(C.J. and Paula, above)
25 Aug, Wed - We left around 0845 in the Trooper and got gas at Costco in Tumwater, where we also got some fruit at the nextdoor Fred Meyers. We left I-5 at Tigard and drove past the McMinnville Air Museum with its Spruce Goose exhibit (have to stop there one of these days) to Lincoln City then along the coast in glorious sunshine. We made a quick stop at the Newport docks to pick up some tuna that Heather had ordered (fresh, line caught, under 30 lbs); it turned out to be delicious cooked lightly on the BBQ grill at the rental house in Yachats. C.J.'s birthday cake was a big hit also, especially for almost-four-year-old Sylvan who had never seen canned whipped cream before (I hope we haven't set him on the downward path to junk food!)
26 Aug, Thu - C.J. and I got up at 0800, early enough to get out of the living room where we had slept, and went
for a walk on the rocks. It was a minus tide and there were lots of tidepools with anemones and starfish. When we got back everyone was up and we had a big communal pot of oatmeal for breakfast. We didn't leave until 1300 but clear, sunny weather kept us on the coast all the way down past Brookings into California. We stopped for gas in Florence where gas prices were unusually low for the coast ($2.849) and had a DQ snack in Gold Beach. The drive up through the redwoods and then through the coast range was marred only by the smoke of a forest fire (and the length of the drive). We pulled in to Barbara's yurt around 2000 and cooked up some dinner.27 Aug, Fri - Barbara came in late last night after a Britt performance by Garrison Keillor. We slept in until almost 0900 till it warmed up a bit (Is it always cold at the yurt?) and then cooked some oatmeal. Around 1115 the three of us drove over to the Woodrat LZ and met up with Rick Ray, Debbie V. and Anne __. Kevin and some of his students were at Mid-launch. Christian and Nick Crane were on launch with tandem students and soon launched to show us what the air was doing. We waited a while for the high cirrus to burn off. I launched at about 1400, found lift and eventually got to 5800, not quite as high as C.J. A few pilots looked low at Rabe's so I didn't go there. I went to the S peak of Woodrat, then back, and crossed to Burnt where I got high enough to make a crossing to Rabe's. On the ridge and toward Rabe's Peak I found some small but strong thermals and one gave me a reported 75% collapse of my left wing. There didn't seem to any easy lift on the way to Rabe's Pk so at 4000', I turned south to Longsword Winery. I ran into wind and landed, farther out than I had planned, in some starthistle. I waited at the winery while C.J., who had landed before me, and others went to retrieve the cars. Apparently the local wisdom is to land at Longsword if you fly in the middle of the day, thus avoiding the usual turbulence of the Hunter LZ. I called Stephen back in Yachats to see about getting my fleece jacket back which I had left hanging by the door when we left. I also called the Medford Costco pharmacy to see about getting some Metformin since I had not brought enough with me. Later C.J. and I went to get some fresh veggies at a farm near Cantrall Buckley and back to the yurt. We mixed up a dinner of leftover salmon, eggs and veggies and ate inside on our table as the temperature had dropped markedly.
28 Aug, Sat - It was warmer last night, probably because it was cloudy. After a cold cereal breakfast we drove in to Medford to get my Metformin prescription, gas and some groceries. By the time we got back to the LZ no one thought that flying under the overcast with "proto-mammata" looked like fun (although Deb and Don had had flights from Mid). A group went to visit recovering PG pilot Bill, and we went to Eve's Cafe to have lunch (and to check our email). Barb met us there on our way out but stayed to chat with Anne and Doug while we went back to the yurt to read and relax. There were some rain showers. Barb came over to look at C.J.'s scrapbook. Everyone is hoping for better conditions on Sunday.
29 Aug, Sun - There were more showers overnight so it was pretty cold and damp. C.J. cleverly held off on taking a bath until the morning so she could go up to the cabin which was, compared to the yurt, toasty warm. I tried preparing oatmeal and milk over the double boiler and it worked well (as long as you weren't in a rush). Just after 1115 the sky started to clear and we headed over to Woodrat to catch the shuttle to the top ($10 ea for non-locals). The shuttle is just a regular open-back pickup pulling a trailer with some telescoping HG racks but it has been carrying folks up the hill on flying season weekends for a couple of years now. Sam Crocker, Jim Tibbs, Dave (Fiasco Winery) Palmer, Randy, Barb, and Don (Donato) Fitch and a few others rode up in/on the shuttle. Deb and Rick met us on top. We waited until 1330 or so to launch. I climbed slowly above launch and at 4600 went to Burnt but sank to where I thought I was going to land at the Old folks Home. But I caught a very low save and climbed quickly to over 5K and crossed to Rabe's. I pushed up the ridge in mixed lift and reached 6400 above the Bunny (-shaped) Meadow. Deb and Rick came in above me (reporting cloudbase at 7100') and I got as far as a half mile from Rabe's Peak. Then I turned for Burnt thinking about trying for Donato's as a goal, but I was not able to find any lift on my line so had to run for Mid where I got up to 5K again. I flew over to Squires Peak and then headed west toward Cantrall Buckley. I was slowed by the headwind and didn't find any lift so I turned N for Longsword and landed there in strong-enough wind to make for a very slow final glide. C.J., Barb and Jules and a few more were already there. C.J. got a ride over to the LZ to retrieve the Trooper and we went back to the yurt for a late lunch and rest. Barb stayed for a HG flight with Jim Tibbs, who was working on his tandem rating. I downloaded my track logs and the photos from Yachats, and recharged my radio and C.J.'s cell. Barb came by after a late dinner and reported on her flydown (!). Some PGs had had hourlong flights but it wasn't really glassoff conditions.
30 Aug, Mon - It rained during the night somewhat more than showers so there are some puddles on the deck - strange weather for southern OR! After pancakes (made w/o milk from a Canadian baking mix), C.J. came back from cleaning up at the cabin with a weather report of showers and below normal temps until Wed or Thu. We packed up and were out by noon. I had been hoping to go to Whaleback to fly and camp and then up to Pine Mtn, but the forecast was just too adverse. On the way through Grants Pass we saw a whole posse of teddy bears on motorcycles, probably the signature art for 2010. We stopped at Eugene to pick up my fleece jacket at Heather and Ryan's beautiful craftsman-style 1941 house. We were going to be too late getting home so we pulled into a Quiznos in Centralia for a quick dinner. The weather changed to mostly clear and sunny from just south of Eugene all the way home. Arrived home at 2120 after gassing up at Costco in Covington.
And, yes, it did rain overnight and on through Tuesday.
