My friend Becky and I went to the state fair last night for lots of reasons, among them to see the images some of our friends had entered in the photography contests but mainly to see the balloons.  There was a balloon race this morning and last night the balloons were all lined up to glow.  It was dusk and the fun was about to begin.

At 8:45 they were firing them up.

As you can see, one young fellow riding on his father’s shoulders had a balloon of his own.

The darker it got the more impressive it was.

The notion of putting fire inside a bag made of what seems to be a delicate fabric eludes me as a real possibility.   But then again, there was an engineer who proved that a bumblebee can’t fly.

Are we at the state fair?  Yes, we’re at the state fair, complete with Ferris wheels.  And lots of people.

I was very glad that we could get up close to these flying machines.

This magic couldn’t last forever and the balloons were eventually brought down.

And then it was off to the midway.

The pattern of lights on this Ferris wheel kept changing.  It was beautiful.

The idea of paying money to hang upside down in space is a little uncomfortable.  Although I suppose I would if asked.   Then again, maybe not.

The memory of those balloons will be with me for a long time.  At least until next year at this time.