Hazel's Fourth Birthday

At the Jorgensen's new Kiona Airpark location

6-8 May 2016

Originally we were going to the annual Beach 'N at Chelan but we got an invitation to Tina and Larry's event just before the news broke that there would be no landing on the park beach at Chelan. The lake had risen and covered the usual spot. AND there would also be no landing down at the Chelan Falls soccer field due to a soccer tournament being held there. The organizers then got permission to land at the airport, an unusual concession. Unfortunately for PGs, the airport is about six miles from the launch on Chelan Butte so it certainly can not be done on a glide. Anyway, we really like Tina and Larry and their family and friends, plus C.J. could possibly fly her hang glider at Dog, so we opted for heading south rather than east.

6 May, Fri - I had a VA medical appointment in Seattle at 1020 so we didn't get started until after 1300. Once there and with our trailer set up in a grassy site under huge hemlocks we joined Tina in preparing for the party. Our project was to put together a large dollhouse using bolts and cylinder nuts. After finishing it, we hid it in a closet in an unused guest bedroom upstairs. We had dinner with Tina and Larry, Jazzy and Justin and his folks, Hazel, of course, and others. Later Hazel found the presents that C.J. had brought and opened them up (Well, really her birthday had been the day before so it wasn't necessary to wait for the big BD luncheon on Saturday) She ignored the embroidered shirts but liked the book, A Child is Born, since it related to her experience as Jasmine gave birth to Palmer just a few weeks ago.

7 May, Sat - Tina did the ceremonial first tow with the Dragonfly early before it got windy. And Justin did the second one, this time north to Kiona Peak just west of Watch Mtn. We helped set up tables and did some other stuff before the potluck lunch with organic ground beef hamburgers and Costco hot dogs. Hazel's birthday cake was a chocolate bundt cake with pink frosting covered with a big box of sprinkles. It was nice and warm in the sun on the apron in front of the hangar. There were lots of presents but mostly the kids (James and ___ Ollikanen were there) played in the water in a little kiddy pool. (It didn't seem that warm to me.) Around 1600 we drove over to Dog where it looked pretty windy but people were flying. We drove up behind Larry's truck but C.J. and Tina decided not to launch. Larry and Justin were able to fly all over the place - west of Elk, Peterman, Panorama; even Paige on her Falcon was able to get to Elk and return. No one tried to fly back to Kiona Airpark, even though Justin got to 5000 ft. I drove down a stick-shift Toyoya with OR license; no idea who it belonged to. Back at Jorgensen's the plan was to eat up the leftovers from the lunch, but Justin's Dad cooked up a big batch of smoked ribs that were delicious with barbecue sauce. There were also salads, hot dogs, pork chops and three kinds of chocolate cakes for dessert.

8 May, Sun - After breakfast we hung out for a while then decided to go to Dog to see if it was flyable. Tina and Larry were not going so we packed up the trailer and left it to pick up later. We drove via the back route which followed Falls Rd eventually passing Dave Gerdes' place and coming out on the Champion Haul Road at the Taidnapam boat launch. There were no pilots in the air or in the LZ but conditions didn't look too bad, a bit cloudier but not as windy. On the way up we met a paraglider pilot coming down who said it was too strong for PG. Up on top it was chilly while C.J. set up but we had warm clothes with us. C.J. had a good launch in smooth conditions. It looked like she could soar for a long time. I started down with the Sorento and the conditions must have changed because the lift quit and C.J. landed not long after I had reached the LZ. I videoed her landing which was good, but the wind was light enough that she had to run hard to keep from dropping her nose. We returned to the Jorgensen's where Larry and Tina gave us a cooler full of cuts of their organic beef as a thank-you for helping them move two weekends ago. We hitched up and headed east for a scenic route back to North Bend. We had to buy gas in Randle because we were down to an eighth of a tank (2.599). We stopped briefly at the ranger station but it was closed and there was no recent information about the road we wanted to take. [One interesting thing was a sign saying that mushroom and beargrass permits were sold at the ranger station.] In Packwood we turned north onto the Skate Creek Road (52) a paved USFS route that winds through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest south of Mt. Rainier NP and comes out at Ashford near the park entrance. The road was a bit bumpy for driving with the trailer but it wasn't busy so we could take our time. There were some good views of Mt. Rainier. We passed a spur road at the Skate Creek bridge which leads up toward Lookout Mountain (on which Matty Senior says is a launch). And we noted where the spur road takes off for High Rock Lookout not far from Ashford. As usual we used Orville Road to get to Kapowsin on the way to Orting (rather than going through the busy South Hill commercial area), but this time we continued straight at Kapowsin to eliminate the windy road along the Puyallup River. We went through Thrift and then downhill to the outskirt of Orting where we passed the Wash. State Soldiers Home (VA) and then continued home along the rest of the usual route. A stop at Costco gave us a chance to fill up the tank and get some groceries. We were home early enough to get everything unpacked, cleaned up and put away before dinner.

The Beach'N at Chelan turned out to have decent flying but it was marred by the report of a paraglider crashing in the city park and being seriously injured. Apparently he was trying to land near where he was camped. The meet organizers were understandably disappointed that someone would land in an area not approved for landing.