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The Fun of Ballooning

AP Photo/Keystone/Martial Trezzini

Balloons Taking Off

Hot air balloons taking off from the resort of Chateau d'Oex, in the Swiss Alps, during the last weekend of the 25th International Hot Air Balloon week, in Chateau d'Oex, Switzerland, 2003. More than 100 balloons from 19 countries took part in the event.
AP Photo/Keystone/Olivier Maire

Balloons over the Swiss Alps

Hot air balloons fly over the village of Zermatt, Switzerland. They celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first takeoff in Zermatt of Edouard Spelterini (1852-1931), who went on to fly over the Swiss Alps.
AP Photo/Mel Evans

An Early Morning Start

People gather as a hot air balloon inflates in the early morning Wednesday, April 11, 2007, in Clinton, N.J., during cooler-than-average weather.
AP Photo/Kyodo

Balloons Rise in Saga, Japan

Hot air balloons rise in the morning sun in a competition during the 2006 Saga International Balloon Fiesta in Saga, western Japan. Some 110 balloons participated in the five day balloon festival and more than 800,000 spectators watched the event.
AP Photo/Jake Schoellkopf

Big Honey-Bee at Albuquerque

A hot air balloon in the shape of a honey bee flies on the last day of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky

Balloons at the Catherine Palace

Hot air balloons prepare to fly as a part of a ballooning competition in front of the Catherine Palace at Pushkin near St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, June 21, 2007.
AP Photo/Keystone/Laurent Gillieron

Holy Cow!

A giant hot air balloon made in the shape of a cow flies above a swiss chalet in the skiing resort of Chateau d'Oex, in the Swiss Alps, during the opening day of the 26th International Hot Air Balloon week. More than 130 balloons from 20 countries took part in the event.
AP Photo/KEYSTONE/Martial Trezzini

International Hot Air Balloon Week

Hot air balloons take off at Chateau d'Oex, in the Swiss Alps, during the opening day of the 27th International Hot Air Balloon week.
AP Photo/Keystone, Lukas Lehmann

Funny Face

A funny-faced hot air balloon flies during the opening day of the 29th International Hot Air Balloon week at Chateau d'Oex, Switzerland.
AP Photo/Luiz Costa/FILE

Balloon Reflections in Brazil

People watch hot air balloons as they reflect off Barigui Lake during the Copa de Balonismo at Barigui Park, in Curitiba, Brazil.
AP Photo/KEYSTONE/Andree-Noelle Pot

Vincent, with Friendly Lion

A hot air balloon in the shape of Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh's face is prepared for flight, and another balloon showing a lion rises, at the International Hot Air Balloon Week in the Swiss Alps.
AP Photo/Mel Evans

Weird and Wonderful

Distinctively shaped hot air balloons inflate at Solberg Airport, Friday, July 27, 2007, in Readington, N.J. As many as 100 balloons took part in the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning.
AP Photo/Rodney White

Purple People-Eater Flies

A purple people-eater balloon from Georgia and a giant bunch of carrots from Florida float above a photographer in Indianola, Iowa. The balloons were two of the specialty balloons inflated during a mass ascension at the National Balloon Classic.
AP Photo/Keystone/Celine Gillieron

A Cluster of Balloons

Hot air balloons take off in Chateau d'Oex, in the Swiss Alps, during the opening day of the 26th International Hot Air Balloon week.
AP Photo/Nathan Bilow

Colorful in Colorado

Two of the 12 hot air balloons taking part in the first "Great Western Hot Air Balloon Round Up" are seen between aspen trees as they take flight at Mount Crested Butte, Colorado.
AP Photo/John Gress

The Energizer Bunny ... Still Growing

Pilot Garry Haruskce, right, and worker Jean Schwartz make sure everything is going to plan as they inflate the Energizer Bunny hot air balloon at the Festival of Balloons in Tigard, Ore. The festival featured 40 balloons.
AP Photo/Amy Sancetta

Balloons Glow in Ohio

Flames light up the evening as hot air balloonists participate in the "Balloon Glow," as the annual Blossom Time Festival begins in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky

Charger at the Catherine Palace

This horse-shaped balloon is pictured on Sunday, June 24, 2007, taking part in the Hot Air Balloon World Cup in front of the Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo, a former Imperial estate near St. Petersburg, Russia.
AP Photo/ Philippe Gisselbrecht

Shambling over Chambley

Hot air balloons take off from Chambley in eastern France during the Mondial Air Ballons, the largest European hot-air balloon gathering, attended by some 1,000 crews from all continents.
AP Photo/Uzay Hacaoglu

Scenic Flight over Cappadocia, Turkey

Hot air balloons rise to the sky at sunrise in Cappadocia, central Turkey. Formed by gas bubbling through ash, Cappadocia has become a favorite site for tourists in hot-air balloons who can slowly drift above the "fairy chimneys" of stone that are so soft that Byzantine Greeks carved subterranean cities out of them.