C U LT U R E + E N T E R TA I N M E N T
Early to Rise Our alarms went off around 5:30 a.m. to get ready and drive into Custer for a hot air balloon ride with Black Hills Balloons. Flights take place at sunrise, weather permitting, and we all arrived and packed into a van to take us to the flight location. It was almost just as jaw-dropping watching the crew prep the balloon for takeoff as two balloons were being spread out. Fire started torching out to stand them up. As we loaded, we knew we were in good hands with pilot Damien Mahony, who has been in the commercial balloon business since 1999 and runs the business with his wife, Keely. Both Jordan and I are timid of heights, but Damien cracked jokes and put us at ease. Slowly going up, it was silent except for the sound of the fire. Until we watched someone from the other balloon drop their cell phone from the sky, that is. Showing the teams’ chivalry, we watched the other balloon go back down to retrieve it so they could still capture their flight. It was a morning I’ll never forget. We saw deer running through the forest and also saw cows. Damien surprised us by clipping over the top of pine trees. Thankfully I had stopped Instagramming, or I would have lost my phone as well. The whole point of the experience is to be present, and it was definitely the way to see the Black Hills at its best. We landed and the team got us settled with light snacks and a champagne toast with a Black Hills Balloons souvenir cup. A flight certificate was also given to each of us, which made us feel legit.
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