We finally made it to our first balloon festival – The Labor Day Lift Off in Colorado Springs, just 80 miles from our home in Arvada. The weather app kept threatening 50-60% chance of rain, but we were all in. I’d booked the hotel back in June (non-refundable, of course), and after years of missing weekend fun because we’re musicians who work most Friday and Saturday nights, we weren’t letting anything stop us.
Most balloon festivals are usually held on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Going to bed at 2 or 3am and getting up to drive somewhere to see balloons take off at 7am does not work for us. Luckily the Labor Day Lift Off was scheduled for Saturday through Monday. Our plan was to go Sunday night for The Glow, get up Monday for the Lift Off, and head home.
When we left for Colorado Springs on Sunday the chance of rain had gone down but the wind was such that the balloons were not able to take flight as planned. Still, we were determined to make a weekend out of it.
As we neared the city limits, just a quarter mile from the North Academy boulevard exit, our Dodge Durango suddenly died! My husband, Jerry, managed to pull over to the far right side of the freeway as we contemplated calling for a tow truck. Unfortunately, our insurance didn’t cover it. We determined that since we were situated on a slight hill, we would at least try to coast to the top of the exit and away from the majority of the traffic.
As we approached the exit the light turned green which we took as a sign to keep moving. Without power steering, Jerry muscled the car through the light and over the freeway to the next red light. Here we had to stop but were still on a downward hill and figured we could coast to a nearby parking lot from there. As we started looking for just the right place to pull out we saw a Midas sign. We pulled in and saw that it said Auto Care Experts. What are the chances!
We were thrilled. Here it is 3:30pm Sunday afternoon of Labor Day weekend, and they were open until 4:00pm. We were able to have them take a quick look at the car before they closed but they said they wouldn’t be able to get to it until Tuesday morning.
Stranded:
Still 10 miles from The Mining Exchange, our hotel in downtown Colorado Springs, we called for an Uber to take us the rest of the way. If you’re going to get stranded, this is where you want to do it! The hotel is beautiful, the rooms are very nice, comfortable, and right in the heart of downtown. There are plenty of restaurants and shops all within walking distance and we were able to walk to the balloon festival in Memorial park a mile and a half away.
The Glow:
After dinner at the Springs Orleans restaurant we made our way to the festival. It was still light out and we had fun watching all the crews preparing for that evenings show. As the sun went down the pilots fired up the burners and made their balloons glow. This experience was an extra added bonus because we didn’t realize it was a “thing”. Needless to say we were pleasantly surprised.
Lift Off:
Monday morning came quickly. We have been night people for so many years that 6am feels like the middle of the night! Seeing the balloons lift off was our only incentive for getting up and making the mile and a half walk back to the park again.
We arrived just as the balloonists were starting to fill their balloons. One by one they ascended into the sky. After gawking at the them like kids in a toy store for two hours we headed back to the Mining Exchange where we were able to extend our stay for an extra day.
That evening, rather than hang out at the hotel, we had dinner at Jack Quinn’s and headed to the theater to check out the newest Mission Impossible movie.
The Finale:
Tuesday morning as we waited for the call from the repair shop, we had breakfast, took in some sights downtown, and went to the Pioneers Museum. This was certainly a classic case of turning lemons into lemonade. I highly recommend booking a getaway in Colorado Springs. There are so many things to do and see. You won’t be disappointed.
