BILLINGS Billings residents enjoyed Big Sky Balloon Rally over the weekend, despite bad weather and surprise winds.Those conditions created a surprised flight pattern on Sunday morning, with balloons flying towards the Billings Heights and one landing in the Cherry Creek neighborhood.Click here to learn more: Big Sky Balloon Rally takes to the air, lands in Billings Heights neighborhoodBillings Heights resident Katie Schultz tracked the balloon from South Billings to the heights before it made it's surprise landing."I was able to pretty much follow it down the river," Schultz said Sunday afternoon. "I just watched the balloons. Watched the one that I had seen by south park and watched him come down into the river. At one point he was right above my head."Schultz said she was planning to enjoy the show in the southern part of Billings but noticed that the balloons were traveling East as she drove into town. After turning around and tracking them for awhile, she arrived at Cherry Creek just in time."I got there just as he landed and got to watch them take the whole thing down from there and it was pretty cool," Schultz said. "I'd never been that close to them before."Schultz has been an avid supporter of the show since she was a child. Since 2015, the event has been called the Big Sky Balloon Rally but other shows have existed over the years with hot air balloons flying over Billings since the 1990s.Schultz said that her family has a tradition that started with her grandparents during those early days."Typically, we go up on Friday morning, go up to the rims and watch and have a mimosa," Schultz said. "This year, the flights were canceled on Friday."Weather left quite an impact on the rally this year, with cancellations on Thursday and Friday, extreme heat throughout the weekend and the unpredictable flight to the Heights on Sunday.MTN Chief Meteorologist Ed McIntosh, who has assisted the balloon rally for years, said he was very surprised to see the balloon land in Cherry Creek on Sunday because often times the Heights is avoided because of the airport."To actually get up in the Heights, that is very unusual," McIntosh said. "You may not see that again for a very long time."McIntosh was less surprised by the canceled flights, adding that those decisions are made out of safety concerns and Montana in the summer is hard to predict."We've been really lucky in Billings the past few years because we've been able to fly pretty much every day," McIntosh said. "So, this year to miss two, that's the first time that's happened in a while."Still, the conditions didn't stop Schultz and many others from enjoying the event. Schultz said the unpredictable weather is to be expected."You can't predict a year in advance or two months in advance. There is no perfect time," Schultz said. "I mean it's just something in Billings to look forward to." ...read more read less