Photo: Winery from our Sedona Hot Air Balloon trip

Our hot air balloon flew towards the Verde Valley from Sedona.  There are several wineries in that area, and one of them was below us in this photo as we flew towards the end of our trip.

You can see the shadow of our balloon at the left of this photo, and at the top of the photo is one of the companion balloons to ours, very close to the ground.

The wineries near Sedona offer tours and tastings.  Dave and I have not yet visited them, although we did do a wine tour of the Patagonia area in southern Arizona.  It is good to see a wine industry developing in Arizona, and the quality of the wines can be surprisingly good.

This week we have underwater photos from our recent trip to the Galapagos Islands posted this on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Reflections of our Balloon in Oak Creek

After hovering over Oak Creek for a few moments, as shown in my photos from the past two days, our balloon pilot actually touched the bottom of the balloon basket onto the surface of the creek, then rose.

This photo shows the reflection of our balloon in the creek as we rose up to a more typical altitude for a hot air balloon flight.

This week we have underwater photos from our recent trip to the Galapagos Islands posted this on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Lower Oak Creek from a Hot Air Balloon

This is another photo that I presume most people would not guess was taken from a hot air balloon, but it was.  It looks like a photo taken from the banks of the stream, or perhaps standing on one of the boulders in the stream.

Our hot air balloon pilot was obviously remarkably skillful to maneuver the balloon to achieve this perspective on lower Oak Creek.

Tomorrow I will show proof that this photo was taken from a hot air ballon and not from the banks of the creek.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of the undersea life of the Galapagos Islands.  We just returned from a trip there, and we bought new underwater cameras before our trip, which we put to good use.

Photo: Hot Air Ballooning Very Close to Oak Creek

Our hot air balloon pilot dipped down towards lower Oak Creek.  How low could he go?  I will show more, tomorrow.

This week we have photos from a very old section of Rabat, Morocco, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Flying a Balloon Close to the Canyon Wall

Our hot air balloon pilot could control the altitude, but of course not the direction of our balloon flight.  When we drifted towards lower Oak Creek, our pilot dropped when we crossed the ridge.

Ordinarily one would think that a photo such as this was taken while hiking, but this was from a balloon flying close and lower than the canyon ridge.

And I did not use a telephoto for this photo.  We were actually this close.

This week we have photos from a very old section of Rabat, Morocco, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Hot Air Balloon Diving Low

During the last few days I have shown photos of our balloon high above the balloons that accompanied our flight. Here is the opposite perspective.

Our pilot dropped altitude and we flew lower than our fellow balloons at this point.  Why?  I will show you in the next few days.

This week we have photos from a very old section of Rabat, Morocco, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Hot Air Ballooning South of Sedona

This is another view from our hot air balloon that soared high after takeoff.  One of the other balloons that took off a few minutes later is far below.

Our location for liftoff was a little south of where the southern road to Red Rock Crossing State Park intersects with highway 89A leading from Sedona towards Cottonwood.  This photo looks back towards that intersection.

The first two photos in this series show the perspective from a high vantage point.  In the next few days I will show some views from down low.

This week we have photos from a very old section of Rabat, Morocco, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: When is Your Next Vacation?

The summer vacation season is drawing to a close, and I hope you have enjoyed your summer vacation.

To illustrate the return from vacation, this is a photo of an art installation ih a rotunda in the airport in Santiago, Chile.   It is a tower of suitcases and row of suitcases on the floor.

Maybe this is what happens to luggage that the airlines lose.  The lost suitcases become object for art in Chile.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of the Spanish colonial architecture of Grenada, Nicaragua.

Photo: Kite Flying on the Beach!

Summer is a popular time for people in Scottsdale/Phoenix to head over to the California coast to enjoy the ocean, cool breezes, and attractions.  This is a view from one of the bluffs along the beach between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, looking down on a kite flying above the waves.

This week we are showing photos of the wildlife of Tanzania on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Segway Tour of Scottsdale

While I was taking a photo of the art installation along the canal I noticed that across the canal was a Segway tour of Scottsdale rolling by the walkway on the other side of the canal.

That looks like a fun way to cover a lot of territory to see the area, although I would prefer the exercise of walking.

Also, I suspect it would be hard to take photos while zooming by on a Segway.

This week we are showing photos of the colorful architecture and street scenes of Grenada, Nicaragua on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Hot Air Balloon at Sunrise

The sunrise has not yet hit the ground, but this hot air balloon is catching first rays of the morning sun.

This week we are showing photos of the wildlife of the Serengeti Plain of Tanzania on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Oak Creek Shade

After a hot air balloon ride, it is time for a Champagne breakfast.  We did not have ours at the spot where we landed, but went a few miles away to a shade spot along a creek that feeds into Oak Creek south of Sedona.

This week we are showing photos of the ancient Khmer temples of Cambodia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Detail of Hot Air Balloon Basket

This is a close photo of the basket of our hot air balloon.  It has an attractive, weathered patina.  The slot is helpful as a step to dlimb over the side of the basket.

This week we are showing photos of the ancient Khmer temples of Cambodia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Taking Down the Hot Air Balloon

I showed some photos of our hot air balloon ride outside Sedona a couple of months ago, so I will show a few more this week.

This is a photo of our balloon shortly after it landed.  The balloon has deflated, and it is partially rolled up in preparation for being stored away.

This week we are showing photos of the ancient Khmer temples of Cambodia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Sonoran Desert in Winter

And this photo shows the beautiful weather during the holidays.

I do not think I could ever live in snow country.

I prefer sunshine, blue skies, and the beauty of the desert during the winter months.

This week we are showing photos of the sunny Grand Canyon on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Four-Wheeling in the Desert

And here is what you can do during the holidays in Arizona.

Here is a photo of my stepson's jeep while he is four-wheel driving in the Sonoran Desert.

He has a lot of fun and sees a lot while traversing the desert and back roads.

Arizona weather is very good during the holidays.

This week we are showing photos of the sunny Grand Canyon on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: End of balloon flight

The selection of a landing spot is an important part of a balloon flight, of course.  There are not many roads in high desert territory around Sedona.  Out balloons found a landing spot near a Forest Service dirt road where the chase vehicles could reach us.

Of course the end of the balloon flight was followed by a champagne picnic breakfast.

This week we are showing photos of the main temple complex of Bangkok, Thailand on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Flying close to the Canyon Wall

I mentioned a few days ago that our balloon pilot had won the prestigious Reno Air Races.  He was very skillful.  I took this photo not from a hike, but from the balloon, and I was using a regular lens, not a telephoto.

Our pilot hugged the side of this bluff and then dipped the balloon down and actually touched the basket into the water in a narrow stream.  My husband, Dave, actually leaned over the side of the balloon basket and got a photo of the reflection of the balloon in the stream, with water from the basket dripping down onto the reflection.

I will post some of his photos from the balloon flight some day in the future, as he was using a telephoto lens.  His photos are stored on a different computer and I need to get all of our photo files consolidated and organized.

This week we are showing photos of the main temple complex of Bangkok, Thailand on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Balloons and the Verde Valley

Our balloons drifted from Sedona southward towards the Verde Valley, with one of our companion balloons emerging above the ridge line and another emerging from the low shadows.

This is a view southward across the Verde Valley to Mingus Mountain.  Judy often shows photos of the mining town of Jerome on her Prescott Area Daily Photo.  Jerome clings to the side of Mingus Mountain.  The town of Cottonwood sits in the valley at the base of the mountain.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of the main temple complex of Bangkok, Thailand

Photo: Balloons against the Sedona landscape

Here is a another view of the balloons flying below us on our hot air balloon flight, with the red ground of Sedona in the background.

Our balloon pilot was a firefighter from Reno who was visiting Sedona for a while and was flying some of the balloon flights.  He was the winner of the Reno Air Races, and he did some very tricky flying, as I will show in a the coming days.

This week we have photos of the temples of Cambodia posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.