A hot-air balloon skimmed treetops barely missing power lines, buildings and flag poles before unexpectedly landed at the Iron Horse Inn at 9 a.m. Monday.
Three passers-by helped the pilot and passengers reach the ground safely by holding down the basket of the balloon, so the individuals could disembark.
Passers-by Eileen Breen, her 12-year-old son, Rory Stoddard, and her fiance Walt Bedinger were visiting Durango during the Memorial Day weekend.
“We would like to eventually retire in Durango and were trying to get a feel for the place,” Breen said.
Breen, her son and Bedinger were packing up the car to head home when Breen saw the hot-air balloon descending toward the parking lot of the Iron Horse Inn.
The balloon continued to drop lower to the ground, dodging cottonwoods, power lines, flag poles and the side of the building.
When the pilot, Doug Lenberg, was hovering over the parking lot, he leaned out of the basket and told Breen, Stoddard and Bedinger, “I could use a little help here.”
The three immediately grabbed onto the basket, trying to steady it, as it bounced in the parking lot.
Michael McCardell, manager of Iron Horse Inn, also helped hold onto the basket until the pilot’s pick-up crew showed up.
It was really a great experience for all of the guests, McCardell said.
“I do not think it is ever planned where those guys land,” he said.
Lenberg and McCardell have joked about having a hot-air balloon land at the Iron Horse Inn, but McCardell said he never expected it.
Lenberg usually lifts off near Animas Valley Elementary School and flies down to the south end of the valley, landing wherever is most convenient.
“I had no certain course other than getting down to the end of the valley,” he said. “As the weather shifted, it pushed the balloon toward the Iron Horse Inn; I was aiming toward the parking lot the whole time.”
When asked about the people who helped, Lenberg said, “They were awesome.”
Breen said the bike race took a lot of the trio’s attention during the vacation, but what happened with the air balloon was a nice touch to the weekend.
“It was a local business landing in another local business’s parking lot unexpectedly,” she said.
“We try to make it an interactive community experience,” Lenberg said. “Everywhere I land, local people will come out and become part of the ballooning crew.”
tferraro@durangoherald.com
