Winds of wonder: My first balloon ride experience

When I found out I would be able to ride in a balloon for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, I knew I had to show my burqueña spirit and take the flight.

As a native New Mexican, I've had several experiences with the Balloon Fiesta. Waking up early in the morning and bundling up to make sure my fingers don't freeze off before the sun comes up is nothing new to me. Being in a balloon, though, is something I never had the chance to experience.

Tuesday morning, I arrived at the Balloon Fiesta ready to have the experience of a lifetime on Meow Wolf's Skyworm balloon, piloted by Wayland, Michigan native Rick Kerber and accompanied by Journal photojournalist Chancey Bush.

Kerber is a dedicated pilot, kind to everyone around him and a devoted husband. Tuesday was Kerber's wife Cris' birthday. Although she was at home, Kerber made sure to celebrate her birthday by gathering a large crowd to sing "Happy Birthday" on the Balloon Fiesta livestream, which Cris was watching back home.

"I'm a little homesick," Kerber said. "We've been out here since (last) Wednesday, and I miss my wife a lot. She's my best friend and I hate missing her birthday, but I still wanted to do something special."

As I watched other balloons take to the skies, my stomach dropped. I was going to be among them, just like all the other balloons I've watched paint the skies in the 23 years I've been in New Mexico.

As the balloon was filled with propane, I noticed a crowd gathering around us preparing for takeoff. Kerber called for his passengers and what felt like seconds after I had climbed into the balloon, we were up in the air. I panicked and repeatedly yelled "Oh my gosh!" for the first two minutes as I wrapped my hands around the rope handle, squeezing the handle like my life depended on it. The sounds of the cheering crowd below us made me feel a mixture of pride and terror as the balloon climbed higher and higher.

Then, silence. After my initial panic, I fell silent as I looked to the horizon. Up in the balloon, the rush of wind is nonexistent, the crowds from the Balloon Fiesta are gone and it's just you, the sky and the other balloons dotting the horizon. It's peaceful in a way that made me forget how sleep-deprived I was earlier, peaceful in a way that made me feel so small in a poetic way. There are so many incredible things to experience in the world.

You don't realize how quickly the balloon reaches the sky until the Balloon Fiesta field looks like a small patch of grass. You don't realize how far away you are until the morning traffic on Paseo looks like a small string of lights. Everything feels so far away, so different from when I experience it up close each day.

As the Skyworm floated away from Albuquerque and toward Corrales, the next challenge was deciding where to land. Some houses had large white-colored X marks, indicating they are OK with balloonists landing, but several were being taken by other balloons. Kerber quickly found a field just past the tree lines and told us he planned to land in the area.

We would be landing soon, and quickly I realized I had no idea what to do or expect. Kerber seemed to know exactly what I was thinking and gave us a quick rundown of what to do. Wind speeds weren't noticeable high in the sky but the closer we got to ground, the more I was able to feel it.

"I'm going to slow us down with the trees here," he said.

Our basket brushed against the top of the tree and I thought we would simply land, but the wind had other plans for us. Mere seconds later, our balloon flew right into a large section of branches. I heard the snap of branches and the rustling of leaves as they fell to the ground. For a moment, I thought we were stuck in the tree.

I was sorely mistaken. I looked to Bush and Kerber, who both told me to bend my knees, hold on tight and get ready to land. The balloon bounced to a slower speed, and we felt the basket tip to the right and to the left.

Kerber took charge, telling Bush and me to get out of the balloon and pull it down. Bush took action right away, swinging her camera to the side before rushing out. I followed suit, chasing her down. Considering that at 5-foot-1, I'm the tall one of the two of us, I was worried we wouldn't be able to do it. But with a twist of my hand against the rope, Bush and I shoved our heels into the ground and pulled the balloon with all our might. Adrenaline fueled me and with a strength I didn't know I had, we managed to slow the balloon.

"I don't care if the balloon gets scratched up or anything, as long as you both are OK," Kerber said. "You guys are precious cargo."

"Considering the weather conditions, this is actually a textbook landing," Kerber said after securing the balloon. "I'm worried with the wind other balloonists might have a hard landing."

After brushing ourselves off, the three of us burst into laughter, called the chase crew to pick us up and celebrated the dramatic landing.

For my first balloon ride, it was certainly a unique experience. And yes, I would and am going up into the skies for another wild ride.