A Mancos resident got a surprise message from California on Sunday afternoon.

Jeph Blaine, co-owner of Absolute Bakery in Mancos, found a balloon bouquet stuck to a fence near his family’s property on County Road 39. Thinking it was trash, he stopped and picked it up. He said he thought it would be “cute and funny” to give the balloons to his wife, Tiffany, but when he did, she found a $20 bill tied to the bouquet, along with a note that asked the finder to text a phone number to let the balloons’ sender know how far they had traveled.

The number connected him with a woman in California, who had released the balloons the night before at a birthday party.

Blaine said the balloons were a welcome surprise.

“It’s kind of a special and rare find,” he said. “I thought I was just being a good citizen, picking up trash, and then I find this.”

Based on the location given in the note, the balloons had traveled more than 700 miles between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.