Our camping trip at the Dansville Balloon Fest - Up, Up, and Away they Go!

First one, then another, then three more and a dozen -- hot air balloons cleared the launch field and battled for suddenly-crowded air space at the Dansville Airport.

This montage of photographs details the lift-off of nearly 50 dazzling aircraft at Dansville's Festival of Balloons (NYSFB at Dansville). Final pictures, featuring the "special" entrants, will be published later this week.

It takes a big burn to get airborne. This balloonist blistered three large holes in his craft.

They bump, they push and shove. First one to get clear wins!

This colorful herringbone-patterned balloon went straight up.

Looks like some sort of financial chart. "Things are looking up!"

Black diamonds are good, right? Background: herringbone gets some air.

An elegant balloon showing only blue and white finds the clouds, higher and higher.

These two look like they're headed for a collision. It's just an illusion.

Three of the more exotic color patterns gain altitude and solitude.

One monstrous eye looks on as a crazy-quilt of colors soars overhead.

Two pairs of balloonists head heavenward. They soon joined the crowd, nearly out of sight.

Top to bottom: more and more balloons sail to the northwest of Dansville, and toward the horizon.
_______________________________________________

In all, more than 40 hot air balloons filled the sky on a spectacular Sunday evening at Dansville. It was a beautiful Labor Day Weekend for ballooning. Final batch of exotic-design balloon pics soon.

All photos copyright 2009 - reprints available on request.

Upgraded NY State Parks Website - NY Outdoors Blog

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 06:33 AM PDT

Check out the upgraded state parks website, with lots of new content about what visitors can expect to find at parks and historic sites, plus a great new trails section.

(from the Parks & Trails NY newsletter)

Shared via AddThis

Reprinted from New York Outdoors Blog.
_______________________________________________

Thanks to NY Outdoors for getting the word out.

Which do you prefer for camping trips -- state parks or private campground resorts? Which offers the better value?

Our camping trip at the Dansville Balloon Fest - Preparing to launch!

The wind died down about 6 pm Sunday evening, and the balloonists raced to get their hot air rigs airborne.

Here's a sampling of the hectic prep-work at Dansville's Festival of Balloons (NYSFB at Dansville). More pics to come, later in the week.

Team USA takes the foreground. At least eight others warm up for launch.

Primary colors crowd out the tulip balloon. The rest struggle to catch up.

"Fire in the hole!" It takes a big burn and lots of helping hands to get these monsters aloft.
_______________________________________________

No less than 40 hot air balloons launched on a spectacular Sunday evening at Dansville. For once, the weather cooperated for the entire Labor Day Weekend. More pics soon.

All photos copyright 2009 - reprints available on request.

Our camping trip at the Dansville Balloon Fest - Preview

In all, nearly 50 hot air balloons launched on Sunday, September 6 for the traditional Labor Day New York Festival of Balloons at Dansville, NY.

We camped for the weekend at nearby Skybrook Campground, and saw an earlier launch pass overhead on Saturday evening. Sunday, we attended the festival and took nearly 100 pictures. I'll return to share more with you later this week.
_______________________________________________

all photos copyright 2009 - reprints available by permission

Stay tuned for pictures of The Purple People Eater, Turtle-Turtle, Big Red Barn and much more.

from New York Outdoors Blog:

Thousand Islands’ parks close early despite pleas

Posted: 10 Sep 2009 06:36 AM PDT

By LORI SHULL, Watertown Daily Times, link to original post

Jo-Ellen Bero, and 150 other people, would like a month of camping time restored to Coles Creek, but it’s just not going to happen.

The state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation announced this spring that the summer schedules of 15 parks in the Thousand Islands Region would be altered because of budget cuts in Albany. However, Ms. Bero and dozens of others decided to try to change the state’s mind about closing Coles Creek State Park a month early.

“I guess Gov. Paterson strikes again,” Ms. Bero said in an e-mail. “With the economy the way it is today and the price of gas, hotel rates, admission to theme parks and the overall loss of jobs here in the north country, camping was something people could still afford to do with their families.”

Coles Creek will close Saturday, despite the petition and phone calls to the office of state Parks Commissioner Carol Ash and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, according to Mrs. Bero. Usually, it is open until Oct. 12. Jacques Cartier State Park, in Morristown, also is closing early, on Sept. 19.

Nine other parks around the region, which stretches from Lake Ontario north along the St. Lawrence River to Lake Champlain, closed Labor Day weekend. There are 30 parks in the region.

Despite the state’s decision to change the opening and closing times of many of its parks, some Coles Creek campers tried to get an exception for their habitual haunt.

“They’ve talked to everyone; I think they even got to the park commissioner,” said Loretta E. Castagnier, the bookkeeper at Coles Creek. “They’ve tried everything. Nothing seems to work. You can’t fight City Hall.”

Despite the efforts of north country residents and vacationers, the state did not make any modifications to the schedule.

“There have been expressions of disappointment,” said Eileen Larrabee, Albany spokeswoman for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. She said there were about a dozen phone calls about Coles Creek. “We tried to minimize the impact to users. We understand there are fiscal realities that we have to meet.”

In looking at the climate for next year’s budget, there is no assurance that the same cuts may not be made again, said Kevin A. Kieff, regional director for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

“It’s not our hope that it would become permanent, but we have to be realistic,” he said.

Coles Creek has been unusually busy so far this month, Mrs. Castagnier said. During the first week of September last year, the park had 883 campers. This year, there were 2,707 during that same week, according to the park’s records. Some of that increase may be due to a late Labor Day.

There are 25 campgrounds in the Adirondacks and the Catskills that will remain open until Oct. 11.

Reprinted from the New York Outdoors Blog.
_______________________________________________

For residents of NY state and the surrounding areas, New York Outdoors Blog is THE source for information about camping, bicycling, hiking, kayaking and all things related to the great outdoors. Not a subscriber? Sign up for email updates of NY Outdoors.