2 ways to see these colorful, whimsical hot air balloons in Prosser

Conditions seemed just right — cool and calm, with plenty of blue sky — as the early morning dawn peaked over the ridge, revealing the contours of the Lower Yakima Valley.

That’s just how pilot Dawne Rushkarski likes it.

“We’re excited. We love to fly,” she said, prepping the gear needed to inflate her 90,000-cubic-foot hot air balloon.

Hundreds turned out just before dawn Friday at the Prosser Airport to watch the hot air balloon pilots take off on the first day of the Great Prosser Balloon Rally.

The 33rd annual event drew 17 whimsically colored balloons. Two more sunrise launches will take place Saturday and Sunday, and weather is expected to be favorable for the takeoff.

The event is free and family friendly. Spectators are encouraged to bring a lawn chair and arrive at 6:15 a.m. to get up close and personal with the balloons.

“It’s a real cool experience to be right up next to them and see what they’re like,” said event vice chairman Morgan Everett.

Rushkarski is a commercial pilot who’s been flying balloons since 1996. On days when she’s not flying hundreds of feet up in the air in her wicker-basket balloons, she works in telecommunications.

Ever since she was 9, she knew she wanted to become a hot air balloon pilot. She’s a firm believer in the motto: “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

“I was out driving around with my parents and I saw a balloon landing,” said Rushkarski, 52, of Monroe, who pilots the black-and-rainbowed balloon Fired Up. “I have a huge soft spot for kids and inspiring a love of aviation.”

That single event changed everything. Soon after, she was begging her parents to go to hot air balloon shows.

“I just think they’re gentle giants. They’re colorful, they’re peaceful,” she said.

“It’s going to be a good weekend to put up a balloon, I’ll tell you that,” said meteorologist Brandon Lawhorn with the National Weather Service in Pendleton. “We’re looking at light winds through the weekend. And by light, I mean under 10 mph.”

Saturday and Sunday mornings will be cool, with temperatures in the low 50s when the balloons take off. Afternoons will be in the upper 70s to low 80s.

Launching, tapping the river

From their trailer to the skies above, it only took Rushkarski about 20 minutes to get her wings. With 38 gallons of liquid propane and a burner, Fired Up was revving to go.

Rushkarski brought her 12-year-old son, Alexander, along for his first ride in about eight years. It beats being in school, but what’s his favorite part of the flight?

“Getting back down,” he said.

“He’s actually a great flight crewman,” said his mom.

Hot air balloons like Rushkarski’s can go up to 4,000 or 5,000 feet high. But 1,200 feet — about the height of four football fields — is her sweet spot.

Dozens of kayakers took to the Yakima River to watch the balloons “splash and dash” — a short touchdown on the water’s surface that gets your socks wet.

McKenna Secrist, 21, of Bothel, who pilots balloon Climb to Safety, was the first one to do it Friday. Rushkarski, who helped her train to be a balloon pilot, shouted enthusiastically.

“The race is all about accuracy for us. It’s not about who gets there first,” Rushkarski said. “I landed on the back of a pickup truck once. The driver challenged me. Everybody wanted a picture of it on the back of a pickup truck.”

Balloon pilots are at the whim of the wind. There’s no steering wheel — just a trigger release that spends propane through a burner, providing hot air for the balloon’s lift.

So landing spots can be tricky. The main rule is to avoid power lines and roadways.

And if you land on someone’s front yard, Rushkarski said it’s tradition you come bearing gifts. Specifically, wine or champagne.

After an hour in the air, and about 3 miles traveled, the veteran pilot chose a brushy field nearby 14 Hands Winery to land on Friday morning.

With a slow descent and a firm thud, Fired Up and her passengers were back on solid ground.

“Now that’s how you land a balloon,” she exclaimed.

Night glow

A balloon night glow is set for dusk Saturday at Art Fiker Stadium, 1433 Paterson Rd.

The balloon pilots will fire up their burners in a show set to music featuring synchronized lighting of the tethered balloons.

Gates open at 6 p.m. Bleacher seating is free.