Joyce and Gary Wappel were among the many people who spotted Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority's custom-made slot machine-shaped hot air balloon floating above the Battlefords at various times during Northwest Territorial Days.
While admiring it as it floated near their home on one of its launches into the Living Skies, Joyce asked Gary if he might enjoy a ride.
His response was emphatically in the negative. It was beautiful to watch, but the idea of being that far from the ground gave him the shivers. This response caused Joyce to gulp inwardly. In cahoots with some colleagues at work she had already secretly "volunteered" Gary to take a VIP ride in the craft. Co-worker Claude Paradis, despite a healthy respect of heights - let's not use the word "fear" - had agreed to accompany him. The trip was, after all, a birthday surprise for his buddy.
The "surprise" part of the adventure got lost in the shuffle of organization, but in the end Gary decided if Claude was brave enough, so must he be.
The first evening chosen for their ascent into the vast blue yonder turned out to be too windy to launch the 80 feet tall, 40 feet wide balloon. That meant another day of heightened anticipation for the would-be adventurers fond of having two feet planted firmly on the ground.
Thursday evening arrived in a sea of calm and I was enjoying some time working in my yard when I looked up and there was the SIGA balloon floating serenely above the river valley. I waved, thinking Claude and Gary might be up there.
And they were. They had quite a story to tell at work the next day.
The adventure actually began in the company of gracious hosts at the Gold Eagle Casino - Kerry Sapp, Kevin Sapp and Kelly Atcheynum - who arranged for the balloon ride and also entertained them with a meal at the casino while they were waiting for the balloon to inflate.
The flight itself started with balloonist Sebastian Fernandez springing an instructional taste of things to come on them shortly after launch.
Landing a balloon basket can be tricky and bit rough, he told his passengers. The next thing they knew they were heading back to Earth, where the basket landed with a thud, tipping over on impact.
Claude and Gary found themselves in sudden and uncomfortably close contact since they had failed to hang on.
"Practice landing," the pilot quipped. "This is what is going to happen when we land."
Once again upright, the ride officially got underway. Both men describe the ascent as so astonishingly rapid, their senses had little time to keep up.
Both recall grabbing their eyeglasses anytime they were brave enough to peek over the sides and Claude had his camera securely slung around his neck. He admits the first few photos he snapped after takeoff were a bit fuzzy. As their nerves calmed, they settled into enjoying the flight.
The pilot explained the direction of the flight would depend on the air currents at various altitudes. At around 1,000 metres, they floated east, following the North Saskatchewan River as far as the North Battleford Power Centre, when the pilot took the balloon up a bit higher and they drifted southwest towards Highway 4.
Both men describe the view as "spectacular."
"It looks so beautiful. I've been up in a small plane, but we were moving so slowly it was totally different," Gary observed.
One of the surprises at high altitude was sharing air space with dragonflies. They also caught glimpses of wildlife way down below.
Another phenomenon also had them both in awe.
"It's super quiet up there," Gary said.
When it was time to descend Sebastian indicated a road where he said he planned to land the basket.
With their practice landing fresh in their minds, Gary and Claude braced themselves as the pilot unerringly guided his craft toward his target. The basket hit and once again toppled, but this time they were ready, hanging on tightly, knees bent.
After being dragged by the partially deflated balloon about 15 feet, they found themselves with the lip of the basket at the edge of the road.
The pilot sprang out as soon as the basket stopped being pulled along the ground. Claude said he and Gary quickly followed as they were not ready for a solo flight.
The experience had a profound impact on both and, even though the "double dare" activity was never on either man's bucket list, doing it again if given the opportunity gets a solid thumbs up.
Claude and Gary thank the Gold Eagle Casino for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
