Meet Mar Myers | Hot Air Balloon Pilot, Business Owner, and Outdoor Adventurer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mar Myers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mar, how do you define success?
Success is finding something you love to do, something that you are good at doing it, and sharing it with the world. In our case, it is outdoor adventure in Southwest Colorado. I was once trapped in the corporate world of business and more miserable by the day. I knew that being outdoors and having adventure was my true passion so my husband and I teamed up to share our joy of outdoors adventure with others. We love what we do, and so it never feels like work.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Pagosa Adventure is a company born of hardship. Not necessarily physical or financial hardship but the hardship of chasing a dream not knowing how it will turn out. During our first year in business, we started renting river tubes and shuttling people from the take-out back to the river put-in. It was just Cody and me. As we saved we were able to reinvest in the company expanding it to rafting and then hot-air ballooning. The equipment for both rafting and hot air ballooning is very, very expensive and so it took us a long time to grow into what we have today. Now we employ around 20 folks seasonally. We are able to provide our employees with a wonderful, fun work environment. Our employees pride themselves on sharing their love of the outdoors with others. Pagosa Adventure is unique in the Nation and possibly the world, the only place where your hot air balloon pilot in the morning can also be your raft guide in the afternoon. I am one of two companies in the Nation that flies commercial ride operations owned by women. Aviation tends to be a man’s sport. There are thousands of commercial hot air balloon pilots, but only a few hundred are female, and the number that does large ride operations is one that you can count on one hand. Other female commercial balloon pilots will fly corporate or sponsor balloons or instruct student pilots, buto hardly anyone (2) flies the volume of people that I do.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We are located in the perfect spot in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. If my best friend were to visit I would start the day with a sunrise hot air balloon flight. To see the majesty of the San Juan Mountains and the San Juan River valley from two thousand feet in the sky is breathtaking and emotional. Sure people can fly in planes over our area, but in a plane, you move too fast to take it in, in a hot air balloon the air is so calm and peaceful and the movement is so little that a person can really take in the beauty of the area.
I would follow our balloon flight with a stop at the amazing Sage restaurant for a burger and fries.
Next on the agenda would be a fun and splashy float through the heart of Pagosa Springs by way of raft or tube. Pagosa has a dedicated white water park which allows our river people to enjoy the view of downtown from a different aspect.
After an exciting raft trip through town, I would take my best friend for dinner at the Alley House followed by drinks at the Nightingale, and wrap up the night with a relaxing soak in the hot springs. To me this would be the “perfect” day in Pagosa. The week’s itinerary would include hiking Pagosa Peak, which has a nearly 3,000 foot vertical relief from trailhead to the summit. Seeing the local wildlife rescue park, Rocky Mountain Wildlife Park, and renting a UTV to travel some of our local trails. Pagosa is the perfect central location for exploration of other areas of Colorado, and for an extended stay I would also have my friend visit the Narrow Gauge Railroad In Durango Colorado, head over to Telluride and Ouray, see Mesa Verde and head to the Rio Grade Reservoir, the headwaters of the Rio Grande. All of which are within a days drive of Pagosa.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I was trapped in a corporate world, working 12-hour days, and was miserable. Cody, my husband was tired of the fast-paced life of the city in Texas. He moved to Colorado to become a raft guide and start his own rafting business. I was more than ready to leave the indoor fluorescent lights of my career. After we married we decided to team up and share what we love with others, in his case rafting and in my case hot air ballooning, and thus Pagosa Adventure was born. My Mom and Dad, Colleen and Peter Procopio, always taught me that if you love what you do, you never have to work a day in your life. I thought I would never make it financially or socially doing what I love (flying balloons) until I met Cody who said “lets follow our dreams”, without Cody Pagosa Adventure would still be a daydream.

Website: PagosaAdventure.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pagosaadventure/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AdventurePagosa

Other: tiktok-@missadventurespagosa

Image Credits
The Black and White with the Yellow bright Balloon was Photographed by Jenny Heckmann. The Yellow Spiral Balloon on a blue sky was Photographed by Justin Treptow. The yellow spiral balloon with a mountain landscape was photographed by Shelby Santille. All others were photographed by Mar Myers