Road Trip - OK, FL, NC, et al., 2008

12 March-20 April 2008

C.J. and I wanted to be at the USHPA Board Meeting in Colorado Springs for the awards banquet where Wally would receive his Instructor of the Year award, plus we needed to visit long-neglected family members - C.J.' s mom and brother Rob in Florida, my brother and family near Indianapolis, and C.J's sister Mary and family near Chicago. In addition, if we were going that far, there was the Wills Wing 35th Anniversary Celebration at Wallaby Ranch in Florida so we might as well take our flying gear. We planned on camping once we got south of Colorado not yet being aware that this was an exceptionally cold spring. It all worked out: we had great visits with our families, some flying, and we got to reconnect with friends whom we had not seen for years.

Here's a GoogleMap of our route:

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12 Mar Wednesday –C.J. and I left NB with a fully loaded Outback about 0730, stopped in Yakima/Union Gap for gas, more gas in Idaho just before Boise. We stopped for the night in Twin Falls and picked up bread and rotisserie chicken at Costco for dinner.

13 Mar, Thursday – We drove over Sweetzer Pass after a rainy start from Twin Falls, got gas at Costco in Ogden (some difficulty finding without being able to use the map on the computer when the battery got jostled loose. Climbing out of Utah onto the high plains of S Wyo, the temp continued to drop. There was light snow blowing across the road. We stopped in Laramie and bought some salad makings and a pizza for dinner.

14 Mar Friday – We filled up with gas at Loaf ‘n Jug in Laramie and then drove down SR 287 in sunny, cold weather to Fort Collins (scenic) and south through Denver. We hit snow just outside of Colorado Springs (!) and checked in to the Doubletree World Arena. We met up with Ginny and Wally after attending a part of the USHPA general session. Later we went to the USHPA HQ building for the social.

15 Mar Saturday – C.J. and I attended the Site Committee meeting which Jon James chaired, then C.J. had a lunch meeting with Martin and Greg Gillam, the art director (?). Later C.J. went to the Publications Comm mtg until Ginny was ready to go on a hike. We drove out to the Cheyenne Mtn Zoo trying to find the Seven Falls scenic drive. Eventually we did find it but decided to pass on the $8.95/person entry fee. We took a hike up a trail above Broadmoor to another scenic road high up on the shoulder of the mountain. There was a little snow on the trail but the sky was pretty clear and at one point we could see across to the Garden of the Gods. We got back to the hotel around 1730 and got ready for the Awards Banquet where Wally got his PG Instructor of the Year. Kim and Mike Galvin, Sean ___, and Alice Engelhardt and Kevin were also at our table along with Dennis Pagen. It was snowing as we partied but had tapered off by the time we headed home.

16 Mar Sunday – We didn’t get going until almost 1100 what with breakfast and saying goodbye to everyone. We stopped for gas in Pueblo then it got cold and foggy as we drove south and over Raton Pass. We had thought we would be able to camp, but we stopped in Raton to pick up a Motel 6 guide and called for reservations in Amarillo when we realized that it was going to be too cold. The motel was pretty basic but better than camping, and we bought another chicken this time from Wal-Mart for dinner.

17 Mar Monday – We bought gas at Wal-Mart and headed on to Walters with detours but found Jim and Cathy’s 80 acres with no trouble. We got the house tour and had a pizza dinner. There were severe thunderstorms nearby but none came within a few miles of the house, but we were glad to have the car with its glider in Jim’s garage.

18 Mar Tuesday – The weather continued cold and rainy so we went to Ft. Sill, near Lawton, and toured the museum in the original fort area. Then we stopped in the PX food court for lunch and bought groceries at the commissary all with Jim and Cathy.

19 Mar Wednesday – C.J. had called Jayne DePalfilis and arranged to meet for lunch halfway to Okla City. We had a good meal at Jakes Rib in Chickasha (CHIK uh shay, then dessert at a Braums ice cream place. We bought gas before heading back and stopped in Lawton to transfer some money from the NEA account into our B of A checking account. When we got back to the Reynolds, Jim was just putting away his trike and the wind was dying. We tried running our paragliders off the little training hill but barely got them inflated. We went to a truck stop in Lawton for dinner with Jim and Cathy. C.J. was able to show them our Vietnam 2005 photos from her Mac and then copied them to Jim’s computer.

20 Mar Thursday – We left with Jim and Cathy in caravan around 0900 heading for Mt. Buffalo. We stopped briefly in Altus for a bathroom break. At the Mt. Buffalo LZ, we talked with Ron who had completed his foundation of a hang glider-shaped cabin, then helped Jim dig three perc holes for his septic system. Later we drove up to launch with Ron and Dave Morton. The wind was too strong so we walked over to Dave’s cabin and hung out a while. After returning to the LZ we went to dinner in Talihina at Pam’s. We set up our tent for the first time this trip in the LZ by full moonlight.

21 Mar Fri – C.J. and I had cold breakfast in the LZ, broke camp and met Jim and Cathy in Talihina for the drive to Heavener. We drove on the Talimena Scenic Drive stopping at several vista points including the one for Panorama launch (with the huge FS clear cut LZ below). Since the wind was strong again we did not try to rush up to Heavener launch (and, we had heard that the road was closed, anyway). Instead we went to Runestone State Park to see the supposed Viking-era boundary marker, then we had lunch next to the upper parking lot. Jim and Cathy took off for home around 1300 while we hiked up the road to where we thought the launch would be. Instead, we found some Baptists putting up a cross with red Christmas lights, and talked with Lester, a local landowner and caretaker. He pointed us farther up the road and we finally found the good launch. The wind was pretty good and, if we could have driven up, and if there had been other local pilots, we might have flown. We retraced our route to the Talimena Drive and Winding Stair CG (after a short stop at a USFS visitor center). There was no water and we were also able to use our Golden Age card so camping only cost $2.50. We prepared a chef’s salad with the leftover chicken then drove all the way back to Panorama Vista for the sunset.

22 Mar Sat – It wasn’t really cold so we took time to prepare oatmeal in the frying pan before heading east on the Talimena Drive. After a couple of vista/visitor center stops, we reached Mena and headed north to Mt. Magazine. We drove up and stopped in the visitor center to see how to register to hang glide, then continued on to the launch where we had lunch. After a stop at the lodge, we tried a radio call to Mt. Nebo and Mark Stump answered as he was climbing over 3000 feet. We headed there right away, got directions from Dardanelle via radio, stopped at the LZ, then headed up. We registered at the visitor center and C.J. set up her Falcon and flew to the Hell’s Kitchen LZ. I went down and John Jenkins volunteered to go with me to help find the LZ and invited us to spend the night camped in his yard. John and Roxy cooked up chicken over a woodfire and served bunches of leftovers from the BBQ on the previous night. Mark Stump and his wife Cherie (?) joined us after his 40 mile flight to beyond Booneville. Dan “Flair” O’Hara and Doug Johnson from Wisconsin also dropped by. At some point today or yesterday I noticed that the rear tires were pretty bald and we would have to replace them before we went much farther.

23 Mar Sun – We had breakfast with John and Roxy in his 12x20 ft cabin and then stopped at Roxy’s house to get directions to the nearest Costco (in Memphis). Then we went back up the winding road to the top of Mt. Nebo to check out the south and east launches with John and Roxy. Soon afterward we were on our way south on a scenic road towards Hot Springs and Hot Springs NP. We stopped at the remains of an old CCC camp then drove on to Hot Springs where we toured the old Fordyce Bathhouse which is now the NP visitor center. Then we checked in to the Gulpha Gorge (NP) campground ($5) and went back to drive the scenic road to the top of the hill above Hot Springs. Near the north end of the drive we parked and hiked the 0.7 mi down to Goat Rock. Then we went back to camp and asked the CG hosts about a place to eat. They suggested driving south of the city center several miles to the shopping and eating area. We checked out a Ryan’s there, then chose to splurge on an Olive Garden dinner. We left with a box of leftover tortelloni and stopped at WalMart to check on the prices of tires. The night was a bit cold (below freezing by morning) but we were not uncomfortable.

24 Mar Mon – It was too cold to stick around for breakfast but we were gone by 0800. There was not much traffic as we headed east and we didn’t stop for breakfast until it warmed up a bit. After that we headed to Memphis, crossing the Mississippi, and stopping at Costco to the SE of the city. It took about 2 hours to get tires installed while we shopped at Costco and window shopped at Sportsman’s Warehouse and Michaels. After a lunch at the side of the road, we drove through Huntsville where we ran into some traffic as we passed the NASA Space Center with its old rockets sticking up into the sky. We picked up a footlong sandwich at Subway just outside the city and continued along through the TVA facilities. It was dark and we were in the eastern time zone by the time we reached Georgia and climbed Lookout Mountain to spend the night with Claire Vassort and Eric (Graper).

25 Mar Tuesday – After a delicious omelet breakfast, we all went out to Cloudland Canyon State Park and hiked down the trail and stairs to the stream and waterfalls at the bottom. It had been cold enough that there were icicles on some of the wet walls. Then we went over to the launch at Lookout to see the new rounded concrete ramp. It definitely looked challenging to get a PG off safely/easily. The wind was forecast to be SW and 10-20 mph so and it was sort of doing that so flying was out. We went down to the LZ where Eric had agreed to help Ron skin and butcher a road-killed deer. We spent most of the rest of the day watching and learning the secrets of venison preparation. We had lunch in between gutting and skinning on the deck at the community center at the LZ. Later in the day we went to the training hill and walked around in the woods a bit. Back at Claire’s house we had shepherd’s pie for dinner and I got caught up on this journal.

26 Mar Wed – We got a late start after breakfast with Claire and Eric – around 11:15. The weather was already warmer than it had gotten the day before and by the time we reached Atlanta on I-75, I was running the air conditioner. The temp on the car thermometer got up to 73 deg or so. We stopped to get a few gallons of gas because we were getting low and then filled it up with considerably cheaper gas at the Kennasaw Costco just N of Atlanta. We also had a traditional Costco lunch there as well. C.J. checked the AAA campbook and noted that campsites were expensive. Meanwhile the billboards were advertising record low rates for the cheap motels. I called Greg McNamee at Graybird in Dunellon, FL, to see if he was towing PG and he indicated that he did, but mainly on the weekends. Since there was no reason to push on to Orlando (or Dunellon), around 1830 we pulled into the Knights Inn in Lenox, a little town in S. GA. After checking in, we drove to the center of the town (which consisted of a few convenience stores and a bunch of churches) and had a spaghetti dinner in a park – the first time we had actually cooked a dinner. The sunset was a red ball reminiscent of the smoky summer in Hungary The motel is supposed to have wireless but neither of us has been able to get online or pickup email so far. Okay it started to work after I went to the office.

3/272008 Thursday – We didn’t make a real early start since the distance was not great. The Florida Welcome Station had some potentially useful stuff. We got off I-75 at Ocala and got gas, had lunch behind a BofA and cashed a $50 travelers check. It was a pretty congested drive down as far as Leesburg then we were in familiar territory although it was more built up than it had been. We pulled into Wallaby and set up camp. C.J. got an aerotow – first in a couple of years – late in the day. We had dinner with the whole group – a Brazilian BBQ – in the expanded pole barn.

3/28/2008 Friday – We had breakfast out by our tent rather than eat another big Wallaby meal. I picked up email on the wireless system (very slow) and hung out in the shade reading part of the time. I went over to the flight line in time to help C.J. get ready to fly at about 1330. She had a flight of about 25 min but her landing was not very good. I had already had PB&J for lunch so C.J. ate the Wallaby lunch. We also had the smoked turkey dinner later. Wills Wing had brought in Chris Wills and his mom Maralys, and Chris gave a narrated presentation on the very early days of hang gliding as he remembered it. Maralys also gave a short talk about the early days of Wills Wing.

3/29/08 Saturday – We had raisin bran again then went out to buy more milk, bread, cereal and ice at Publix. We got back during the 1000 Wallaby breakfast and caught Linda Salamone to buy a Women’s World Team T-shirt. We moved C.J.’s Falcon to the flight line so she would be ready to go when the conditions were right. It seems a bit cloudy and breezy today as I write this at 1130. [Later} The flight line was moved to the next strip to the south so we had to move C.J.’s glider over there. We caught Rob and Trish and bought a WW Anniversary T-shirt – the last medium left. C.J. got a short flight in higher winds than the day before and had a good landing. Aaron adjusted her hang point forward a half-inch to give more speed at trim. Flying was called off before dark as the sea breeze moved in and I “ground flew” the Falcon back to the tie-down just missing being hit by the glider ahead of me flipping over (winds were definitely increasing). By 1830 or so lots of people were hanging out by the pole barn, drinking beer, munching on popcorn and waiting for the WW-sponsored BBQ to begin. Robb the margarita man was there with his trailer-mounted machine, but he was dispensing hot corn at the moment. The meal was great and we sat with a Canadian from Salt Spring Island who said that the August fly-in was still on. After the really long line got through being served, Rob made some remarks then played a DVD with photos from the past 35 years of Wills Wing gliders and people. A live band, the Believers, played in the pole barn later and Robb started passing out frozen margaritas. We lasted through one dance and some listening but then headed to bed before the party began to wind down. We still didn’t have much difficulty getting to sleep.

30 March 2008 Sunday – We had cold cereal again and cleaned up, stuffed the sleeping bags and rolled the pads then went over to hang out with the pilots while the tugs were finishing up tandems, students, and those who just wanted to fly early. Weather looked a little iffy and people were talking about rain and not flying so we packed up the tent which had dried out nicely in the wind and sun. The wind continued to gust and no towing was done; the WW crew began to pack up their gliders and a general teardown and exodus began. We were out of there by 1400 and took SR 33 north past Quest, then SR 19 through the Ocala National Forest (with a stop in Eustice for lunch at a park on the lake) arriving just before 1700 at the Microtel Inn and Suites in Palm Coast. Amazingly the clerk honored our $49 coupon (from the Florida Welcome Center) and we got the best room we’ve had so far on this trip. Then we went over to meet Mom F and Rob for dinner at the Fisherman’s Net in Flagler Beach (I tried the Caribbean Jerk mahi mahi and C.J. had a huge serving of linguini with her scallops parmesan). Back at the Microtel, we checked email and caught up on correspondence.

31 March Monday – We didn’t get up until 0740 and didn’t get headed over to meet Rob for breakfast until after 0830. We ate just north of Flagler at the Java Joint right across the highway from the beach with pounding surf and strong north wind. Then we walked a mile or so north on the sand to Beverly Beach campground and back (in a rain shower on the way back). Mom F was still not up when we got back to the house so we spent an hour or so wandering around the outside of the house talking with Rob. Then back to the motel. We hung out until 1600 or so when we went back to the house and visited for a while before going to the Outback for dinner. Back at the house we finished a load of laundry and got it partially dried before bringing it back to the motel to spread out around the room to dry.

1 April 1, 2008 Tuesday – Rob had to take Mom F to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville for a CAT scan and a GP visit so we had the motel’s continental breakfast. Later I took the car in for an oil change (and replaced the gear oil in the rear differential) and bought some windshield washer fluid and a squeegee. I had called Tropical Kayaks to see about renting a boat to paddle around the Palm Coast area so we went over to the marina around 1130 and signed out an open, plastic tandem. After paddling a short distance up the canal network to the west and around “Manatee Cove” (which was surrounded by a non-operating golf course) we came back to the Intracoastal Waterway and paddled south a mile or so under the toll bridge. We turned west up a brown-water creek and made our way upstream mostly under a canopy of jungly vegetation. We even had to push through a downed tree and under a couple of bridges. Just before reaching the end, at another pond surrounded by a graded clearcut, I briefly spotted a river otter. In the pond we saw a major swirl of water that startled us and there were fish jumping, some skipping across the surface. All the action made sense when we spotted a 7-8 ft alligator partially out of the water on one sandy bank. As we paddled by, he slowly slid into the water until all we could see was his eyes. We moved on a ways then hauled the kayak out of the water and took a path into the woods upstream a bit for lunch. On the return trip we saw the same ‘gator on the bank again, and then we spotted a second one which surged quickly into the water and made that same sort of water swirl we had noted earlier. Even though it was still pretty early, we were tired and decided to return the kayak rather than head on farther to another stream. It was quicker to paddle downstream and the wind had picked up from the south so it was pretty fast paddling on the Intracoastal Waterway as well. Instead of heading “home” we drove north along Palm Harbor Pkwy to Old Kings Rd and on to Princess Place, a large county-operated nature reserve. We hiked on a boardwalk over the Hominy Branch, checked out the kayak launch ramp, viewed the Matanzas River, and walked around the Adirondack-style lodge that had been the home of the Russian prince and his American wife-princess. We got back around 1830 and showered. Rob called around 1900 and picked us up for dinner at Woody’s, a BBQ place. We had the special which was two orders of baby-back ribs for $23. Good grub!

2 April, 2008 Wednesday – We spent the day with Rob and Mom F. I took everything out of the car and vacuumed the accumulated sand out We showed some of our photos from our trips, and our track from yesterday’s kayak trip on Google Earth. Late in the day we went over to Winn Dixie and bought groceries for supper and had a good meal of London Broil with a green salad and potato salad, with ice cream and Smuckers cherries for dessert. We got back to the motel around 2130 and did some packing. We’re hoping to meet Rob for breakfast but in any case we’ll be hitting the road for Atlanta Paragliding.

3 April 2008 Thursday – Rob didn’t call at 0730 so C.J. called him around 0800, worried than something had happened. Rob had just overslept. We packed up and met him at the same breakfast place N of Flagler Beach, the Java Joint, for breakfast. After a bunch of eggs and good whole wheat toast we hit the road (around 0950) through the backdoor across Florida to Lake City and I-75. We made a couple of pit stops (including a scammy operation selling “$1 bags of oranges” which turned out to consist of two oranges, while displaying ¼ bu and ½ bu bags. We bought a five lb bag of tangerines for $6.95 anyway) and had lunch, we picked up some coupons at the Georgia welcome center and got a DQ blizzard along the way. At Macon we got off I-75 and headed N on SR 129 getting gas at Gray then driving through Eatonton along the “Antebellum Trail”. We pulled into Madison just before 1800 and used a coupon to reduce the already low price at a Red Roof Inn. For dinner, we went to Ingles (after finding that Wal Mart was out of stock) for a rotisserie chicken and some Amish-style (?) cole slaw and other stuff. We hadn’t been able to reach Luis by phone all day so maybe we can catch up with him tomorrow.

4 April 5, 2008 Saturday – We had a couple of disappointments with Red Roof Inn – no wireless and most of the “hot breakfast” (sausage and gravy and waffles) was gone by the time we got down to the lobby. But we soldiered on bravely and spent the rest of the morning touring the antebellum houses of Madison using a walking tour guide from the Madison Chamber of Commerce welcome center. Then we moved on to Watkinsville to see the olde tavern and the covered bridge. We kept trying to contact Luis but he did not answer or respond to C.J.’s message so we continued to drive north. We made a stop in Commerce at the Lodge Cast Iron Factory store to buy a small Dutch oven on sale, then drove north into the national forest. It started to rain hard as we went through Tallulah Falls SP and C.J. called Paula to ask if we could start our visit early “tonight”. Getting an affirmative, we headed up into North Carolina and the Great Smokies Visitors Center and then down into Asheville. Stephen gave good directions and we found their beautiful condo in the Beaver Run gated community with no problem. After visiting for a while we went out to dinner at Bellagio ___ where C.J. and I had gyro platters with way too much food.

5 April, 2008 Saturday – We were up a bit later than usual (Paula has some problems with sleep and getting up early) and had oatmeal. Then Stephen and Paula headed off to the HD movie of NY Met Opera’s La Boheme in Greenville. We set out to explore a little of the Asheville area in intermittent rain and drizzle. First we got some cheap gas, then stopped at AAA to load up on maps, and finally got the rear window wiper replaced at Prestige Subaru. From there it was just a short distance to the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Pkwy. We toured the exhibits and the shop then headed downtown for lunch. [Luis finally called as we were leaving the Folk Art Center and said he was really disappointed that we didn’t stop to visit – apparently C.J. should have used a different phone number…] We got scared off by all the “Hot Hot” advertising at Salsa’s and ended up going to the Grove Arcade and getting dessert first at Kamm’s Frozen Custard. Then we found Ali Baba’s, an Egyptian pay-by–the-pound restaurant and had an interesting lunch of falafel, tabouleh, cucumber in yogurt, eggplant cooked with tomatoes and garlic, pita bread, and more. Afterward we walked around the block past St. Lawrence Basilica and the city center and then to a BofA ATM to get some cash. We got the car out of the parking lot and drove to the Biltmore Village where there were lots of shops to look in to. By 1700 or we were pretty toured out so we headed back to Paula’s with stops at various drugstores to find C.J. some face cream. In Walgreens we ran into Bob Hunt, a local hang glider, with whom we exchanged phone numbers in case there might ever be good weather again. Back at the house we relaxed for a while waiting for Stephen and Paula who weren’t due back until 1930. We had pizza at home for dinner and talked and watched the semi-finals of the NCAA Final Four games.

6 April 2008 Sunday – We got a late start and had brunch at Paula’s sister’s (Bobbie) condo just at the base of the hill. Her house is decorated with art and clothing from her travels to SA, CA, and Cuba. I took some time to open the car up so that the seat would dry in the warmer and partly sunny weather. Later we drove to Mars Hill for a performance by the Bailey Mountain Cloggers. It was less traditional and more eclectic than we had expected. Back at home it was warm enough so that we were able to have a dinner of cold cuts, leftovers and salads on the deck. C.J. showed her pictures of our trip so far and some of the Utah trip on her computer, then we went down to Merrimon Ave to get ice cream at The Hop. Stephen and I discussed possible routes to Carnesville since C.J. had contacted Luis and pretty much decided to head his way first. We may go from there to Lookout and then up to Bubba’s depending on the weather. She says that we should be leaving for Indianapolis by Friday.

7 April 2008 Monday – We had breakfast with Paula and Stephen, said goodbye and headed south by the scenic Route 11, Cherokee Foothills Drive. We drove up a steep, winding road to Caesar’s Head State Park at 3300 ft and visited the overlook and went through the Devil’s Kitchen lemon squeezer. On the way down we stopped at a rocky slab which looked like a great launch (without a great LZ within PG reach). We also stopped at the Table Rock SP visitor center and had lunch at a roadside/creekside picnic area. We got to Atlanta Paragliding (info@atlantaparagliding.com) by 1500 and chatted with Luis until the wind died down and then we did a couple of stationery winch tows. On my first tow I had trouble getting off the ground as I was drifting off to the left. When I finally got on line, I towed to 700-800 ft and released. I found a little lift but five minutes later I was on the ground. C.J. insisted I go again and this time I was able to find good lift and managed to climb to over 2000 ft agl under scattered cumulus. I flew around the borders of the field and thermaled with a gaggle of turkey vultures for a total of about 40 minutes. C.J. had 3 tows but on the last one she dropped her wing into a fresh cowpie and we had to spend a long time trying to clean it up. Luis led us to his house and he, Marcos and Sonia and we had soup and salad for dinner with strawberries and cream for dessert.

8 April 2008 Tuesday – We got a leisurely start and got out to the Atlanta Paragliding Training Center around 1030. Luis was instructing Jay and Kim Browder (jaybrowder@hotmail.com) in slope launching way out in the field and Marcos was kiting up onto the truck. When they finished up we went back to the shop and then out to lunch at a local eatery (meatloaf, slaw and cornbread and tea sweet enough to float a spoon). After lunch we went back to the shop and C.J. checked out the Gradient Comet harness and decided to order one. She also got a new (used) glider bag from a pile of old ones Luis had under the table. Even though it was 1545 we decided to take off and head towards Bubba’s. We didn’t have to go more than a few miles before we were in sun. We took I-85 to SR 221 to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Just a short distance up the pkwy we stopped for the night (around 1930) at a NPS campground near Linville Falls. Dinner was easy – leftover chicken reincarnated as sandwiches. Another camper gave us some good wood so we had a campfire which helped keep off the chill after the sun went down. Actually it wasn’t too cold for 3500 ft way up north…

9 April 2008 Wednesday – The tent was dry when we got up around 0730 so we packed up and drove down to the visitor center (which was closed) and did a short hike out to an overlook above the Linville River and falls where we had yogurt and granola. Then we drove up the Blue Ridge Pkwy stopping at some overlooks (Grandfather Mtn viewpoint, for one) and the Cone Manor Arts and Crafts Center. The Pkwy was closed N of the Boone exit but that was okay because we were getting off there anyway. C.J. called Bubba and he said conditions looked good for Tater so we met him at the base. We loaded our gear into Bubba’s truck and checked out the LZ’s then went up the hill where the conditions were just about perfect – first flyable day this season, according to Bubba. I managed to get over launch about 500 ft and flew for 40 minutes. C.J. did better, as did Bubba. After packing up in the LZ in front of Willie’s house, we went to lunch at Pepper’s, a good restaurant in Boone. Then we went back to Bubba’s where we did a bunch of housekeeping tasks like cleaning out the cooler. C.J. and Beth made lemonade out of the lemons we had been carrying with us since North Bend.

10 April 2008 Thursday – We had pancakes for breakfast with Bubba and Beth – they were better with maple syrup than iced tea (same color, in the same size mason jar). The weather wasn’t great for flying so Bubba took us to Grandfather Mountain and introduced us to Hugh Morton’s daughter and got us some copies of Hang Gliding Masters programs. We visited the zoo area, the visitors center where we watched a 1985 Hugh Morton film on bears, and the swinging bridge across which were some of the old launch ramp sites on the rocky crest. We stopped in Blowing Rock on the way home and got ice cream cones at Kilwin’s. We bought a cooked chicken and salad makings at Ingles in Boone and had dinner at home.

11 April 2008 Friday – We got up at 0630 and said goodbye to Bubba and Beth about 0715. The route took us through five states and under the Cumberland Gap. We stopped at an overlook above a lake about an hour down the road and found that our milk (in the thermos) was sour so we stopped to buy yogurt in ____ and ate on the run. We stopped at the Cumberland Gap visitors center and drove up to Pinnacle Overlook then had lunch at a picnic area in the park that was somewhat sheltered from the strong winds. On the road again, the sky began to become overcast and we began driving in rain. Then it became a storm with lots of lightning and torrential rain for maybe 30 minutes. We ran beyond the storm and eventually got back into sunshine. In midafternoon we satisfied a hungering for a DQ Blizzard and finally reached Columbus, OH and Indiana. We bought a half tank of gas in Greensburg, called Wayne and pushed on to Fishers to arrive right around 1915. Wayne, Betty, Darby and Allison and we went out for New York-style pizza.

12 April Saturday - We hung out at home, did laundry, played games on the Wii, and had a great supper of shishkabab followed by strawberry shortcake with lots of whipped cream.

13 April 14, 2008 Sunday – After blueberry pancakes, we went over to see Allison’s house. Later we had grilled chicken for dinner – with more strawberry shortcake!

14 April 14, 2008 Monday – We got up early enough to see Wayne off to work. Jeannie had to go bring a check to Darby at her first day of work orientation so she took off too. So we had breakfast and got going around 0915. We found Costco in Castleton and filled up the gas tank then headed NW to check out the possibility of flying at Indiana Dunes/Mt Baldy National Lakeshory. We had leftover chicken for lunch in the parking lot then went up to look at conditions. The area had changed with the dune beginning to encroach on the parking area and the trail has been rerouted to avoid disturbing the slipface any more. Conditions were perfect so we went back and got our PGs and C.J. flew first and soared for a while before sinking out. Then I launched below and to the left and was able to get 15 minutes before landing on top to see if I could help C.J. She launched again from below the dune and wasn’t able to soar. I launched again and flew 10 min finally trying to stay up as I headed W along the trees. I almost got snagged by a branch and turned back and landed near the stairs. When we were carrying our wings back to the car, the ranger stopped us and asked if we had a permit – uh-oh – but he was a nice guy and didn’t cite us. We found out that the new rules will prohibit flying between Apr 30 and Sep 30 (?) and that the permit costs $25 – it was free when we got ours back in 1998. It was 1530 by the time we headed for Glen Ellyn and we didn’t get to Mary and Dave’s until after 1800. We had a great spaghetti and meatball dinner with all three of the boys home for the meal, and then chatted until 2130 or so.

15 April 16, 2008 Tuesday – C.J. went with Mary to her aerobics class and I got up later and had breakfast, picked up email and stuff. After C.J. got back we had lunch and then went to the Morton Arboretum with the DiCarlo’s annual pass and walked through the children’s area, the conifer path and out around part of the main loop through the Northern Illinois woodland back to the visitor center. We went back to Mary’s and had a snack and around 1710 went to watch an invitational gymnastics meet that Tom was in. After the event we stopped at Dave’s scout meeting and then we went to dinner at the Country House restaurant somewhere south of Glen Ellyn.

16 April 16, 2008 Wednesday – We were on the road around 0840, late enough to avoid the traffic, went north to Whitewater just to get a frozen custard from Frosty’s, the place we first had some. Then we slogged on for a total of almost 12 hours to reach Sioux City where we were able to get a double room at MicroTel for the coupon price of a single. We looked for a reasonable place to eat dinner but decided on a WalMart chicken again since it was so much cheaper than a restaurant. Gas mileage today was in the low 20’s probably because of the strong quartering headwind that started around Rochester along with a 20 degree drop in the temp. And, gas prices have been high since Indiana where they were 3.45 (we saw 3.55 near Glen Ellyn) and we paid 3.45 even at Costco in Illinois. They’ve dropped down to 3.26 or so here in Sioux Falls but we paid 3.32 earlier in Rochester, Mn.

17 April 18, 2008 Thursday – The breakfast included bake-your-own waffles so I made one and we shared it along with cocoa and a decent small choc chip muffin. We got on the road by 0830 (?) and pretty much drove straight through to Badlands NP where we took a walk along a yellow-stake-marked trail. Then it was on to Rapid City (after a quick stop to get some gas in Wall) where we stopped for info on camping (we were concerned about whether camp grounds might be closed because of recent snowy weather). We didn’t get much definitive info at the visitor center so we headed on towards the Black Hills with stops for some groceries and gas. At a USFS ranger station we got more info and a recommendation to stay at Comanche CG just W of Custer or, our plan, go on to Wind Cave NP. We drove out through Hill City, past the Crazy Horse carving and through Custer. We found no campground or even a sign so turned back and descended to Wind Cave where around 1730 or so we checked in to an empty campground with no water (but it only cost us $3 with the Golden Age pass so we could afford to provide our own water). We had plenty of sunshine while we cooked supper and it didn’t begin to get cold until the sun went down and the wind picked up. After dinner we walked out to pay our fee and found that some bison were passing right outside the fence! Later we drove out to see if we could find any more wildlife and C.J. spotted a flock of turkeys just beyond the CG entrance. There were lots of deer, another buffalo, but no elk or prairie dogs. Back at camp we scrounged up some left-behind wood and made a campfire but, even with the flames, the breeze made it too cold to stay outside long. By 2030 we were buttoned up in the tent with a quilt over our sleeping bags. We were warm enough throughout the night (except when we had to get up for the unavoidable trip to the bathroom).

18 April 18, 2008 Friday – The sun hit the tent around 0700 but we waited until it warmed up around 0730 before getting up and out of the tent. It was warm enough to warrant doing a cooked camp breakfast and it was a beautiful day. After breakfast (which used up just about all of the water we had been carrying) we finished breaking camp and drove north through Wind Cave NP and Custer SP passing huge prairie dog towns which looked like desert in the pre-spring conditions, deer, bison and antelope. The ride through the park was great but where the scenery became really excellent was when we were back in the BH NF on Iron Mountain Road. There were long range views of Mt. Rushmore and there were three short tunnels cut in the rock that framed Mt. Rushmore. There were also spiral bridges and the Norbeck overlook to enjoy. Around 1130 we reached Mt. Rushmore, paid our $10 fee to park (“good for a year”, yeah, right) and did the tourist walk along the Presidential Trail, and visited the exhibits. I was feeling antsy to make some miles so we headed north through the Black Hills, stopping for lunch at Sheridan Lake and then stopping momentarily to confirm that Pacolt Reservoir really was covered with ice. After driving down through Deadwood, we hit I-90 and headed on to Buffalo, Wy. where we checked into a Motel 6 since we had heard that the weather was going to turn bad and there were no free/cheap campgrounds nearby. Actually the temperature was in the 60’s and it was mostly sunny with some virga visible over the Big Horns. We had burgers at a Hardees just so we couldn’t say we had traveled for 6 weeks without eating in a fast-food joint. Tomorrow is also supposed to be nice around here but the NWS is predicting snow in Missoula which is our goal for tomorrow. It should be an easy two day drive, but with snow it may be more challenging.

19 April 19, 2008 Saturday – We ate the last two Florida tangerines before heading out about 0750 and stopped for granola and yogurt in Hardin, just beyond the Custer Battlefield. Weather forecasts called for a good morning but rain and snow by evening and possibly 6-10 inches so we decided on skipping a stay in Missoula and continuing on to Coeur d’Alene where we would be beyond the Rockies. We did it in about 11.5 hours arriving 1815 PDT. We encountered heavy snow and slushy roads as we climbed up over Pipestone Pass just E of Butte then mixed rain and snow with some clear patches from there on. By the time we arrived in CdA, the sky had cleared but it was still cold, although not down in the upper 20’s that we had encountered earlier, a big change from the 60’s we started out with. At the GH Guesthouse Inn, checking the local yellow pages for “BBQ”, I decided on Joey’s Smokin’ BBQ, called for direction and then drove over there. The manager, Randy, was very friendly and helped us make a choice among too many good items. On the way back we checked Costco gas price (one cent lower than street price but still high to us at $3.36) and replaced a windshield wiper blade that had not been working well in the heavy snow and rain today.

20 April 20, 2008 Sunday – Today we marked 8000 miles on our road trip and returned home. After a carbohydrate and sugar breakfast at the motel (waffles, instant oatmeal, juice), we picked up gas at Costco just a few blocks away and by 0815 we were on our way. Actually, we had to return to the area where we had dinner last night so C.J. could get some pictures of two public art sculptures of feathers which must have been 10 ft tall. Then we made our final state border crossing (still in sunshine but cold) and drove through Spokane on I-90. Part way to Ritzville we ran into two big cells of heavy snow and had to drive a ways with snow and slush on the road. For the rest of the day we were into and out of snow cells which dampened our enthusiasm for going to fly at Saddle – although we did call Doc Shallman to see if he was heading up that way. C.J. thought it was too cold and unstable to fly anyway, but she almost changed her mind in time to head south at Vantage where the windsock was showing north. We crossed Snoqualmie Pass on bare and barely wet pavement but had snow squalls all the way in to North Bend where we stopped at QFC for staples like milk, bread and ice cream. Janie ran over to ask how our trip had been as we pulled into our driveway so we even got a “welcome home” greeting. All around, a good trip!