they were UNDER the bridge!  And they were not hiking the bottom of the Gorge - they were flying in the basket of the hot-air balloon!  Phil and Susan were picked up in Darrek's (our balloon pilot) van, around 7 am this past Saturday.  Darrek drove them to the Green, which is behind Simon Pearce Restaurant here in Quechee.  This is a popular launching site and is just 1 mile north of my Inn.  On occasion, when wind conditions and air currents are just right, Darrek will launch his balloon from the backyard of the Inn so that the flight will take them over the spectacular Quechee Gorge.

On this particular Saturday, winds and conditions were extremely calm and favored a launch from the Green.  They lifted off and slowly headed towards the Gorge.  Winds were so still and they weren't making much progress.  Darrek flew higher, trying to catch a different air current.  He was successful and they flew over and along the Ottaquechee River, which flows through the bottom of the Gorge.  Darrek slowly desended the balloon down into the Gorge and set the basket right in the river.  There they were - standing in the basket of a hot-air balloon at the bottom of the Quechee Gorge.  Water was rushing everywhere around them but they were dry and quite safe.  Phil and Susan were elated.  After a few moments, the balloon slowly ascended and Darrek asked Susan if she would like to fly under the bridge.  "Sure, why not", said Susan.  Darrek radioed Randy, the chase crew, and said, "Randy, get your camera ready - we're doing it".  Randy knew what that meant.  Darrek has been flying his balloon for many years, and this was only the 5th time he was able to fly the balloon under the bridge.  As you can well imagine, weather conditions must be absolutely perfect in order to maneuver such a feat.  Also, what makes this event even more spectacular is that all other 4 times when the balloon flew under the bridge, they were flying from north to south.  This was the first time they were flying south to north!  The top of the bridge was packed with on-lookers and cars were stopped all along Route 4.  People were out of their cars and cameras were clicking everywhere as Darrek slowly and expertly lifted the balloon up from the river, then under the bridge and then slowly ascended on the other side.  The crowds were cheering, yelling and applauding as the balloon continued to ascend and fly off towards the valley.  At the end of the flight, they landed in a field several miles away and Randy met them with the chase van.  They celebrated with the traditional champagne toast and the Balloonist Prayer.  Phil, Susan, Darrek and Randy were elated when they arrived back at the Inn and couldn't wait to recount their adventure - the adventure-of-a-lifetime!  I have an email into Randy and hopefully he'll send me some great photos.  Will post them on my website as soon as I receive them.  Keep checking back..............