This morning I woke up early and headed north to Loveland for the Sweetheart Balloon Rally held at the Larimer County Fairgrounds. Arriving prior to sunrise a chill was in the air which along with the breeze helped make things quite brisk. While sponsors were setting up their booths, there was no sign of any hot air balloons now less than an hour away from the expected launch time. After determining where the balloons would be set-up I found my way to the building where the briefing would soon be held for the balloon pilots. Once the briefing started and they went over some logistical details, the weather forecast was discussed in detail. A lot of standing around took place, and finally a couple of pilots brought out their baskets in hope the wind would die down. To help judge the winds a helium balloon was put up into the sky to get a measure of the winds more so above the ground. The first one went off and then took off at a good rate of speed to the southeast, not encouraging. The organizers waited a half hour and with winds dying down near the ground put another helium balloon and this time it went towards the southwest at a slower pace but also not encouraging since the event could not launch knowing the winds would take them near the Loveland Fort Collins airport. By this time it was decided to cancel the morning launch, and as I waited the winds completed their 180 degree shift and started to pick up once again.

They will try again on Sunday, but some weather is suppose to move in this afternoon and stick around on Sunday as well. Hopefully it will work out for them. I was able to get a couple of images however the one below pretty much sums up the morning.