Extraction and Implants

30 Dec 2009

Dr. Naumann of Knoff and Fettig had consulted with Greg Nash and determined that I needed two implants. I, on the other hand, had consulted with C.J. and determined that we could afford to do one implant. So when I got to my appointment Dr. Naumann and I wrestled with the problem and reached a compromise - I'd get two implants but he would charge me only half for the second one. I was amazed. Shortly afterward I was unconscious. Ya gotta love the IV-administered general anesthesia! C.J. drove me home and I'm on a soft-food diet for a couple of days. Don't look too closely at my smile - I've got a couple of metal posts sticking up where molars #20 and 21 used to be.

Christmas Eve Hike

Talapus Lake



24 December, Thurs - The weather was clear for a change so we loaded up the snowshoes and headed for the hills. Noting the wind we opted for staying in the forest and turned off I-90 just beyond the Bandera Airstrip. There was hardly any snow on the road and we were happy to be able to drive all the way to the Talapus Lake trailhead. Even though we were fashionably late - close to noon - there were no other vehicles at the trailhead. We had the trail to ourselves all the way to the lake and most of the way back. The snowshoes weighed down our packs a bit and the ski poles were the wrong length to use effectively as trekking poles bu we figured it was better to carry them and not use 'em, than wish we had them later. According to the map we climbed only a bit over 300 feet in 2.2 miles but it certainly seemed like 1300 ft.

Talapus Lake was frozen although we did not push our luck by trying to walk on it. It still made a good "scenic lunch spot" and our Thermarest situpons worked well enough to keep our seats warm and dry. Had we gotten an earlier start we would probably have gone to Olallie, the next lake. But sunset was early this close to the equinox and we headed back to the car. Along the way we met a family whistling and calling for their two dogs. They hadn't showed up by the time we left the parking lot. Hope they found them before Christmas.
(photo, left above, We entered the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area just below the lake)

Bad News from the Dental Surgeons

23 Dec 2009

When I went in for my bi-annual exam and cleaning, Greg Nash found decay on the lone tooth holding up a cantilevered bridge. He sent me over to Knoff & Fettig for a consultation. Looks like that tooth is history and I'll be getting an implant (one at first). AARP Delta Dental doesn't cover implants, of course. Not truly good news for the holiday season.

Winter Solstice Party

At the Stromings

20 Dec 2009

I can't believe we failed to take any photos at Steve and Susan's party. Because of the rain the party was moved inside and we had to do without the traditional bonfire. But Ray Kehl was there (with Eileen) so there were plenty of stories from the past of climbing and skiing. C.J. made Nanaimo Bars for dessert.

Christmas Card 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

Sorry, no physical cards this year. Everyone on our list has an email address so we're trying it this way this year. I hope you have a sense of humor about the whole thing.

So we’ve been retired a couple of years now – know what that means? Yup, the old retirement accounts have really tanked. That means no exotic foreign travels this year. Of course we couldn’t just hang around home doing arts and crafts. After all, C.J. turned Social Security-able so there was some help there.

During the winter we mostly stuck close to home. I built some stuff out of wood and refinished the ancient, ugly door to the garage (what had been the original front door to the house). C.J. worked on her scrapping, stamping and sewing. We got out ski touring several times and even dusted off our old ash-and-rawhide snowshoes for a hike along the Cascade Crest Trail. We also got some exercise sandbagging the front of the garage during the January flood – it turned out to be not quite necessary.

We got more ski touring time in around Mt. Bachelor in February and the weather at home improved enough for a paragliding flight and a kayak paddle. C.J. was still a committee chair for the USHPA so we had to attend the board meeting in Colorado Springs in March. Since we were going all that way, we decided to make it a vacation as well. (Of course we hadn’t counted on the blizzard as we arrived) The condo at Estes Park put us in easy reach of some good snow trails in Rocky Mtn National Park but the east side of the park was better for snowshoeing than skiing. Fortunately we found a deal on end-of-the-season rental snowshoes so we got to do some exploring. From there we dropped south to northern NM expecting it to be warmer and camp-able after a few days at the condo in Red River.

No such luck! It was warm in the day but at the Colorado Plateau elevations we were experiencing, it was mighty cold at night. Nevertheless we visited Great Sand Dunes NP, Taos, Philmont, Los Alamos, Bandelier, Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley, Natural Bridges, Capitol Reef (finally used our camping gear), and … Oh, and it snowed the night we were staying near Bryce Canyon so we got to see the rainbow colors against the snow, then took a hike through Kodachrome State Park. Our last National Park excursion was to Great Basin in eastern NV where our hike was curtailed a few miles up the trail to Wheeler Peak when the snow got deep enough for the snowshoes we had not carried with us. The whole trip was a great experience but it would have been a whole lot nicer if we had, say, a small trailer to camp in. Hmmm.

So that got me doing some research about small trailers. The Internet is an amazing source . And we kept looking around. Eventually Craigslist coughed up a deal we couldn’t resist. In Indianapolis. Whew, good thing my brother and his wife live there and were willing to do the inspection , purchase and storage! I installed a hitch and the necessary wiring, as well as as an oil cooler on the Outback.

Meanwhile we continued hiking, camping, flying and kayaking as usual. C.J. participated/competed in the Rat Race for the 7^th consecutive year, and we went to the Chelan XC classic to help out. I finally got the roof trim painted on the house. Before we knew it August had filled up with things we wanted to do – explore the Idaho Panhandle with Doc, meet the Goldmans on the Oregon coast, go back to Woodrat to visit Barbara, get to Florida for the Farnsworth family reunion and …

Wow, we still needed to pick up the trailer at Wayne’s! The pressure was building because we’d developed a hankering to drive the Alaska Highway and there was a definite end to casual tourist travel in late September for obvious weather-related reasons.

We didn’t get on our way to Indiana until the end of August but we did get to visit with family along the way and see some new country. We drove the 2005 Aliner Sport, all twelve feet of it, back via Devils Tower and Yellowstone to see how it felt being a (gasp) RVer. It was cool! The temperatures dipped into the 20’s at night but we were comfortable with our propane furnace. Our gas mileage went down but there wasn’t much strain on the car or driver. We even spent a night with our “self-contained” RV in a WalMart parking lot.

Three days after returning to North Bend we were again pulling out of the driveway on the way to Fairbanks via British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. We were just a tad late and our photos show that we ran into some gloomy weather but we hardly noticed. New country to see, no mosquitoes and few tourists. It was only a 2 ½ week trip but it took us from the unseasonal heat wave of Washington into autumn colors, then bare trees and, in Denali, snow.

Since we’ve been back C.J. has taken on a project to get her mom’s photos into an online scrapbook (http://sturtevantcj.blogspot.com) and then get them printed , bound , and sent to her in Florida. I’ve been doing maintenance and painting on the trailer – stuff that should have been done before we left on a 5000 mile trip, as well as repairs of the dings caused by occasional unpaved roads.

Next up is to get out of this rain – we’re taking the first two weeks of December off to go to sunny southern California to get some Vitamin D, and maybe some paragliding. After that we are still thinking about visiting Yellowstone in the winter (didn’t make it there last year). Then the big, long-awaited trip to Nepal with a bunch of our local flying friends in February!

We hope you and your loved ones are healthy and happy. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays! Write and tell us about your 2009. You can reach us at georges@nwlink.com and, if you are interested in more detail, click on http://sturtevantg.blogspot.com .

Love,

C.J. and George

SoCal Trip '09

Lakeside Campground at Rancho Jurupa, Riverside, CA

It had been raining just about every day in November, so, when we heard that Steve Roti was heading for Southern California with some friends to do some paragliding, we jumped on the opportunity to get away AND maybe do some off-season flying. In a way it all worked out - we missed some of the coldest weather of the winter and we did get some flying as well as a chance to visit with friends and family along the way. On the other hand, the weather did not cooperate and we were glad to have a dry and warm trailer to climb into for those wet and cold nights.

12/1/09, Tues - C.J. and I left home about 0845 and got gas at the Covington and Eugene Costcos. We stopped in Medford to get a spare Outback key for C.J. at Walmart and bought gas again. By then (1800) it was dark and we decided to continue over the Siskiyous rather than chance a freezing fog in the morning. The first rest area in California was listed on the "Free and Cheap Places to Camp" web site as pretty quiet because you could park RVs away from where trucks usually park. It didn't work out that way but it was still a good place to stop...and the price was right. However, it was plenty cold with the temps dipping into the 20s.

12/2/09, Wed - It took almost two hours to get up and gone probably because it was so cold. We stopped at noon to visit with Bill F at the Williams Gliderport. We left after having lunch and seeing his variometer production shop, around 1400. We got gas twice in Dunnigan ($2.99/g and $2.69/g) then drove down I-5 past Walnut Creek, around the bottom of the SF Bay, and up over the coast range to Felton where we checked into Rivershore RV park (photo,left) using our new membership in Passport America (1745). It was, as expected, foggy in the Redwood grove and the manager gave a grim forecast for the next week. Maybe we're bringing the rain with us. The showers (a good reason to stop at an RV park) were in a screened building - good thing the showers were hot because the air was not.

12/3/09, Thu - There was fog when we got up and we considered going for a hike in nearby Henry Cowell Redwood State Park but decided to make tracks towards Marshall in case the rain did start on Sunday. We drove down to Santa Cruz through the Redwoods on SR 9 as the sun burned off the fog. Then we headed down Hwy 1 with a stop for gas in Sand City (no gas at the local Costco). The drive along the Big Sur coast was spectacular. We stopped for lunch at a vista point high above the waves and watched what we guessed to be a sea lion working a school of fish with a bunch of gulls squabbling for the leftovers. A hang glider on a car passed us and we stopped at Sand Dollar LZ to use the porta potti. No one was flying except for the turkey vultures and hawks. (There is a new FS CG south of Lime Kiln CG (closed) and the Pacific Valley Store is gone.) South of Plaskett CG the highway was even more hilly and curvy until almost to Hearst Castle. Then we were back on freeway-type roads for the rest of the way to Santa Ynez. SR 154 led us up to San Marcos Pass from which we had to back track two miles to the road to Paradise FS CG, a nice little campground with live oaks if we had needed shade (but it was just about dark at 1720 when we arrived). ($19/night! Good thing we had our Golden Age Passport which made it "only" $9.50). The propane refrigerator was not working for some reason - first time we've tried to use it on this trip (AND the fridge door had not been locked so it might have been open all day). I tried running the refrigerator on AC by hooking up the generator, but that did not work well at all. We put the milk and other perishables outside with the bright moon and stars (much brighter and more numerous before the full moon rose). The car thermometer said 45 deg at 2200 but it felt colder.

12/4/09, Fri - Getting up at 0715 and not rushing got us out of camp by 0915. Then we drove over San Marco Pass and down to Santa Barbara where C.J. called Rob Sporrer who thought it would be a good flying day and directed us to the meeting place at "the T". We met a group of paraglider pilots including Chad Bastian and rode up to the Alternator (3750 ft on the Camino Cielo)(photo, left) in a Suburban shuttle. the wind was much stronger than forecast and crossing from the east so we waited until 1230 or so then drove back down. C.J. and I headed on, aiming for Marshall with a gas stop in Ventura. On the 101 and 210 we hit slow and stop-and-go traffic and noticed that the car temperature gauge was running hot. We didn't get to the Marshall LZ/Andy Jackson Flight Park until after dark, and then only because C.J. called Wills Wing for directions (and, later, Rob McKenzie). We pulled in next to a random RV and ran into Barb and Wayne Maxwell who moved their car and made room for us to camp for the night on a level spot.

12/5/09, Sat - I tried adding water to the radiator and putting a fuse in a socket marked for "main fan" (I later found that the slot was for a different model of Outback). We moved the trailer down a few levels to an unoccupied spot and tried lighting the propane refrigerator by removing the wind shield and using a butane lighter. That method worked well enough so at least we would have refrigeration if the weather got warm. Around 1030 we began getting ready to go flying even though it was pretty cloudy. About 1130 we went up in Wayne's car with Larry from Las Vegas and Roger from Bellingham. Conditions were cold and stronger wind than usual, NW rather than SW, and we found the cloudbase low in places. I launched with a long run around 1330 and had no trouble climbing in somewhat sharp-edged thermals. I almost whited-out once when clouds closed around me as I was trying to get out front to avoid the clouds, After that I stayed mostly over Cloud Peak and got lower. Light lift on the hillsides kept me turning and helped me stay up. It was lifty out over our trailer and around the periphery of the LZ. I pulled big-ears for a moment to be sure I would not overshoot, and landed about 1403. We hung out in the LZ with the other pilots, Owen, Dusty Rhodes, Tom and others. Around 1500 we did some grocery shopping at Stater Bros and stopped on the way back to the LZ to fill up our water container at a park (No potable water at the LZ). C.J. and I filled out the waivers and paid the required day use and camping fee by check. Later C.J. called Belinda and set up a get-together for Monday when the weather is supposed to really go bad. We took our computers up to the LZ shelter and picked up email - pretty upscale LZ to have free wireless internet! By then it was 1700 and getting dark. I called Steve Roti and found out that he and his group had canceled out of their planned trip and had flown at Pine in thirteen degree temps and snow. So we're on our own - glad Wayne is here. Maybe we'll go to Death Valley if it gets rainy.

12/6/09, Sun - It rained a bit overnight and dawned cloudy with low cloudbase. We had a leisurely breakfast with Welsh griddlecakes. Terry Crippen showed up after driving 17 hours through to near Bakersfield, sleeping at a rest area until it got too cold then continuing on to the Marshall LZ. Rob and Diane showed up at 1100 to do a couple of tandems, and launch began to clear. We drove up with Wayne, Barb and Tom. There was frost on the trees a Crestline and it was cold and windy on launch (SE gusts to 20). Then it clocked around to SW. I attempted a launch down the hill near the HG "ramp" but got jerked off my feet and had to untangle my lines back in the parking lot. My second attempt in a lull went much better (about 1400) and I flew out slowly trying to get beyond the cloudsuck area. I got to about 5000 ft before finding some sink to circle in. Then I went W past Cloud Pk and out to the SW going 6 mph or less into the wind. When I got down to 1000 ft AGL or so I turned back to the LZ and came down fairly quickly on the way back (28 min). C.J. had decided not to fly and rode down with Barb. After folding up and visiting we packed the trailer and drove to Riverside and Rancho Jurupa Regional Park, processed the paperwork (license, insurance, registration...) and set up in a pull-thru site with water and electricity. Terry C is sharing the site but sleeping in his car when he is not attending airplane inspector classes at the local airport. Tomorrow was forecast to be rainy so we are planning to go to Cathedral City near Palm Springs and visit Belinda and Davis.

12/7/09, Mon - We got up around 0700 so we would have plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast and still get out of there in time to meet Belinda at 1000. It had rained during the night and was drizzling when we took I-10 east to Cathedral City. After visiting with Davis and Belinda for a while, we went with B to Thousand Palms and the Coachella Canyon Preserve oasis where we started hiking in a light rain. Boardwalks kept our feet out of the mud as we passed through the palm groves, then the trail became sandy as we made our way to McCallum Pool and Grove - a real oasis. Even though it was starting to rain a little harder, we climbed to the vista point and looked out over the desert landscape of "moon country" (photo above left with the ocotilla). The wind and rain were blowing in our faces and soaking our pants (we never stopped to pull on rain pants) as we headed back. Along the way we saw a large ocotillo cactus and some fuzzy cholla as well as many animal signs and small birds. (photo left, C.J. and G at McCallums Pool) We all went back to B & D's trailer to change pants and then went to eat a late lunch at La Casita - excellent fajitas-for-two (carnitas=pork) Water was rushing down the gutters and the streets as we headed out of CC in the rain after getting gas at a Valero station. Back at camp just after dark we had to park carefully to avoid the large puddles. Terry came over for a cup of tea in our little trailer - after Belinda's Jayco, it felt even smaller than usual.

12/8/09, Tue -There was frost on the skylights and exposed aluminum this morning so the overnight temperatures haven't warmed up much at all. We went over to Marshall around 1000 and found the Wills Wings guys doing test flights from the 750 launch. Mike offered us a ride to the top. We were the only paragliders on launch but we took off at 1245-1253. C.J. went right up as usual while I scratched around until I finally got over launch level. I spent most of my flight time above and in front of Cloud Peak. Near the end I went out to the SE in light lift and then back to the LZ where I had to burn off excess altitude. (53 min) After lunch C.J. and I walked up to see "Lake McKenzie", a dug-out, pool-liner draped pond with a small amount of slimy water designed to provide irrigation water to the LZ. No wonder the signs caution against drinking the water! On the way back to camp we bought some groceries at Slater Bros and ran into slow traffic on I-215 just as we approached our exit at Mission Inn Ave. The holiday decorations and pedestrian mall near the historic Mission Inn would be interesting to wander around. After dinner we went over to Terry's motel at the airport to get showers, and then arranged to meet Aaron and Rob, who had just arrived from Washington. It worked out best to meet near the Mission Inn to kill two birds... We lucked into a parking spot nearby and walked around the pedestrian area with its skating rink, performance stage, gingerbread shop and decorated horse-drawn carriages. We checked out a couple of bars and spent some time inside the Inn before settling down in Mario's Place for a beer. It was a lot more fun than holing up in the trailer right after dinner. We got back to camp about 2230.

12/9/09, Wed - We met Aaron and Rob at Andy Jackson Flt Pk and drove up pretty early. The wind was over the back and strong. Wayne was optimistic but we headed down and drove to Orange for the Wills Wing factory tour with Steve Pierson. Around 1445 we headed back and the traffic was not as bad as I had expected so we got back in time to run up to Marshall and get Rob and Aaron launched just after the blood-red sun sank below the hills. Back at the LZ Terry showed up and we all went out for dinner at Jersey's Pizza on Kendall. The party broke up around 2000 and we returned to camp.

12/10/09 - With the battery fully charged and our water tank filled up we moved from the campground at Rancho Jurupa back to the Marshall LZ. Conditions looked promising with the day warming up and only a scattering of high clouds. When Rob and Aaron arrived we drove up (1030 or so) and C.J. and I launched about 1130. C.J. climbed right out while I groveled before finding a thermal that got me 300 ft above launch. That was about it for me as I then sank below 4000 ft and found nothing at the house thermal. Heading over to Cloud, I scratched hard but could nothing to get me up to where C.J. was boating around. I scratched down past the 750 launch and finally had to land (26 min). Concerned about the overheating car, I checked what I could - relays, fuses and coolant. When Rob finally launched, landed and packed up, I took him back to the top to retrieve. The car overheated again on the climb up Rte 18 and the dirt road to launch so it wasn't just the weight of the trailer causing the overheating. Back at the LZ I tried connecting the fan directly to the battery with no results. Dusty Rhodes suggested that it might be a relay or the heat sensor or even a dead fan motor and that I check with Dave at the San Bernardino Subaru dealership. I did that and then C.J. and I decided to have the service department diagnose the problem. Fortunately, they were willing to see the car right away (1530), found out that BOTH fans were dead and replaced the fans by 1730. The extended warranty should cover all but the $100 deductible (phew!). We drove back to the LZ (after getting gas) with a car we were pretty sure would pull the trailer through the slow freeway traffic and over the passes without overheating. After dinner we visited for a while with Barb and Wayne then did an early-to-bed.

12/11/09 - We got up at 0600 so we could leave early and avoid the expected heavy traffic on the 210 freeway. However, when we pulled out of the LZ/campsite at 0645, our GPS told us that going to San Anselmo via the 215 wouldn't take appreciably longer and would avoid the LA morning commute. It had rained overnight and the morning was drizzly as we packed up the trailer. That translated into fog on the higher passes like Cajon and Tejon, but at least it wasn't cold enough to have to worry about ice and snow. After a stop in Palmdale to get some Starbuck's hot cocoa, we descended the Grapevine to the San Joaquin valley with its citrus groves, a decided change from the Joshua trees along the way near Pearblossom. We made a gas stop in Lost Hills. It took about nine hours to reach San Anselmo where we left the Aliner parked along Bolinas Avenue with a permit on it that Ginny had arranged. We had run into rain as we reached the Bay Area and it continued into the night - hope the trailer doesn't float away. Wally and Ginny prepared a delicious "roast beast" dinner with all the trimmings and then C.J and Ginny looked at family photos and C.J.'s Alaska scrapbook.

12/12/2009, Sat - After another delicious meal - breakfast waffles and sausage - Ginny found out that we had missed the MCHGA holiday party the previous night. Rallying quickly, she wangled an invitation to the Sonoma Wings party for tonight. She and C.J. went out to get some supplies for Bill's vario shop while Wally and I held down the home fort (after a quick run down to Bolinas Ave so I could shut off the trailer fridge which had been left running on the battery). The party was well-supplied with food and drink and there were even a few people we knew so it was an enjoyable evening.

12/13/09, Sun - We packed up and managed to get out not much later than 0800 to continue our trip home. The trailer was still in one piece even though we had been concerned about leaving it parked on the street for two nights. After replacing a burned out tail light, I got gas and C.J. rode up to the airport with Ginny. In Vacaville, I refilled the tank snagged a case of California oranges and a big bottle of tequila at Costco before picking C.J. up in Williams. We made good time, stopping for just enough high-priced gas in Yreka to get us over the Siskiyou Mountains. We stopped again (and again in fog and gloom) at the Medford Costco for gas and dinner - a rotisserie chicken and some artisan bread. Our destination for the night was the "dry camping RV area" at Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville. After following the signs to the pull-thru parking area and setting up, we took the free shuttle to the casino and browsed around inside, then went outside to see the animated Christmas decorations. It was pretty chilly and our trailer battery had not recovered from its overnight attempt to keep the refrigerator running, so we piled on some blankets rather than totally frying the battery by running the heater. I guess we could have pulled out the generator but that seemed unnecessary (and somewhat impolite since we were close to other RVs). No problem staying warm with flannel sheets, two fleece blankets, a down comforter and a quilt!

12/14/09, Mon - We got up at 0630 and skipped breakfast so we could get going. I couldn't dry the roof that folds inside due to frost (but we would open it up as soon as we got it home and into the garage). To make up for the missed breakfast, we stopped at Starbucks in Roseburg for hot chocolate to go with C.J.' chocolate chip muffins. We stopped again for gas at Costco in Wilsonville, grazed the samples and bought a couple of nice bath towels. Stopped a final time to fill up at Covington then arrived home around 1545-1600. I backed the trailer into the driveway and then we hauled it into the garage and unloaded. Another great road trip!