We hit the dump station and dumped our holding tanks at the Elks Lodge plus refilled our fresh water by noon on Thursday. We drove about 10 miles to the Hotel Elegante and claimed the dry camping spot we’d reconnoitered the day before. Once we got the coach and trailer lined up, Donna mentioned the Burlington – Northern – Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad vehicles in the lot and wondered aloud if we weren’t off the hotel property. So before I put the jacks down and slides out, I went to the lobby to make sure we were in the right spot.

At the reception desk, I explained why we were here and where we parked our rig. The girl at the counter seemed a little confused and asked me to wait while she consulted the manager on duty. The manager came out and was very polite and helpful. She told me we were indeed on hotel property and the BNSF vehicles park on the property as crews often change there and utilize the hotel.

Then she went on to explain that as guests on the property staying in a self-contained RV we wouldn’t be supplied with hook-ups and weren’t allowed to dump any wastewater. I told her I understood this and we had sufficient capacity for the weekend. Then she told me would have access to all hotel amenities including pools, restaurants, business center, etc., but here’s the rub. My original inquiry six weeks ago said it would entail a charge of $35 for the weekend. Now I was told that was incorrect – we would have all the extras of a guest minus the room charge – nominally $159/night – for $35/night. What?! For dry camping in a dirt lot behind the hotel?

This meant our $35 Labor Day weekend just became a $140+ Labor Day weekend. What could I do? We had no plan “B.” So I paid the fee and was issued a pass to display on the coach and key cards for access to the hotel, fitness centers and pools.

Rear of the Hotel Elegante Conference and Event Center

We set up our rig to get comfortable for the next four nights while we crewed at the Labor Day Lift-Off hot air balloon event.

Our location for the next four nights

I have to to be glad we arrived early. A few other rigs pulled in that afternoon and pulled out after seeing we had occupied the primo spot. The pilot for the Heart’s A’Fire hot air balloon, Brad Rice, stopped by with his youngest son Jack along with long-time friends and crew members Yonny and Ruth around 6pm. We gave them a coach tour and had a brew together while we discussed Friday’s plan. Friday was media day and Brad expected six to eight balloons at the park to go up and promote the event. We would participate.

After they left, a car hauler with two BNSF crew vans pulled in next to us. I saw the driver and co-driver unload the crew vans, then load similar crew vans. This had me curious. After a while the two drivers – a man and a woman – stood outside their truck smoking and talking. I went out to say hi and ask what the deal was. Turns out that BNSF bases maintenance crews here just as I was told at the hotel. The crew that had been working here was now assigned to a job in Bakersfield, California and would be replaced by a crew out of Texas. The vehicles they brought in were assigned to the Texas crew and the vehicles they were taking were assigned to the crew here and now needed to be in Bakersfield. Each crew is responsible for all of their gear, including vehicles and BNSF moves the vehicles every time they rotate the crew. Interesting – I guess the bean counters at BNSF have figured this is the best stop-loss method although it creates a logistical expense.

I set my phone for a 5:10am wake-up. I slept fitfully once again but woke up feeling better than I had all week about five minutes ahead of my alarm. I met up with the rest of the crew at 5:45am and we rolled out.

At the launch site, it was as Brad anticipated – there were six or seven teams setting up plus us. It was way different than the Albuquerque Fiesta for sure. Also, we didn’t have as many crew members. Thankfully I was feeling back up to par and had no issues with the heavy lifting. It took me a minute or two to remember the sequence of steps to prepare the balloon and I also took on a couple of tasks I hadn’t performed before.

Laying the balloon envelope out

We had to attach a different sponsor banner for this event – it’s the Heart’s A’Fire Xfinity hot air balloon.

Securing the sponsor banner

Unfortunately we had a low overcast ceiling – below FAA limits for flight. We went through all of the steps for flight but everyone remained tethered with crew hands on the basket for display. After about an hour of this for the media to get their photo ops, we deflated and packed everything away. A lot of work for little reward, but the promotional value was there.

This weekend’s forecast looks very promising. If the event follows last year’s result, we can expect 140,000+ spectators at Memorial Park and more than 50 balloons. Since my crewing schedule means I actually have to get out of bed and be somewhere to do something, my posting times will be disrupted and off schedule for the rest of the weekend.