Oregon man gets carried away

CAMBRIDGE – Using his trusty BB gun to help him return to Earth, a 48-year-old gas station owner flew a garden chair rigged with helium-filled balloons more than 320 kilometres across the Oregon desert, landing in a field in Idaho.

Kent Couch created a sensation in this tiny farming community, where he touched down safely on Saturday in a pasture after lifting off from Bend, Oregon, and was soon greeted by dozens of people who gave him drinks of water, local plumber Mark Hetz said. “My wife works at the City Market,” Hetz said.”She called and said, ‘The balloon guy in the lawn chair just flew by the market, and if you look out the door you can see him.”We go outside to look, and lo and behold, there he is.He’s flying by probably 100 to 200 feet off the ground.”He takes his BB gun and shoots some balloons to lower himself to the ground.When he hit the ground he released all the little tiny balloons.People were racing down the road with cameras.They were all talking and laughing.”Couch covered about 378 kilometres in about nine hours after lifting off at dawn from his gas station riding in a green garden chair rigged with an array of more than 150 giant party balloons.Sandi Barton, 58, who has lived her whole life in this town of about 300, said she and her brother-in-law were the first ones to reach Couch and shook his hand.”Not much happens in Cambridge,” she said, adding that about half the town turned out.Nampa-AP”My wife works at the City Market,” Hetz said.”She called and said, ‘The balloon guy in the lawn chair just flew by the market, and if you look out the door you can see him.”We go outside to look, and lo and behold, there he is.He’s flying by probably 100 to 200 feet off the ground.”He takes his BB gun and shoots some balloons to lower himself to the ground.When he hit the ground he released all the little tiny balloons.People were racing down the road with cameras.They were all talking and laughing.”Couch covered about 378 kilometres in about nine hours after lifting off at dawn from his gas station riding in a green garden chair rigged with an array of more than 150 giant party balloons.Sandi Barton, 58, who has lived her whole life in this town of about 300, said she and her brother-in-law were the first ones to reach Couch and shook his hand.”Not much happens in Cambridge,” she said, adding that about half the town turned out.Nampa-AP