OGDEN (AP) -- A purple Weber State Wildcats balloon has been returned from Midland, S.D., where it landed last November on the front lawn of Charles Perault.
He sent the deflated balloon back to the university this week, along with a map of Midland, indicating that it traveled 583 miles before touching down."It was just a balloon, so I thought they might wonder how far it went," said Perault, 72.
Now, the university has issued him an invitation to a football game next fall.
"We'll have some free tickets for him if he wants to come out for a game," said Chad Gerrety, director of marketing for the athletics department.
Gerrety said he's "99 percent" sure the balloon took off from Stewart Stadium Sept. 26 as part of the homecoming festivities. The university created a balloon tunnel for the football players, and the 17,000 fans let go of their free balloons.
Meteorologist William Alder of the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City wasn't surprised to hear the balloon traveled to Midland, about 100 miles east of Rapid City.
Winds typically take debris to the east, he said.