Arizona (Cont'd)

 

 

 

 

On its east side, Page ended abruptly at the municipal airport. I let my balloons carry me out of town, over barren desert rising to distant mesas. In the distance was the Navajo Generating Station, a huge coal-fired electrical powerplant. The station provides power to three states, and its 774 foot chimneys are the tallest structures in Arizona.

 

 

I flew on. I passed over Antelope Canyon. This "slot canyon" is famous for wind- and water-sculpted sandstone formations protected by steep, overarching walls, which unfortunately don't leave much to be seen from the air.

 

 

My map showed a road running parallel to Antelope Canyon, after which there was really nowhere very good to land. Trying to fly over the giant chimneys was not all that tempting a prospect, so I called Bob on the radio and had him drive out to meet me just past Antelope Canyon.

 

 

 

I dropped in for a gentle landing near the road where the chase crew was waiting.

 

 

 

It was a calm, pleasantly warm morning. We spent some time tethering the cluster balloon before putting away the equipment and heading back to Page.

 

 

 

Celebration XLII

Crew Chief: Bob Dunnington
Chase and Inflation Crew: Gary Yantis, Jim & Quila Byrom, Windtracker Balloon crew, Edie Dunnington, Marj Walters, Kelley Zlotkin, Sarah Day, Chelsea Day.

Special Thanks to: Page Lake Powell Balloon Regatta (Val Gleave, Bryan Hill, Gary Yantis); NAPA Auto Parts, Page, AZ (Gene Tucker)

Photography: Marjorie Walters, Edie Dunnington, Kelley Zlotkin, Jim Byrom, Graham Luckett, Bill Glen, John Ninomiya

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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