Weekend in Pagosa Springs - Day 3

We had to be up early on Saturday morning for our sunrise hot air balloon ride at 6:45 am. Fortunately, the meetup place was less than five minutes from our condo. We decided to have breakfast after our ride.

Kind of funny, but once we arrived, the hosts loaded up the vans with all the people so that we could drive around the corner and unload.

We received some instructions and then watched and "helped" as they unloaded the balloon, set it up, placed huge fans at the opening to the balloon, and began to fill it with air. 

That process took at least a half an hour. While it was filling, the company had a photographer who was getting everyone's pictures IN and around the balloon. It was cool to see how everything ran so smoothly.

Because there were so many of us, we were divided into two groups. The groups were divided by numbers and total weight. Yes, we each had to tell them how much we weighed when we signed up! 

The first group climbed into balloon basket and prepared for take off. The rest of us stayed on the ground and watched for a bit. Then we loaded in the vans and tried to follow the balloon as best we could to where it would land and we would exchange passengers.

Since there really isn't any steering of a ballon, it just goes where the wind currents blow, there was no precise landing spot. The ground crew kept in touch with balloon pilot via walkie talkie and we finally pulled over by a random field in a neighborhood as the balloon descended.

To keep the balloon balanced, people on one side of the basket climbed out while some of the second group climbed in and then the process was repeated on the other side of the basket.

And we were off. The winds were calm, so it was peaceful rise above Pagosa Springs offering a bird's eye view of the entire valley surrounded by mountains.

Our flight lasted 30-40 minutes. The winds were not in our favor as we landed and the basket settled about a 1/4 mile from the nearest parking lot. Everyone climbed out except the pilot. Chris and some of the ground crew helped to guide the balloon closer to the parking lot so that it could be deflated, disassembled and put away. That took another half an hour at least.

Chris helping to deflate the balloon even more!

Once the basket and balloon were back in the trailer, we loaded up and returned to the adventure company's office for an orange juice or champagne toast and a brief history lesson.

Chris and I were quick to be on our way since we needed to have breakfast and then get ready for a hike on the Four Mile Trail to the Four Mile Waterfall. It was actually 3.5 miles but that's a little harder to name a hike.

The drive to the trailhead was about an hour away. This trail and some shade, but not a lot.

Funny story. We were almost to the waterfall when I spied two horses trying to navigate down a steep incline without riders. The horses continued down the path until I saw them stop and graze about a 1/4 mile down the trail.

We reached the waterfall. The waterways and waterfalls in Colorado are so low this summer. We didn't spend too much time. Chris thought that maybe we could climb the steep incline up to the lake but after setting off on a perilous trail, I decided I wasn't going to continue trying to navigate up the incline. I made the mistake of grabbing a branch from a downed tree and it broke off in my hand. I almost took a tumble. 

I sat down in the dirt and slid the rest of the way down the hill until I could safely stand and hike down. 

We set off back down the trail and were almost back to where the horses were grazing when all of a sudden a twenty-something cowboy races down the path, 
"Have you seen some horses?" The horses were just ahead of us and the cowboy was grateful to finally catch up to them. Apparently two cowboys had rode their horses up to the lake but hadn't secured the horses well. 

The second cowboy—apparently not as fast of a runner—appeared. They climbed on the horses and continued down the hill. 

We found a place off the trail shortly after encountering the horses and enjoyed some lunch.

After returning to Pagosa Springs, we cleaned up and went in search of dinner followed by a walk along the river next to Pagosa Springs Hot Springs and an exploration of the area. 

Pagosa Springs Hot Springs Resort

Geothermic domes along the river walk.

Random hot springs along the river. 

Hippy Dippy Hot Springs at the other end of the river walk.