For a few minutes, I flew with the hot-air balloons. We headed west, away from Skowhegan.

 

 

 

 

 

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After a while, the hot-air balloons went low and move slowly off to the south. After conferring with my chase crew on the radio, I decided to stay higher and continue to the west.

The woods were very thick, spreading out to the horizons. Ballooning over wooded areas is a beautiful experience, made a bit more exciting by the knowledge that being becalmed over the forest with nowhere to land can be a very bad thing. However, the situation that day was just about ideal, with a good number cleared fields scattered here and there along my track to the west, and a steady 10 mph wind up above to move me along.

I dropped in low to say hello to two ladies standing in their yard.

A bit further on, I crossed over the Kennebec River.

Continued....