Chelan XC Classic 2-7 July 2007

Chelan XC Classic 2-7 July 2007

7/4/07 Wednesday - After a reasonably early start, we spotted two paragliders descending from Granite Peak (Later we found out that it was most likely Steve and Teresa) as we drove up Snoqualmie Pass. We got to Chelan around noon and dropped off a bunch of camping gear at Tom and Lori's house before heading up the hill. We arrived early enough to help Brian Scott with launch director duties - it was a busy day with lots of free-flyers as well as the 40-odd competitors. Andrei, Irina and Chris got good flights north to Okanogan, Omak and north of Omak, respectively for almost 60 miles. Later, C.J. flew to the soccer field. We had dinner with the other guests at Tom and Lori's: Mike and April, Meet Dir. Darren Darsey (and his wife, Kari), Scorekeeper Paul Dees (gone home for a couple of days), Peter and Naomi (arrived later after Peter retrieved Naomi who had a 6.5 hr triangle flight but no radio contact); Conrad Kurp and Herta also ate with us. C.J. was able to get some work done using the wireless internet connection - or maybe nor since there were fireworks off in the distance at Manson.

7/5/07 Thursday - We got up at 0715 before the sun got too close to the tent which we had pitched in the backyard to take advantage of the shade of the house and headed up the hill around 1015. We were there for the pilot's meeting at 1100 and acted as launch directors until everyone had taken off. There was a smaller crowd today as many of the pilots who had been here yesterday had headed back to work. We got back to the house fairly early and figured out a dinner plan with Lori - the temperature had risen past 100 deg F and Lori wanted to avoid cooking inside the house so we went to Safeway and bought bratwurst, rolls/bread, chips and corn on the cob. Darren made a salad using jicama and we were set. I cooked the corn right on the barbecue grill along with the brats. Mike "went long" today -132 miles - so he and April did not make it back for dinner. We didn't need any blankets until early in the morning because of the heat.

7/6/07 Friday - Same schedule today as yesterday except that there was a picnic/BBQ at the soccer field in Chelan Falls organized by Trygg Hoff. C.J. helped make sure that it broke even by collecting $10 from everyone who got served (There was some confusion about whether the picnic was included in the entry fee - it wasn't.) The temperature dropped in the middle of the night and I had to pull the down comforter over us for a while.

7/7/07 Saturday - Today was the last day of the competition and James Thomson turned in a 100 mile paraglider flight to Reardon and Peter Gray had a personal best to the south of Spokane for 120 miles. Lori didn't get back with Tom (landed near Hartline?) and Peter until after midnight. Meanwhile, deciding not to fly after the competitors had all launched, we took a drive out to Field's Point, 25-Mile Creek State Park and then up many switchbacks to Slide Ridge for the view back to the Butte and down to the lake. We got back by 1930 to have leftovers from the picnic and from the last few dinners with Naomi, Paul and Darren (with Naomi’s margaritas!).

7/8/07 Sunday - We drove up early (0900) to try to get me a flight before the awards ceremony and dithered a bit between Lakeside, Sunnyside, Upper Lakeside and, finally, the back of Sunnyside (facing south). It was soarable and I climbed over the Butte in spotty and disorganized lift before heading north of the LZ to look down into the Chelan River canyon. I landed just before Aaron started his aerobatics over the field for about a 20 minute flight. After the awards ceremony (for which many of the winners were missing) we picked up our gear at Tom and Lori's and went back up so C.J. could fly. Unfortunately, there were so many dust devils around launch that it didn't appear to be a good idea to fly a paraglider. In fact, there was only one other pilot up there who was setting up a hang glider. I guess the competitors had had their fill of flying and Chelan heat. We bought some more cherries at Safeway and headed home beating the worst of the Sunday traffic.

Lakeview Paragliding Nationals June 24-30, 2007

June 24 – We got up early enough to drive Irina to Cantrall-Buckley campground to meet Arun who is going to give her a ride back to Issaquah. Andrei and Chris had already left for Lakeview right after the awards ceremony yesterday. After dropping Irina off, we returned to the yurt, packed up, cleaned up and stopped to thank Terri and Geoff. We gave them two gift cards for the three-diamond Porters restaurant. C.J. is going to make a t-shirt lap quilt for Barbara Summerhawk, owner of the yurt. Instead of taking the more direct SR 140, we took SR 66 from Ashland and wound slowly through the Siskiyous to Klamath and then on to Lakeview. It took at least four hours but was nicely scenic. The wind was strong all the way to Lakeview and we arrived just as the task was being canceled with only a very few people flying. We set up the tent at the fairgrounds and went into town to see Caro at the Chamber of Commerce who gave us a tour of the new bank in the old saloon/bordello across the street, and her latest project, a mural of hang gliders and paragliders on another bank building right on the main street. After a strawberry shake at Jerry’s we went back to HQ at the fairgrounds and scrounged some additional sleeping bags/blankets in anticipation of the frost warning that has been issued for tonight. Later we went to El Aguila Real for dinner with Chris, Andrei, Sam Crocker and Dave Wheeler. It seemed like it was the place to be for pilots and locals as well.

June 25 – There was frost on our chairs when I got up this morning but we were comfortable in the tent with our down comforter, blanket and fleece over flannel sheets. The first task of the Nats is to fly from Blackcap north along the ridge west of the Warner Range to Ennis Butte just short of Paisley, then to Sims Ranch and back to goal at Valley Falls. We drove up to launch with Alicia and somehow C.J. inspired me to fly even though I had not really been considering it. Conditions were light but I got a “wind tech” wristband from Karl Decker (predatorwings.com) and got as ready as I could without any fleece, camelback or warm gloves. After a few other wind techs had launched (including Alicia, Lori, and a guy flying a Gradient Bolid) I took off at 1227 and sank right down the face towards the LZ finally catching a thermal when it seemed too late. C.J., who had launched shortly after me, was below and did not get the lift I was in. I spiraled up over launch and to 7000 ft, moved north, sunk and climbed again to 8000. My plan was to fly to goal at Valley Falls without going to Ennis first. That was a pretty ambitious goal since my longest XC flight at Lakeview was only 3-4 miles. Still, I was moving north at around 28 kph and had reached 9000 ft at least once and the turbulence was pretty endurable. I crossed Hwy 140 and was now over lower relief topography. By the time I reached 13 km from BLA146 I was low and I decided to cross Hwy 395 where it turns east and goes down a canyon to the big valley below Palisades launch. Hitting no lift, I flew down the slope into the valley, crossed 395 again and landed into the wind to the north. (Lori landed a short distance north but I did not spot her). After packing up (outside of the fence of the field in the shade of the only tree around) I walked up the dirt road to the highway, refused a ride to goal from a couple of drivers and spent some time talking to a local couple who had come out to watch the gaggles flying north along the ridge leading to Ennis. After I landed I had no more contact with C.J. either on simplex or the 147.00+ repeater on Black Cap so I accepted a ride back to town with the Vietnam vet and his wife.

Some pilots were already back when I got to the fairgrounds and HQ but most would trickle in during the day and into the night and others decided to head home complaining about rough air (Dave Wheeler was already gone). We waited until Chris showed up and went to dinner at Jerry’s with Kyndel who had come closest to making goal; Sam Crocker and another pilot showed up, then Stefan and Meredith so we had a full table plus more pulled together. Meredith (with David Salmon) was among those who had a two hour hike out of wherever she landed. Andrei was even later – not back by the time we went to bed. Later he said it was like hiking through a Discovery Channel show.

June 26 – After cooking another batch of oatmeal in the frying pan we went to the 0830 meeting with Mark Webber to hear what he had to say about using ham radios (and grab a breakfast smoothie). Afterwards I helped a couple of pilots program in the repeater frequencies and tone. After saying goodbye to everyone, and thanking Gail, we broke camp and were out of Lakeview by 1000. The trip to North Bend took almost 12 hours because we stopped to shop at the outlet mall in Bend and bought gas (296.9/gal) in Yakima and had a Costco food court dinner. [We learned later that a task all the way to Frenchglen (145.3 km) had been flown that day.]

The Rat Race Paragliding Comp June 18-23, 2007

June 16 – We got started from the house around 0800 but had to turn back for my computer before we reached I-90. It took just about 8 hrs to get to the HQ where I signed in as a volunteer and attended a meeting and C.J. went to the mandatory pilots’ meeting. We had dinner at HQ then drove out to Humbug Creek with Diana Gerion (from Cali, Colombia) and found the yurt. Irina, Andrei and Chris had already arrived. Later Terri and Geoff stopped by; they had some food for Diana since they thought she had not eaten. Hawaiian "Rat Race" T-shirt -->

June 17 – After the pilots meeting we drove up to launch and I set up seven or eight packing boxes and fitted them with rocks for weight and plastic bags for garbage. Kristine, Arun’s girlfriend helped me. The task (Launch-Rabies-Launch-Burnt-WoodratPk- WoodratLZ-MuleLZ out near Applegate Dam) was relatively short and a large percent of the competitors made it. I collected all the garbage and stupidly put the bags in the back of the car. As a result, I had to wash out the rear area when I got back to HQ. We went out with Beth, Ernie, Irina, Andrei and Chris to Bella Union in Jacksonville for a good dinner. I hope they don’t send us a bill for the detached tabletop… Mike Haley -->

June 18 – The task was almost the same as the day before. Attended Len’s Mentoring session at 1800. Dinner at the Back Porch BBQ in Jacksonville was organized by the comp.

June 19 – Windy so the task was changed to a short downwind to Donatos from Burnt via Cemetery. It was too short – first finisher did it in less than 16 minutes. Since the nominal time was 1.5 hrs, the validity was low – 120 points instead of 1000. Other factors include 70 people in goal and few pilots down along the route. The meet official put on an “impromptu” barbecue at the goal. On the way there I took the wrong turn and ended up driving almost all the way up Andersons Butte so we got to the party late and had to eat hot dogs.

June 20 – Long task day first to the west almost to the yurt in Humbug Cr valley then back to Jacksonville Hill and other turnpoints finally to Donatos. Chris made goal on this day. C.J. went down after the Wellington turnpoint in the Applegate Valley and got a retrieve on the school bus. Dinner party at La Fiesta in Jacksonville was organized by the comp.

June 21 –The task was cancelled after most of the field had launched and some had re-launched. Light conditions at first kept the gaggles low, below and barely above launch. Then the wind speed increased abruptly especially in the valleys. Mike was getting input from pilots in the air, Len Szafaryn, for one and when he heard that the comp pilots could not reach the turnpoint on Rabies Ridge, he stopped the task. C.J. had tried to launch early but stumbled and backed off launch to watch the sometimes entertaining launches. After driving down we hung out at HQ until 6 p.m. when Rob Sporrer did a mentoring session. Then we went in to Jacksonville to gas up the Trooper using a Rat Race voucher. We had dinner back at Ruch at the Magnolia Grill where we ate on the patio and watched PG soaring above mid-launch – turned out to be Irina, Andrei and Chris. C.J. getting launch assist -->

June 22 – A long task to Donatos LZ followed by the Rat Race party. I missed a good bit of the party because I went up to fly from mid-launch with Julie and Gever Tulley at 1800. It was too windy so we and a bunch of others waited until 1930 before we launched into soarable conditions. It was windy from the W and I was making only 5 mph toward the LZ and 29-30 mph back towards the mountain. I got up about to the level of the upper launch and headed out to the LZ where the last 500 ft or so was turbulent with alternating lift and sink. I made a couple of circuits of the LZ gaining some and losing some, and had to core sink at the NE corner to get down. Gever called on the radio to say that the wind had turned catabatic and I set up over the lower LZ and landed toward the mountain. Later I got back to the party in time to see the amazing “Magic Mike” do phenomenal card tricks. C.J. and I gave Gever a ride back up to mid-launch to retrieve his vehicle.

June 23 – Last day of the Rat: A relatively short task to LZ-Jville-Poormans-Cemetery-Donatos. C.J. launched early and flew with the poorly organized gaggle until the wind picked up, then went out and landed in the LZ. I helped out on launch and then collected garbage, disassembled the boxes and drove it all down to HQ picking up David Salmon along Sterling Cr Rd on the way. Leaky garbage bags made the usual mess on the car; I washed it off later at the HQ. We’re off to Lakeview tomorrow where it is supposed to be windy and cold. At the awards ceremony this evening I caught some photos of the awardees then we went out to eat with Irina at the Magnolia (again). People were soaring after 2000 but we decided to go back to the yurt and get cleaned up and rested. First Place in Women's Division Kari Castle -->

Subbing and Groundbreaking for the Gym 4 June 2007

Up at 05:30 for a substitute teaching assignment for Amy in the fourth grade
at St. George, I was out of the house before seven o'clock. Chairs were set up under a sun/rain shelter near the flagpole for the guests who were attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the "miracle gym". Amy was a very big part of the planning and fundraising for the gym so she was going to be busy with the setting up of the ceremony and smoozing with the dignitaries and contributors, so I would be trying to keep her fourth grade students on track with their math and social studies. So we did some math and had recess and did some other stuff and by then it was time for the groundbreaking. Archbishop Brunnett, Bishop Tyson, Fr. Fellino, deacons, Knights of Columbus, and altar servers processed in between lines of older students wearing their sports champions t-shirts. The fourth grade, with help from older choir members had a couple of songs to sing. Mrs. O, the bishops, Amy, and a representative from the Shea family, the major contributor to the gym project, all made short speeches. The Archbishop blessed the grounds and two teams of nine each took ceremonial shovelfuls of dirt. The only downer was the rain which had held off all morning until the ceremony. Most of the guests were under shelter but the students were outside; the bishop finally had them all squeeze under the rain shelters. The groundbreaking was followed by a reception for the guests in the school hall while the students went back to their classrooms for lunch. In the afternoon, the fourth graders worked on their Washington State History "books" for literacy day. At the end of the day there was a ton of food left over from the reception and I took home some chicken satay skewers and some sandwiches.

Paddle to West Point 3 June 2007

Tired of staying home and building the bistro table (which I had just completed the day before) and digging the buttercup weeds out of the "lawn", I suggested that we do a little kayak day trip. Since the weather was supposed to be unstable with the chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon, I picked something relatively close to home - West Point, which extends out from Discovery Park in Seattle. We drove along the waterfront where a cruise ship was loading passengers and across the Magnolia Bridge to Smith Cove Park but found that there was not an easy way to get down to water level (across boulders and then mud flats). We met another kayaker there. he had some other suggestions but I thought we'd try Commodore Park on the west end of the Ballard Locks on the south side of the Ship Canal. That worked well - parking, easy access to the water and no big openwater crossings to our destination. The only drawback was that the water level was way below what we had expected from our last trip on the Ship Canal. I must have read the tide table wrong, mixing up the A.M. and P.M., because I was expecting a high low tide but instead it was a minus tide. That also made the paddle past the mouth of the canal interesting because the sand bar on the south side extended far into bay and the mixed waves and wakes were breaking on the shallows. We gave that area a wide berth and stayed out farther than usual from the shore [Many of the places we have paddled have been along rocky cliffs where the depth drops off very quickly.] although we did paddle between some big boulders (glacial erratics?) in the water. There were lots of people walking on the beach and lots of motorboats, sailboats and some ships and barges out this Sunday. We paddled as far as the cliffs below the old sand dune HG launch at Discovery Park before turning back to have lunch on the north side of the point. By the time we had finished lunch, the tide had come up enough so that we could paddle across what had been sand just a couple of hours before. After getting the kayak out of the water and back up on the Outback, we stopped to tour Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center where we had a view down to part of the route where we had paddled (about 6 miles in total according the the GPS). There was also a nature trail with local plant species labeled with their uses by the native people.

C.J.'s Birthday 31 May 2007

We haven't flown Tiger in AGES - well, not since the road got washed out during the big storm back in November, at least. Because we can't drive to launch until the road is repaired (probably not till September of this year), I purchased a 10-ride punch card for the Tiger Shuttle online for $130. When we arrived for the 12:30 run, Michael Miller was mowing the grass at the LZ but he came right over and got us loaded up and on our way. I was kind of surprised that he would take just the two of us up since the trip involves three separate vehicles to get to launch. We were the only pilots on launch until two more arrived, pilots from Bellingham and Cleveland, OH, who had never flown Tiger before. After a brief introduction to the site for the newbies, C.J. and I launched. The wind was stronger than we had expected and C.J. was concerned about the velocity increasing over time. After flying for a while, she went out into the valley and searched for sink to get down to the switch-y LZ. It took me a while to get comfortable but eventually I was able to get over to the end of the North Ridge and return low to the Dome and Last Chance where I caught a cycle and got back over launch. Once more I made the crossing over the House Thermal to the North Ridge and this time was able to fly up the ridge a ways before bailing over the south side and heading for the LZ.

Okay, so C.J. got a flight on her birthday - that was a traditional part of the celebration. But, wait, there's more! By 1845 we were heading back to Issaquah for dinner at JaK's Grill. We're shooting for 1930 and thought we'd get there and sign in and try to get a table for the 9-10 people we expected. Patti was next to arrive, and then Beth and Ernie and Andrei. Irina arrived later along with Chris and Patricia. No rush, since we didn't get two adjoining booths until after eight o'clock. No problem, because, as usual the food was worth waiting for. C.J. and I split the large filet mignon and it was just the right amount. On the other hand, Andrei and Irina got the 40 oz (!) porterhouse steak and barely ate half of it. After dinner we grabbed an ice cream cake from Baskin and Robbins and went up to Andrei and Irina's home on the plateau for dessert. I didn't have any big birthday presents for C.J. but I did give her a musical card " It's not about how old you are , it's what age you are" and the song was "Age of Aquarius" from "Hair". I had finally transferred a photo of C.J. to the 1993 Women's Fly-In t-shirt - the one with several pictures of "Women who fly" including a blank frame labeled "me" and gave her the shirt wrapped in bear paper.

Jackson Hole SIV Clinic 18-20 May 2007

Sixteen years of paragliding and I'd never done a maneuvers clinic! When Andrei and Irena invited us to join them for their second trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, we decided to go on the spur of the moment. It wasn't even supposed to be a real SIV conducted over the water but just a "Spring Tuneup" with truck towing on the lakebed of the Palisades Reservoir near Alpine, Idaho (about 35 miles from Jackson).

Wednesday 16 May We drove the Trooper so that there would be room for the four of us when we picked Andrei and Irena up at the airport in Boise. Gas mileage was better than I feared and the gas prices throughout the trip were lower than in the Puget Sound area. Around 6 p.m. we pulled into Ontario, Oregon where we had made reservations at the local Motel 6 - about $10 cheaper when using the internet. The manager directed us to a family-run steakhouse across the Snake River in Fruitland. Nichol's didn't look like much from the outside but the food was good, not very expensive and the place was decorated with antique-y kind of stuff.

Thursday 17 May There was no rush to get anywhere until 1345 when Andrei and Irena's plane arrived so we got some hot water for tea and cocoa, ate a scone and headed into Idaho to check out the new Sierra Trading Post store in Meridian. C.J. found some warm-weather clothing since we hadn't brought much with us expecting that it would be cold at 6200 ft in Jackson. It was already pretty warm in the Boise area and it got sunnier and warmer for most of our trip. Since it was too late by now to check out any of the flying sites, C.J. called Lisa and got an invitation to lunch. We met at her house, met the big dogs and got a tour of the glass workshop before heading downtown to PF Changs. Lunch was excellent - lettuce wraps, Singapore Street Noodles, and a beef dish. Just as we were driving away, Irena called to say that they had just landed. We dropped off Lisa and picked up Andrei and Irena and headed east on I-84. We stopped for an unmemorable Burger King dinner and gas in Idaho Falls and Andrei drove the rest of the way choosing to go up over Teton Pass. It was light enough to see the scenery and the deer alongside the road, but dark by the time we reached the summit. We got into our room at the Miller Park Lodge around 2130 and didn't waste much time before we were sacked out knowing that we had to meet Scott Harris, and his crew at the base of the gondola at 0730.

Friday 18 May The alarm went off at 0600 and gave us plenty of time for showers and breakfast. Unfortunately, the breakfast buffet did not start until 0730 but we still got some juice, yogurt and fruit from the office to go with our scones. We left at 0715 and got to the Teton Village parking lot just about on time but had to make a circuit through the lot before we spotted the paragliders. We filled out the usual waivers, hopped on the 4-person-plus-gear gondola and rode up to the 8600 ft terminus. The launch was a couple of hundred yards down a service road and we were the first clients to fly it. Conditions were light and when I launched, I flew straight out, sinking pretty rapidly and only going 10-12 mph. I was a little concerned because there was the big tram cable to cross, but it wasn't a problem and soon I was setting up for a landing near a small pond on the edge of the parking area. After everyone landed and the coffee

truck had made some sales, we loaded back into the cars and drove to Wilson, parked and transferred into Scott's truck and headed up the Teton Pass road a few miles to the Phillips Canyon Road. Launch was at 8100 ft or so and was recently melted out and the aspens were just putting out leaves; a grouse (or something like a grouse) wandered through the setup area without seeming to be afraid of us fellow flyers. I launched first wanting to get off before it got strong. Going left, I left the bowl behind and got out on the ridge. There was lift but it was unorganized and sharp-edged. I stayed up nd climbed to the top of the ridge but that was as far as I could get. Eventually others launched and found lift farther out in front and got higher. I wasn't really sure where the LZ was and finally chose to go to the field nearest where we parked in Wilson. There was a bunch of construction going on - one of those $30 million dollar homes with a big artificial pond out front - but there was plenty of room to land on the grassy pasture and break down in the shade. [Time to get out of the warm clothes!]. By the time everyone had landed there was quite a bit of cloud development and we broke for lunch with the idea that we might be able to fly in the evening. We went back to Miller Park to nap or work while it rained a bit, and went out again at 1700 to meet at Cairns Park (behind the Virginian) where a bunch of paraglider people showed up. No one but Colby thought it was possible but Scott took us on a field trip out through the Elk Preserve to the Curtis Canyon site. Colby showed up and took his wing out of his truck but it was strong and over thte back, so not even he would fly. We drove back to town and tried the Stone Table for dinner but it was closed so we went next door to The Gunbarrel and had a combination platter of elk chops, bison prime rib, and venison bratwurst with pitchers of Teton Workhorse wheat ale. C.J. and I shared one meal and so did Andrei and Irena. We got to hear a lot about flying in Jackson Hole and how Scott runs his business.

Saturday 19 May We met Scott at 0900 about four miles west of Alpine along the shore of the reservoir. Justus and Colby joined us for the towing and maneuvers; Jeff Coulter and Josh Riggs were running the tow boat, and Scott and Matt Combs took turns with the coaching. The launching and landing area was a huge grassy, sloping field with a 2-3 ft drop-off down to the cobble/gravel beach. We towed straight off the meadow getting into the air before reaching the drop-off, then turned W and headed down the lake. At some point the boat made a U-turn and headed back east past the launch. Depending on the wind we would release opposite launch or farther east. On my first tow I was surprised to be coached to do a full frontal for my first maneuver; I had kind of expected to do some big-ears to warm up. From there we went to B-line stall, asymmetric collapses left and right (steer to clear) and spiral dive with recovery surge lessened by a turn in the same direction as the spiral. On the second tow we went to accelerated asymmetrics, accelerated full frontal, asymmetric holding the A-line down to turn 180 degrees and exit like a spiral dive, and asymmetric spirals with the same recovery with a turn. By the time it was my turn to tow again the sky had definitely started to get overdeveloped. I launched anyway but the tow was unpleasant and the maneuvers felt different with the added motion imparted by rough thermals. I still managed to do several B-line stalls, asymmetric collapses, and attempts at doing asymmetric spirals. Even though the locals continued to tow and do acro, we mere mortals started to practice kiting, and when the wind died, even began to pack up. I was a little late to catch the hint and had to yank my wing to the ground when a gust front blew through. After that we barely managed to get everything into the Trooper before the shower soaked the gear. On the way back we stopped at Smiths to buy a couple of roasted chickens, rolls, olives and mushrooms from the olive bar, watermelon and beer for dinner on our own at the lodge. Later we went out to walk through town to look at the shops; on the way back the sky was clear enough to see Venus very close to the crescent moon.

Sunday 20 May We had to be down at the lake by 0800 this morning so we could get in as many tows as possible before the wind got strong or it overdeveloped as it did yesterday. We got in two tows each in good conditions and watched Colby fail to pull out of whatever maneuver he was doing and splash into the water, just barely getting his reserve parachute out before he hit. Wade also looked like he was on track for a bath when he failed to steer out of a spiral dive until it was almost too late. Andrei kept us riveted with his maneuvers, especially when he pulled off a quite creditable helicopter. My last flight was my best even though the radio fastened to my PFD was too far back and could not be heard in the middle of a maneuver what with all the wind noise. The asymmetric spirals seemed to go well with good exits - I did maybe three before I started to feel nauseous. Then I managed a good B-line stall by grabbing higher up on the lines. Matty had me finish up with asymmetric with steer and clear, some wingovers, and asymmetrics that I held for 180 degrees before letting the wing recover. We broke early as the weather was turning bad with wind and overdevelopment. We stopped at Smiths on the way back again and picked up salad makings for dinner. After dinner we drove out along the Wilson-Moose road and saw deer, elk and a coyote. We continued north along the main highway as far as Mt. Moran spotting bison and a herd of elk along the way. We made a stop at the Cunningham Cabin site then turned back and drove the loop out toward Kelly just as it began getting dark.

Monday 21 May We were hoping to fly at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort meeting at 0730 at the gondola but the weather was showery and overcast. We got packed up and Andrei and Irena went out to shop for some souvenirs. By 1000 or so we were on the road stopping for gas (prices had gone up at least five cents per gallon in the last three days to $3.16) and then heading up over Teton Pass again. We stopped at Fred Meyer in Idaho Falls for a bathroom break and then went back in to visit Starbucks. We got a call from Bill Anderson that we could drop off our wings at his shop in Moore so we took Route 20 along the northern edge of the Snake River Plain through the Idaho National Lab, Arco, and on to Moore. After handing our wings over to Bill we drove out to the base of King Mountain to look at the incipient flight park and the LZ. We had lunch in the car because the wind was so strong (a headwind all day and much of the next day) in the sun in Arco behind a church for a windbreak. We got into Boise and checked into Motel6 and got some ideas for where to eat dinner from the manager. We found Bardenays, a distillery/pub in the Basque district not far from PF Changs and had a good dinner. Lisa was able to join us for a glass of wine after her conference call with the Executive Committee.

Tuesday 22 May I got up early with Andrei and Irena to take them to the airport - just five minutes away - at 0540. C.J. was still in bed when I got back so we slept for another hour or two. After some leftovers for breakfast we headed on into the wind which didn't let up until we were beyond the Blue Mountains. We made a couple of pit stops and filled the gas tank in Nampa and Yakima (lousy mileage with the headwind). We were home before 1700 and picked up our mail.

Expenses:
SIC clinic $800
Gas $300 (?)
Lodging $76
Food $100