on a chicken wing and a prayer: rising above

Booted the Texan out of bed at 5:30 in the A.M. yesterday (Sunday) to accompany me to Palo Duro Canyon to photograph the Pirates of the Canyon Balloon Rally. I think every man, woman, child and yayhoo owning a camera or camera phone was in the canyon. I've never SEEN so many cameras and tripods!

All of us camera aficionado yayhoos were there to witness the spectacular balloon colors rising in one of the most underrated scenic places on earth. Our Palo Duro Canyon is sometimes described as a 'mini' Grand Canyon. One of the features making it so fantastic...so unbelievable is this: one drives and drives on many a mile of treeless, perfectly table-flat farmland when approaching the canyon.

Where is this canyon, Texan, you keep talking about? There is nothing but sky! Nothing. But...then....WHAM! You see it and you drive down, down, down into the purple spanish-skirt walls and the cottonwood lined creek. The canyon meanders for miles and miles. It has a rich history of explorers and famous Indian battles. If you ever find yourself in the Texas Panhandle...you should see it.

We got there BEFORE SUNRISE. Sorry to shout, but that's motivation! Capturing the sunrise would be a challenge.

While Mr. Sun was rising in one horizon, Mr. Moon was trying to disappear before I caught him. Not so fast, mister!

It was a stirring sight witnessing the behemoths rise from the ground. Oh, the vividness of the colors and the loud PSSHH, PSSHH of the fire above the baskets! Look how the tall Texan is dwarfed by these giants!

The weather was pristine, crisp....softly memorable. Although the climate seemed perfecto-the balloons did not fly. They stayed tethered safely to the ground with ropes. The light wind was in the wrong direction. The chase vehicles could not follow where the wind would take the balloons. Didn't matter. The oohhs and aahhs of the young 'uns was a recipe for my dumb grin. A Sunday morning not soon forgotten. When the time came to leave, we loaded our canines and began the ascent out of the canyon.

Our star boarder....grand-dog Rose. She enjoyed the morning intensely. Time for another longing look.

Of course, dear reader.....there's one more. The wiener dog spent the cool morning in her lovely faux- shearling lined dog coat (fashioned to resemble a horse blanket) with the Roxy Doxy monogram emblazoned across her back. She'd boldly sniff unsuspecting people's ankles, but if they acknowledged her or said a friendly hel-lo, she would scamper back to our side. Snob dog.