Valley of the Gods

Our campsite in the Valley of the Gods was probably the most visible location we had stayed in. We camped right off of the dirt road that was the main tourist loop through the Valley. Fortunately, we arrived about a half hour before sunset, so we didn't have too many people disturb our privacy. Most tourists return to their hotels at night. Our campsite was a great location, and it turned out that we didn't see any other people for the rest of the night. The Valley treated us to the gift of a gorgeous sunset.

The next morning, as we woke up and peered out to watch the sunrise, we noticed an unusual blob shape far across the Valley, about the size of a big truck. After we pulled out the binoculars, our blob turned out to be 12 hot air balloons preparing for a sunrise flight. It was fantastic to watch them slowly drifting up through the Valley as we made breakfast.

Heading out down the road, we found that the balloons had now all landed in the road (hopefully out of respect to the sensitive soil). We stopped to watch the balloonists as they wrapped up their balloons and put their baskets onto the back of a truck. What fun!