Up, up and away
PROSSER, Wash. - Economic woes and job anxiety belong on the ground.
Up in the air, floating against an impossibly blue sky in colorful hot air balloons, the pilots and passengers at this year's Great Prosser Balloon Rally thought only of the beautiful morning and the friends flying nearby.
Friday marked the start of the 22nd annual balloon rally in the heart of Eastern Washington's wine country. About 20 balloons took off from the Prosser Airport at sunrise to the delight of ground crews, spectators and riders.
"It's just magical," said pilot Laurie Spencer, who got her license in 1991. "Sometimes your soul just wants to go fly."
Spencer and her husband own a ballooning company, Boise-based Lighter Than Air America, and spend their work week flying passengers for The Walt Disney Co., Coca-Cola Co. and Kellogg Co.
"It's a pretty cool way to make a living," Spencer said. "We get to travel all over the world and make friends everywhere."
But like any hobby, ballooning is an investment: Laurie's husband, 40-year veteran pilot Scott Spencer, said an average used balloon goes for around $10,000. Balloons with intricate designs and lots of colors climb above the $40,000 range. And that's not including insurance or fuel.
"It is hard. I'm not gonna lie," said Dawne Rushkarski, another veteran pilot who's been coming to Prosser since 1998. "It's unbelievably expensive, and honestly, for a weekend like this, I overlook that because I love to fly so much."
Rushkarski's husband is out of work, the couple just had a baby, and she's part-owner in a new company, Wine Country Balloon Tour. Times are tough, she said.
"I'm certainly not flying as much. I think about how much it costs each time," she said. "I save it for events like this, when I can fly with my buddies."
It's those relationships that keep pilots coming back year after year. And it's not just among the pilots. The Spencers come back to visit a family they met when they landed in their field one year and has crewed for them ever since.
"Is Prosser good for flying? Yes. Is it the best in the world? Probably not," Scott Spencer said. "You can fly anywhere. Ballooning is all about the camaraderie."