Sunday, September 16, 2007

The Great Forest Park Balloon Race



Co-blogger ShadowyOne and I went to Forest Park yesterday afternoon to shoot The Great Forest Park Balloon Race, an event that has been going on for 43 years. On the big day, a balloon that looks like the Energizer Bunny takes off from a large open field. Fifteen minutes later, many other balloons take off one after the other, filling the sky with color. The Bunny eventually finds a place to land. The winner of the race is the other balloon that lands closest to the Bunny.

The day was perfect. The wind was light and variable, keeping the balloons over the city center. The bunny landed in the playground of a nearby community center. One landed in the parking lot of a grocery store a couple of blocks from a corner of the park and another actually came down in the street. You can read the story about the race in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch here.




13 comments:

Sasha said...

I love the ballon race. I wish I had been able to get downtown for it, but I had a fun day anyway.

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lynn said...

Great photo! I love watching hot air balloons. One of these days I want to go up in one!

Bergson said...

I adore the balloons and the blue sky

Kate said...

The photos are colourful and so very well composed. I feel like I could be there (almost!).

Annie said...

I'm sorry about the broken link. You can see the photo at
http://lava.nationalgeographic.com/cgi-bin/pod/PhotoOfTheDay.cgi?month=07&day=17&year=07

National Geographic has a photo of the day and this one was their photo of the day on July 17, 2007. So if the address above is problematic, you can still find it and have fun looking at lots of photos.

pusa said...

wow this is very beautiful photo!

Carlos Lorenzo said...

Gee I don't have balloon pictures and these ones really rock. Lucky you. The one with the building is really cool but that one in the middle is fantastic in composition.

Kate said...

Had to come back for another peek because I LOVE the top photo and the way you framed the balloons!

Olivier said...

la photo du ballon sur le building est superbe. une vraie carte postale


the photograph of the balloon on the building is superb. a true postcard

Maggie said...

Fantastic photos! I'm so sad I missed the race - I always love going to the glow and walking by the fancy houses near Forest Park! Keep up the great work!

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Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

WOW! Great balloon shots, I love them!

I hope you enjoy your visit to Detroit and hope your son is successful in the marathon. Thanks for your visit and kind comment!

Mary
Detroit Daily

Sasha said...

Sorry, I just can't get over how awesome these photos are so I just had to stop in and say it again!

Unknown said...

hey i was in that blue yellow and white balloon that is in the foreground itz the NOCC balloon piloted by scott it was so awsome!!