Still Earthbound...

We didn't even bother driving up to launch today. It was blowing like a madman down here in the valley, so it had to be just screaming up at launch. Most of us just spent the day exploring Lakeview and its environs or hanging out in the resort doing whatever. I took the opportunity to get a little work done, and later Dave Koehn and I got a couple games of racquetball in at the resort's indoor court, which is cleverly disguised as a 2-story old west building.

The winds mellowed and the clouds thinned out somewhat, so several pilots went up to Black Cap and flew the glassoff, which was strong but smooth. I was happy to hear that Mark Forbes was among the glassoff pilots, since he's been committed to being Safety Director for the meet and the driver for Dave and I and hasn't had much chance to fly before now.

The evening ended with a great grilled steak dinner followed by a fantastic piece of Gail's apple pie a la mode. I've been sworn to secrecy as to what her special ingredient was. I also had the opportunity to sample something unusual - grilled rattlesnake. Seems Tom Pierce saw this recently-demised critter on the road, so on the way back from wherever it is he drove, he picked it up and brought it back to camp, dressed & skinned it, and threw it on the grill. Several folks gave it a try and said it tasted - you guessed it - like chicken (although rubberier). I looked carefully at the grilled carcass, which looked like a skeleton with bits of charred meat clinging to it, and decided not to capitalize on the opportunity to try something new. I just stayed with the locally grown and organically fed grilled tri-tip, which was delicious. We then sat around and listened to the usual collection of hang gliding war stories before retiring to our respective encampments.

Sure hope the weather is flyable tomorrow...