A tisket, a tasket
Hot Air and a Wicker Basket by Heidi Bell Gease There are lots of ways to see the Black Hills: from the back of a motorcycle, through a window of the 1880 Train, from the vantage point of Black Elk Peak, but for many people, nothing beats floating above the trees and lakes in a hot air balloon. “It’s a different kind of sensation,” said Keely Mahony, who owns Black Hills Balloons with her husband Damien. “It’s just so surreal and beautiful that I think you kind of forget that you’re in the air, in a weird way.” Black Hills Balloons has taken thousands of people flying over the Hills since Steve Bauer launched the business in the mid-1980s. He decided to sell it a few years ago, just as the Mahony’s were tiring of their fasterpaced life in Orlando, Florida. “We thought we wanted a different kind of life,” said Keely, who was spending long hours at her job in marketing with Hard Rock International. Damien, a native of Ireland, was managing Orlando Balloon Rides and flying the largest hot air balloon in the U.S. The couple had vacationed in the Black Hills several times before. “Damien fell in love with the area and with the flying here,” Keely said. “It’s really challenging but really beautiful.” The transition seemed meant to be. The Mahonys have brought new energy to the 30-year-old business, and Bauer has had the opportunity to stay on as a pilot without worrying about the details. Weather permitting, Black Hills Balloons offers flights each morning at sunrise from May 1 through October 31. You can also arrange for an off-season flight if conditions allow. Balloons lift off at sunrise, when the weather is most stable. Warm updrafts and winds often pick up on summer afternoons, and those
Photo courtesy of: Black Hills Balloons
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