Large Dangerous Rocket Ships

I used to think the model rockets I built as a child were big.
Ha! The display we watched just south of Amarillo this weekend made them look like bottle rockets. Sandy and I took Heather, Wesley, Luke and Colton to see the Large Dangerous Rocket Ships go off near Wayside. The 25th annual event provided some spectacular fireworks ... planned and unplanned. Some of these monstrosities can reach heights of three miles. Most went up about a mile or less. One, called the Gila Monster, was supposed to catch some serious air. It had a smooth but short ride in honor of its late owner. Another giant rocket -- that had to be pumped full of nitrous oxide -- exploded a couple hundred feet off the ground.
It was cool to see a smaller rocket that tipped and shot horizontally over the audience and crashed into a field behind us. Most went up and came down like they were supposed to -- including a bowling ball. At some point after we left they were supposed to launch a stacked washer and dryer. Someone else had a 500-pound pyramid that was supposed to go up.
The people who launch these things are some very dedicated hobbyists. Building some of these rockets look like it would be a full-time job. No doubt there is some serious money sunk into these spacecraft wannabes. But some serious thrills come out of them.
The kids, with the exception of Colton, were thrilled. Our 3-year-old was a little frightened by the noise. And they were certainly noisy, though not nearly as noisy as the space shuttle (which failed to launch today, by the way).
Some of the rocketeers out there were certifying to fly at new heights. There was a contest to see who could launch a bowling ball the highest. We saw one rocket with a test engine in it that must have gone supersonic right off the pad. I've never seen anything move that fast before.
We may try to get out one more day before the event is over. It seems to come to Amarillo about every five years or so. I hope it comes back soon. It's definitely worth watching.