Full of Hot Air (at the Reno Balloon Races)

Every year, at the tail-end of summer, Reno hosts an air balloon race for a weekend.  The best time to go is very early morning, at dawn.  "Dawn Patrol" is timed so because the flair of these hot air balloons are exhibited at their most dramatic in the dark.  I've seen pictures of when these massive balloons glow in the dark.  It must be such a magnificent thing to photograph!  I have not seen it myself and perhaps one day, I could be bothered to yank myself from bed at 4AM on a Sunday and wrestle with ugly parking situations.  Although that didn't happen today (yet), I roused myself at 6:30AM (on a Sunday) to gawk at hot air balloons and snap a few photos.

While I'm exactly not sure how the races work, how one wins, what one wins, where the "race track" is, etc., I am a (very distant) spectator out there to take pictures.  And it doesn't look like I'm the only one!

And I ended my morning with a fritata, an excellent cup of joe and the Sunday NewYork Times al fresco at Coffee Bar (where the rustic farmhouse table was just gorgeous - just like the weather this morning was!).  

Happy weekend, everyone!  Enjoy the last remaining days of summer and here's to hoping we get the polar vortex this winter!