Great Reno Balloon Races

I recently became involved with the Great Reno Balloon Races. For the past six years I've lived just north of Rancho San Rafael Park. I'd be driving to work on a Thursday morning in early September, I'd turn a corner and all of a sudden the sky in front of me would be filled with colorful balloons of all shapes and sizes. Still, I was a little blase about hot air balloons, but a partner in my firm asked me to get involved, so I did. It turned out to be one of the most moving and beautiful experiences of my life.

If you've never been to the Great Reno Balloon Races, or just observed from afar, you simply MUST go next year. The charm of our event is that the public is allowed full access to the field. There is nothing like strolling through the field while 100 balloons are being inflated just before a mass ascension. It is like being in another world. I took a million pictures, but no photo can do it justice.

The most moving experience was my first time at Dawn Patrol on Saturday morning. Just thinking anout it makes me emotional. I can't even put it into words. There is just so much beauty in the world. There are so many opportunities to do and see and experience things, but so often we fill our lives with the mundane. Instead hiking in the mountains, we watch TV. Instead of gazing at the stars, we flip through a magazine. Instead of getting out of bed a little earlier one weekend a month to witness the magic of flight, glowing orbs against an onyx sky, we stay in bed or enjoy our coffee and newspaper in our own kitchens.

Believe me, I value the mundane as much as the next person. I love television, reading, sleeping, and a hot cup of coffee and a newspaper as much as the next person. It is comforting and calming sometimes. But don't let that be all there is to life.