MoonRose was regularly in the media

MoonRose has been pictured in or on many items such as... magazines, newsletters, news papers, bumper stickers, rally rosters, trading cards, rack cards, jigsaw puzzle, collector pin, key fob, shirts, embroidered jackets, and more. Also featured below are a few articles written by MoonRose Pilot, Marta Rose.

Back when Marta purchased the hot-air balloon from the First National Bank in Las Cruces (which was then being swallowed by another bank), they gave her a Balloon Key Fob and the "High Finance" Balloon Lapel Pin.

This jigsaw puzzle has MoonRose on it
as well as a balloon which has a similar color and pattern.

Can you find MoonRose?
At the bottom of this page is a close-up picture with MoonRose circled.

The puzzle (3 feet wide) was a limited edition created by B.G.I. Puzzles.

MoonRose BookMarks Both created by Wind Drifter Photographic Art Albuquerque, New Mexico

The Bumper Sticker below features MoonRose
and over 50 other hot-air balloons very artistically.

This Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Bumper Sticker takes no skill in finding MoonRose.
MoonRose provided the amber-yellow color Kodak is noted for.

This article, written by Marta Rose,
was published in several of the popular balloonist publications.
The White Sands Balloon Rally is annually scheduled for September.
Due to the events of 9/11/2001, the Rally was postponed until January of 2002.

Ten and ½

After September 11th, 2001, the White Sands Balloon Rally looked like it just might become a distant memory. But, thanks to the efforts of the retired (HA!) Drakes, it was only postponed. And though we were not able to fly at the Dunes, the 10&1/2 White Sands Balloon rally did happen in the skies over Alamogordo, NM, during the weekend of January 12th and 13th, 2002.

The reception Friday night at the Civic Center gave us all the opportunity to mingle, swap stories, deliberate possible launch sites, and hook up with sponsors. Of course, we're not used to being in Alamogordo in the Winter (BRRRR!!), so we all discussed accommodations for parking spaces at the motels , so we could hook up cords to heat tanks.

Saturday morning pilot briefing found pilots discussing which launch site would give the best view of Alamogordo in the "light & variable " mode. It sure was odd to see all those familiar faces swathed in cold weather gear, though!. Pilots and crews dispersed to points all over the city, and as the sun came up, "rainbow bubbles from heaven" started popping up all over the sky. As I rose above the earth, I looked over to the dunes and was struck by the vast whiteness against the mountains, and remembered the balloons floating there 16 months ago, and was grateful to be able to have that view this day.

Light and variable was definitely the watchword of that day of flying, with many pilots (ask Jim Hoidahl what his GPS was doing that morning!) actually doing something akin to a spiral box -a new balloon Olympic event, to be sure! MoonRose sort of meandered NE, did 2 landings, and finally came to rest in the Hospital's Heliport. Some pilots were seen floating as far away as La Luz and nearly to Tularosa!

Saturday afternoon was more flying and a glow, all well attended. Some of us went to see the Stealth bomber at Holloman Air Force Base. It looks a lot like a well folded Origami, waiting patiently to catapult into the sky.

Sunday morning was more of the same. Variable & light, that is. This time we seemed to have less "box" and more NE drift, though. This time MoonRose made the arroyo , at the edge of the Heliport. The wonderful crew walked her out of the cactus and native vegetation to the street next the hospital, where local spectators were able to get up close and personable with a "rainbow bubble from heaven".

Thanks to Terry and Mary Jo Drake, the sponsors, the crew, and the pilots who made the skies over Alamogordo come alive with magic in the midst of winter!

'Twas a most excellent flying event! I give it a 10 & ½!!

Marta K. Rose
Pilot for MoonRose

ANNUAL SAINT PATRICK'S DAY BALLOON RALLY
BELEN, NEW MEXICO

14 & 15 March 1998

Since moving to Las Cruces nine months ago, we have been fortunate to be able to indulge our love for ballooning by volunteering to crew. In the process, we have met some very fine people and had some wonderful experiences. It seems one event leads to yet another friend and/or learning experience.

The January Las Cruces Balloon Rally (a stellar event!) paired us with a pilot from Roswell. He told us about the annual event in Los Lunas on March 14 and 15, and asked us if we wanted to crew for him there. Consulting a map, we decided we could get there in a reasonable amount of time. "Yes!" was our answer.

On the 13th, we arrived in Belen in plenty of time (it's a good thing the highway speed limit in NM is 75 mph!) to find the motel and dinner. Not wanting to wander around lost early in the morning, we set out to find the flight field. Golly, its SO easy to forget just HOW DARK it is in NM when the sun goes down! 45 minutes later, we knew where we had to be at first light.

In the morning, there was the never-old thrill of walking a field full of arriving balloonists and their "rigs"; observing all the different types and sizes of transport and chase vehicles, and gawking at all the beautiful envelopes. Connecting with our pilot, we learned the weather forecast was less than ideal… strong winds and a chance for showers, but Sunday's forecast was even worse. If we were going to be able to fly at all, the best chance was for Saturday.

The sun popped out in a bright blue but cloudy NM day, but the winds were just a bit gusty. And there was a "box" pattern developing. So we waited. The more adventuresome took off, giving us an opportunity to observe the box phenomenon and flight-patterns of other balloonists. Finally it was a "GO!" for launch!

Assembly and preparation for launch is never a chore, and is always a learning experience. This time, a set of lines got twisted, and not discovered until seconds before lift off. We learned how to straighten them safely, without having to deflate.

Earthbound, we watched the pilot ascend, float away, ascend some more, and return to just overhead. There was a mad scramble when he decided to "re-ascend", to see if he could travel away OR participate in the box pattern. So crew finally caught up with the pilot and his passengers-at the opposite end of the field!!! Taking another set of passengers up, the pilot floated away--this time to the river.

Once again, it was anything but a routine (is there such a thing?) chase and catch. On a dirt road, in the middle of nowhere, it is amazing the number of dusty pickups that somehow materialize and just have to traverse that particular road! But once again, all people involved, including landowners and pickup drivers, were very courteous (and awestruck).

There was an initiation ceremony for the newest "recruit", and it appeared as if the weather was going to hold for awhile. As there were no further events planned for the day, we decided to take a side trip to the Acoma Pueblo. We were able to witness some incredible scenery, tour the Sky City, and have dinner before Mother Nature emptied her watering can.

Eternal optimists, we stayed in Belen Saturday night, hoping the rain would clear for yet another chance to "walk the field". Alas, it was not to be, this time. And so we came home, more friends and more experiences in our balloon "bank". And from here…? Why, locally, there will be some 'fly-ins', then there's Elephant Butte, Roswell, El Paso, and "Honey, did you make reservations for Albuquerque yet?"

Marta Rose

Enthusiastic crew member (1998)
Las Cruces, New Mexico

	As featured in Ballooning Magazine "Iceland, Brazil and Pajamas" another article by Marta Rose
[yet to be posted]

This is the first TradingCard that Marta Rose had created for MoonRose This 1998-2001 card was created by Hot Aire Balloon Trading Cards

The harvest-yellow moon logo was originally created for Marta Rose and her MoonRose balloon by Sally Sudderth. Later, Tim Oldfield had some fun with Sally's creation by adding a bit of cosmetic airbrushing, just for kicks and grins (yes, that is MoonRose's faint reflection in the sunglasses). The MoonRose 2002-2003 Collector-Style, TradingCard designed by Marta Rose and created by Tim Oldfield at AstroGrafix (front horizontal, back vertical) is pictured "close-ups" below. CLICK HERE TO JUMP BACK TO THE TOP The mysterious Mr. MoonRose Logo was computer airbrushed onto this Trading Card version of MoonRose with the idea that it would be painted or sewn similarly onto the actual balloon. The card front (above) features MoonRose, while the back (below) is featuring the Pilot, Marta Rose. Standard (2.5" x 3.5") TradingCards are something most balloonists have printed up to hand out to chase-crew volunteers to give out to most anyone looking into the sky at balloon rallies, fly-ins, glows, and along the balloon chase crew's path. CLICK HERE TO JUMP BACK TO THE TOP

The question was asked near this Media Page top,
"Can you find MoonRose?"

This close-up picture of the puzzle picture shows the MoonRose answer.

CLICK HERE TO JUMP BACK TO THE TOP