quick glance at all of the thumbnail photos below and I really love the colorfulness. Friends, if you love hot air balloons, I trust you will enjoy this page! :)

-Steve

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Twitter: @SteveGarufi

P.S. Adjacent photo: A hot air balloon rises up with Mt. Princeton in the background.

	The first hot air balloon to rise up in the sky was this one.
	I took 195 photos of hot air balloons in just 90 minutes. :)
	Two hot air balloons fill up with air.
	The sun rising in the east reflected perfectly on the hot air balloons. It was especially nice to have the imposing Sawatch Mountains to the west for a background.
	I really liked photos with two hot air balloons like this one.
	Facing east, two hot air balloons block the sun. Midland Hill stands as the small mountain area in the background of the bottom photo.
	Just beautiful!
	A hot air balloon with the design of the Colorado flag on the top.
	Oooooooh! Aaaaaah! This reminds me of my pages for fireworks ... :) Fireworks Photos (2007) Fireworks (2006) Fireworks (2004)
	The yellow and colorful swirl patterned hot air balloon is owned and operated by the one and only Kelvin Washington ... the man, the myth, the enigma ... who also happens to be one kick-ass chiropractor in the area too!
	One more hot air balloon rises in front of Mt. Princeton.
	Two very attractive hot air balloons.
	After the final hot air balloon launched into the sky, I drove around town "chasing after" the balloons. TOP: Two hot air balloons in front of the Buffalo Peaks. MIDDLE: A hot air balloon west of Buena Vista in the open country. BOTTOM: Five in one picture.
	TOP: Another picture with five hot air balloons but this one has better lighting. :) BOTTOM: A hot air balloon with Mt. Columbia's surrounding peaks in the background.
	Hot Air Balloon On My Web Cam Way out there was that yellow hot air balloon and as I snapped this picture (top), I figured this was the best chance for my web cam that faces outside to capture a balloon. I even adjusted the cam so that it faced up toward the sky more for this very reason. When I returned home, I was pleased to see there was one image that included it! (Bottom photo) You may view my web cam here: Colorado Web Cam
	The hot air balloon with daffodils lands. I briefly spoke with a woman who was part of the crew for this balloon, and I was informed the owner also has a strawberry hot air balloon. Wow! How cool is that? :)
	One token photo of myself ... and note there are five hot air balloons included behind me! :)

	Launching a Hot Air Balloon At 6:10 a.m., activity began with some starting the process of launching a hot air balloon. Some, it seemed, would test out their fire shooter (for lack of a better word) before they began to put the large balloon on it.
	This crew captured the attention of many by being the first to launch. Slowly, the balloon increased in air ... getting larger and fatter!
	The process includes blowing large amounts of air with a fan, and takes crew members to hold out various parts of the balloon.
	Another look at blowing air into the balloon.
	The hot air balloon grows!
	By the way, I noticed this process required someone to hold a strong rope to keep tension in the hot air balloon as air was blown in. (This is Kelvin's hot air balloon.)
	All done and ready to launch! ColoradoGuy.com on Facebook