{"id":45342,"date":"2021-08-08T19:52:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-09T01:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/its-more-than-just-flying-for-the-people-behind-the-cortez-rendezvous\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:24:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:24:45","slug":"its-more-than-just-flying-for-the-people-behind-the-cortez-rendezvous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/its-more-than-just-flying-for-the-people-behind-the-cortez-rendezvous\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s more than just flying for the people behind the Cortez Rendezvous"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jerry
Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald Balloons began soaring Friday morning to commence the Cortez Rendezvous Hot Air Balloon Rally in Parque de Vida. This year\u2019s event included 17 balloons.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

By now you may have seen them floating through the sky or celebrating at the Days Inn hotel. And while this tight-knit group is enthusiastic to share their passion with the public, there was a deeper note to their festivities.<\/p>\n

A talented pilot and beloved member of their unofficial hot air balloon family, Nicholas Meleski, died in June after a hot air balloon accident.<\/p>\n

He flew all over \u2014 even as far as Taiwan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt broke my heart in a million pieces,\u201d said event organizer Cookie See. \u201cHe was tremendous. He\u2019s known all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

She worked with Cortez local Lan Degeneres to create bandanas the group could wear to commemorate him.<\/p>\n

\"Event
Event organizer Cookie See proudly models a bandana at the after-party to Saturday morning\u2019s flight.<\/span>Kala Parkinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cWe all loved him so much,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She acknowledged such risks can come with flying.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s part of balloon life,\u201d she said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t always work out the way you think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much like life in general, her friend said.<\/p>\n

\"Nicholas
Nicholas Meleski always wore bandanas, and here he is on the group\u2019s memorial design.<\/span>Kala Parkinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Several spoke fondly in his memory, devastation evident in their expressions.<\/p>\n

The flyers have a sense of humor, though.<\/p>\n

Zetroc, or Cortez backward, as he is known, was present for the weekend celebrations.<\/p>\n

\"Zetroc
Zetroc is prepared to enjoy the balloon rally festivities.<\/span>Kala Parkinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The smiling skeleton was there as a nod to Meleski, said flyer friend Chris Foy.<\/p>\n

Despite the collective feeling of loss, See wanted this weekend (and this story) to be happy.<\/p>\n

And it was.<\/p>\n

The energy in the air at Parque de Vida was infectious.<\/p>\n

Each attendee was touched by the hot air balloon magic in some way.<\/p>\n

For instance, it has always been on Ina Tinsley\u2019s bucket list to experience hot air balloons.<\/p>\n

Her family visiting from Richmond, Virginia, placed the event on their vacation itinerary.<\/p>\n

That years-long dream was finally fulfilled in Cortez.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could never find anyone who was willing to go,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just exciting to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her family volunteered as stand-in balloon crew members, elated to be a part of the rally in any form.<\/p>\n

The Rendezvous was a gathering of flyers taking part in a centuries-old sport steeped in tradition. Many of them have flown for decades, and meet throughout the West.<\/p>\n

After the balloons landed Saturday morning, the celebration continued at the hotel.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was rowdy back in the day,\u201d said Chris Foy. \u201cBeer and dirt.\u201d<\/p>\n

This reporter\u2019s day began with a first flight with pilot Glenn See aboard Itszee. As we slipped from the ground, a hint of nervousness quickly faded as Itszee climbed into the hazy sky, rising with a pink sun.<\/p>\n

On the ground, children screamed \u201cHi!\u201d and dogs barked from below as they watched the colorful orbs sway by.<\/p>\n

As the bustle of activity below grew more distant, there was a peace in the morning air, and in Itszee\u2019s basket, the assurance and confidence that the flyers bring.<\/p>\n

\"Pilot
Pilot Glenn See shares a champagne toast after leading the group in reciting \u2018The Baloonist\u2019s Prayer\u2019.<\/span>Kala Parkinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In the air, there is time for stories, about how we arrived together at this moment and what might lie ahead. Afterward, there was time for hugs and lingering, heartfelt handshakes.<\/p>\n

\"A
A balloon glow took place Saturday night at Parque de Vida.<\/span>Courtesy Candy Stevens<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

dedicated flyers remember one of their beloved in this weekend\u2019s celebrations <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[21,28,167,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-45342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cortez","tag-headlines","tag-local-news-lead","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45342"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86451,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45342\/revisions\/86451"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45342"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=45342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}