Day 12 - Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival

I remember seeing many balloon launches in my youth. Calgary seemed to have an amazing ballooning community back then. The shopping cart, the gas pump, the Dairy Queen ice cream cone (saw this collapse once), the dinosaur, the chevron, and innumerable other specialty and normal balloons were common in our skys. For reasons unknown (to me anyway), the balloons have all but gone away. Ya, Remax is still up there many mornings, but it just doesn't compare to having dozens of these things floating overhead.

Thus my reasoning for aligning my trip with the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival. Though I only got out to the launch once (early mornings weren't happening...), it was everything I remembered and I was glad for the opportunity.

Here are some of my shots from the evening (and some berries that I saw while scouting):