BEND, Ore. (AP) - Riding a green lawn chair rigged with more than 150 giant party balloons, Kent Couch took off with the sun Saturday, hoping to ride the wind from his gas station in Central Oregon to Idaho.

While most folks were still in bed after Fourth of July fireworks, Couch drank coffee and chatted while volunteers inflated balloons with helium and tied them in clusters to the chair.

Wearing a parachute, Couch kissed his wife and kids goodbye, patted his dog on the head, and got a push from the ground crew and a cheer from the crowd as he soared.

This is Couch's third ride in as many years. He hopes to do better than last year, when he flew 193 miles before running low on helium and landing in the sagebrush of northeastern Oregon.
     
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