One of the most welcome signs of fall in our area is the return of the hot air balloons.  The September sky is often speckled with dots of color, and festivals are the highlights of our weekends.

This past weekend was the Sunkiss Balloon Festival, a small gathering of balloons that has become a kickoff of the season.   Zan got the first ride of his life on Saturday while the family drove around all the back streets chasing him through town.  🙂

Here he is at liftoff.

A few more shots from the evening…

A balloon is filled with air with a high power fan, and then the air is heated with the propane burners…the heat radiating from those burners is intense.  I’m not sure how that man stood that close to it for as long as he did.

Liftoff…

In every phase…

And check out this little cutie patootie!

The real fun begins in a couple of weeks if the weather cooperates.  🙂

http://www.adirondackballoonfest.org/

And for a wonderful blog post about the festival, complete with stunning photographs that put my pathetic little snapshots to shame, check out Barre.Me .  There are some real treasures over there.