As members of a great balloon club we bring our balloons into the community for fun and education too. This page will remain fluid as members submit pictures and stories. Many of the GMVAAA members were involved in the Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally 2004. The weather forcast this year changed from day to day preceding the rally. It went from rainey to clear to cloudy. I was prepared to accept anything. Saturday morning found us at pilot briefing looking for anything out of the ordinary as it was too good to be true. We talked of sucker wind and such. The launch field was crowded with people and balloons. I didn't hear of reports of lack of crew volunteers. The vending trailers along the side were taking care of hunger, thirst, and souvenirs to quiet the little squawks of I wanta and I needa from the little ones. Wells Fargo brought "Center Stage", "Lil Buck", and "Miss Penney" plus two regular shape balloons for tethers as a fund raiser. The flight on Saturday was declared a go and the action started. Saturday afternoon was again ify. We kicked our feet in the sand and talked of sucker wind. The field was open to pilots discretion. I remember an hour long flight going nowhere in a hurry. There was plenty steerage so even that was no problem. I can't remember flying a box on the afternoon flight like I did in the morning but we still stayed out of the orchards. The final flight on Sunday morning was soooo lazy. We all hung up in the air together. Calm winds sure do make for spectacular picture taking opportunities. Once again a box was there and I boxed twice before landing.
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