PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — People may have noticed a familiar sight flying above Presque Isle this week: balloon pilot and County enthusiast Randy Lee’s rainbow-colored hot air balloon featuring a mother bear and her cub.
Lee, a pilot based in Four Oaks, North Carolina, typically brings that balloon — Spellbound Spirit II — to town every August for the Crown of Maine Balloon Festival. But, like other balloon festivals across the country, the balloon part of the Crown of Maine festival was canceled this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Randy Lee of Four Oaks, North Carolina, instructs his volunteer crew before an evening hot air balloon flight in Presque Isle on Thursday. (Melissa Lizotte)
Though Lee has missed seeing his fellow pilots, he decided he could not miss out on the chance to visit one of his favorite regions of the country.
With a negative COVID-19 test result in hand, Lee drove from North Carolina to northern Maine in time to enjoy the Chamber of Commerce’s smaller-scale balloon festival events, and reconnect with friends and balloon crew volunteers.
“People have been very happy to see the balloon. I’ve gotten calls and Facebook messages from people I know and people I’ve never met who have said, ‘Hey, isn’t that your balloon?’,” Lee said.
Lee spent several weeks in Presque Isle and was able to give three balloon flights before heading back home. Even without the festival, Aroostook County has given him some great flying experiences to remember.
Balloon pilot Randy Lee fills his hot air balloon, Spellbound Spirit II, with fire before a flight in Presque Isle on Thursday. (Melissa Lizotte)
“Presque Isle is ranked near the top of my list for best places to fly,” Lee said. “In the summer, when the potato plants are blossoming, it’s absolutely beautiful. There are all these wide open spaces and hillsides that make for great views.”
For Lee, Aroostook County has become much more than just a fun place to fly. He and his wife Jean love the region so much that they often visit during the winter to ride snowmobiles and help with activities at the four local snowmobile clubs for which they are members.
Whether he’s talking to people he has just met or those who are longtime friends, Lee said, the hospitality of Aroostook County is something he does not often see elsewhere.
“It’s good to come to a place 1,200 miles from home where people recognize you and you feel connected to the community,” Lee said.
Spellbound Spirit II soars above the Northern Maine Fairgrounds on Thursday, Sept. 3. (Melissa Lizotte)
With the pandemic causing unprecedented challenges this year, he hopes that next year’s balloon festival will once again feature an array of colorful balloons sailing through the skies.
“Let’s hope and pray that 2021 will treat us a little better,” Lee said. “I know many of the pilots have already committed their time for next year and I put myself on the schedule for sure.”
