- Oh look, another balloon!
This time it's not the whole balloon, just the minimal remnants of a few that had been tied together. - Oh, a stray balloon on the side of the road leading down from Sleeping Beauty!
How many of these lost balloons will I see during this trip? It's been only six minutes since the previous photo: the big dust cloud still hovers above the desert floor down there. - The star of most every desert-wilderness trip: the stray balloon
I stuff this into my backpack for later disposal; it's the only piece of litter I found in this McCullough Mountains wash. - In this Castle Peaks wash, I encounter my first stray balloon of the day, trapped in a desert sage bush
Will I encounter more of these today? I stuff this one in my backpack for later disposal. - Six minutes after my first balloon discovery, I stumble across a second one in the same Castle Peaks wash
This one is impaled on a cactus, so I decide not to collect it to throw in the trash later. It can stay here! - As I approach Indian Spring, I notice a balloon fragment tangled in a catclaw bush
That's balloon #3 for today! I see a few doves and hope that's a sign that Indian Spring is full of water like it was last year. - Castle Peaks Road ends after 30 minutes; I start riding the Barnwell-Searchlight railway grade and find this stray balloon
This Mother's Day balloon speaks Spanish (Feliz dia mama). It goes into my saddlebags for later disposal. - On this saddle in the Providence Mountains, I find the remains of a balloon
There's almost nothing left of this pink balloon. Did it bump into one the spiky cholla cacti up here upon landing? - I'm almost at Summit Spring, but I notice a couple of stray balloons nearby; I take a short detour to look at them close-up
Happy Mother's Day! The folks who celebrated with these balloons probably can't imagine that the balloons ended up here in the Providence Mountains (where is the Providence Mountains anyway?). - As I hike up the canyon into the Cady Mountains, I come across a balloon stuck in the brush
I make the mistake of removing it for later disposal, scraping my hand on thorns in the process! - Ah ha! A special desert flower that's occasionally found even in the most remote Mojave Desert locales: an old balloon
In this case, it's still attached to its original string, and impaled on a creosote bush. - Oh, another stray balloon to collect for disposal!
First one today. - Until now, I hadn't encountered a stray balloon yet today
Phew, I was getting worried that maybe I wouldn't find any today. I stuff the balloon in my backpack for later disposal. I see a jackrabbit darting off across the fan, my only critter sighting today. - Ah ha, I spot another stray balloon as I hike in the wash toward the south end of Broadwell Mesa
That's balloon #3 today! Ever wonder where those balloons end up when they cheerfully float away? - Already, I've encountered a second stray balloon that reached its death in a wilderness area
"Have a Berry Cool birthday," the balloon proclaims. Trash can be so cute sometimes. Give it 50 years and this will be an antique. - Here I am out in the middle of nowhere, and I find an old balloon stuck on a creosote bush
I'm surprised at how often I'll find a lost balloon while hiking in a seldom-visited area. - A happy-Mother's-Day balloon rests deflated near the road
This is the third escapee balloon that I've come across in a remote area on this trip. After your next celebration that includes balloons, try following them to see where they end up when they blow away!