Tour of Missouri: The Great Pershing Balloon Derby

Any other weekend it looks just like a farmer's field accessed by a country road off an under-traveled state highway. It is no different than the other farmer's fields that surround it.

That all changes on Labor Day Weekend. That is when the farmer's field transforms into a launching pad for a Hot Air Balloon Festival that has been occurring every Labor Day for the past thirty-eight years. The Great Pershing Balloon Derby occurs just west of Brookfield, Missouri every Labor Day weekend.

The festivities need a small amount of luck; the weather conditions have to be perfect to fly a hot air balloon. So, if the rain stays at bay and the winds are low it is worth the drive to this north-central community to see the balloons.

The schedule is pretty much the same every year. There is a flight and night glow Friday night, Saturday and Sunday evenings of the festival. There is also morning flights on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday mornings. There are small town festival activities Saturday as well; a parade, free entertainment, baby contest, and a dance.

We decided to camp at Long Branch State Park the weekend of the Derby. It was a 40 minute drive to and from the state park to the launch site. We arrived at the field around 4:30 p.m. shortly after the gates opened. We easily found a place on the grass for our chairs and picnic basket right near the boundary flags separating the balloonist from the crowd.

Food and novelty vendors helped pass the time until the launch was scheduled. The weather was questionable and the balloonist took their time deciding if it was safe enough to launch. Luckily for us, they waited long enough and the conditions became favorable! Once a decision was made, the balloonist raced to a spot on the field and raced to launch.

We were so close to the action! The night we were there around 30 balloonist took the field and later the air. The crew carried out the baskets, dragged the giant balloons out and began the process of filling them with hot air. It seemed to take forever for them to fill and stand up tall but then next to no time before they we taking the sky.

Watching the balloonist leave the ground and watching the sky fill with the hot air balloons is just an amazing site! The Short Chic loved every second of it and immediately began asking if we could come back again next year.

Several of the balloonist lifted and sat right back down so they could return and do the night glow. In the night glow, the balloons are filled with hot air but they do not launch. Instead the propane burners light the hole balloon up against the fading night sky. During this part the crowd is invited to duck under the boundary flags and walk up close to the balloonist. The Balloonist even have trading cards made up and hand them out to the crowd.

All day The Short Chic had begged to ride in a balloon. She had declared it one of her life's dreams (mind you at the age of 6)! She quickly changed her mind when we got up close to the balloon and she heard the loud noise of the propane burners. She could not get far enough away!

My Weekend Project: A PVC Camping Lamp Post and Flag Holder

I have seen a few of these around campsites and I knew I would like to have one. The only problem that I had is The Husband. He already thinks we drag too much stuff with us when we go camping and if I had told him my desire to have a PVC Camping Light Pole he would have shut it down quickly! So, that leaves a girl with only one choice: Figure out how to do it by herself. I did some internet searching and found a few road maps on RV forums. They seemed easy enough! I visited the local hardware store for the supplies: An exterior post lantern light 2 inch PVC pipe (I used 5 feet but had to purchase a 10 foot piece) A 3 inch toilet flange A 3 inch to 2 inch Reducer PVC Glue A 12 foot electric cord kit 2 - 3/4 inch PVC Caps I also used a few supplies we already had on hand: White Spray Paint 3 1/2 foot - 3/4 inch PVC Pipe Drill Bits (1 inch and 1/2 inch) Tent Stakes The first step was preparing the lantern light. I could only find black i

Liver Cheese: A Family Tradition

Today is an anniversary date. One of those dates you wish you did not have to remember but there is no way you can forget. Fifteen years ago today,two days after his birthday, my father died of lung cancer. He was a lifelong smoker and his cancer was aggressive. His battle was short. He fought for six short months after his diagnosis. He knew the chemo was not working and that his time was limited. When he came to this realization he became the best dad in the world. In the days before my father's passing, my family shared some memorable moments. One of those moments centers around the deli meat: Liver Cheese.I would not be surprised if you have never heard of it, or even never tasted it. But I was raised on it as it was one of my Dad's favorite things. What is it? Well, it is a German food that is actually called Leberkase. It is bacon, corned beef, pork, and onion that is ground together and baked. It comes with a

Tonsillectomy (Warning Photos!)

The Short Chic came down with a pretty nasty case of strep throat back in April. So, when The Boy started complaining about his throat hurting about 12 days later, I was pretty confident that he had inherited his sister's strep. Instead, The Boy was diagnosed with a peritonsillar abscess growing on his right tonsil. We had to immediately see an ENT Physician who took a needle and drained the abscess. He removed about 5.5 cc of puss from The Boys throat.and then told us that once you have a peritonsillar abscess you were high risk to keep getting them. The Boy's tonsils were now compromised and needed to be removed. We were told to plan for a two week recovery so we worked a surgery into our summer plans. Between family vacations, summer sports, and the beginning of school The Boy had his second surgery. A tonsillectomy. Pre-surgery prepping went well. It must be nice to be young and have healthy veins for an IV! The Boy had lots of pre-surgery visitors. My

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