As many of you know, we are both balloon enthusiasts, going to balloon festivals whenever we can and crewing when the possibility arises. Because of our love for these colorful orbs on the sky, we are also going to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in October.
As we were traveling through Iowa, we found a gem of a museum for us - the National Balloon Museum in Indianola, IA. It is a small museum by the standards of big city museums. But, it is packed with all sorts of memorabilia, envelopes, gondolas, and baskets. It even had an early home-made gondola with headlights from a car to light the balloon during night flights. The building itself depicts two inverted balloons, with their baskets turned upside-down.
Although we only had a hour or so to spare – too many miles to go to get to our destination, this was an enjoyable stop and a great, unexpected find along I80 in Iowa.
