{"id":3824,"date":"2016-01-30T23:19:25","date_gmt":"2016-01-31T05:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/outsidesuburbia.com\/?p=3824"},"modified":"2021-04-30T13:13:24","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T18:13:24","slug":"hot-air-balloon-phoenix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/outsidesuburbia.com\/north-america\/united-states\/hot-air-balloon-phoenix\/","title":{"rendered":"Soaring over the Sonoran Desert: A hot air balloon ride in Phoenix"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The 3 of us, college buddies, set out to the beautiful desert of Arizona for some catching up.  We drove to Sedona, in the northern Verde Valley to see the beautiful red sandstone formations one day, hiked up the Camelback mountains on another. But the best memory was the day we woke up early one morning before the sun, for a hot air balloon ride in Phoenix over the Sonoran desert land.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The balloon ride was mesmerizing- from the fabric envelope to the vent designs… to the burners that blast out flames controlled skillfully by the pilot as you float.. up up and away… It was so serene floating up in the air watching the flora and fauna from the balloon\u2019s basket.  We watched the sun coming up and a few coyotes and jackrabbits from our basket.  We saw some giant cacti – the saguaro which is a tree-like cactus species native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona that can grow to be over 70 feet tall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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