I generally start researching activities online a day or two before arriving in a new place. Several times this has meant I JUST missed something big or I'm leaving before the big event happens. Although I always slightly kick myself and wish I could attend those big events, I also think the point of this trip was not to see how many county fairs I could go to, or First Fridays on Main Street I could attend. This has meant I have been to several places where the town is in a lull between more "engaging" times. Regardless, I feel this is always exactly the experience I was meant to have. This allows me to see the city for what it really is and not what nifty events it throws.
To do my research, I start with "events" and "things to do" paired with dates I will be in town and have time to do things. Then I type in things like "bingo" "volleyball" "movies in the park" etc. I'll check out the local chamber of commerce calendar as well as the newspaper, meetup.com, rec center and even the city website's calendar (if they have one). I also try to look into public social media posts as other formats don't always prove fruitful.
When I was doing this a few days ago for Casper, I came across what they call "The Casper Balloon Roundup". You guessed it - hot air balloons! What luck! I have never seen hot air balloons before, so I have been looking forward to this all week. I set my alarm for 5am. (I'm not one for waking up early. Ever since my four years of high school, waking up at 5am for my 2 hour commute into school - I much prefer to sleep past those hours and try to catch up on the sleep I was deprived of in high school.) With the right motivation (mostly: adventure), I can do anything!
So there I was, driving to the vantage point I had scoped out last night. I planned to get there at 5:30am so I could see the "mass launch" scheduled for 6:00am. With snacks, a hot chocolate, a blanket, camera and camping chair - I set up shop overlooking the field where they were having the launch.
As I waited for the balloons, I grieved the images I had in my mind of the balloons setting sail as the sun started to crest the earth. The sunrise came and went and the 6:00am launch I woke up early for didn't happen. Other people slowly joined and I engaged in conversation as we watched the process of the balloons and baskets being set up. Eventually one balloon would set sail and another would follow suit maybe 10 minutes later the last maybe around 7:20am. It was all a very anti-climatic experience. I'm not sure I would call it a "mass launch", but it was such an incredible experience nonetheless. The Casper Mountains gave a perfect backdrop for some of the photos I took.
How can you not be in awe of these giant simple mechanisms?! Hot air balloons provide a childish whimsy that is delightful to any participant or observer. It was totally worth the early morning wake up. And yes, I did go back and take a nap.
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