Yesterday was our third Hang Gliding lesson and we were really looking forward to a good flight. But thanks to a new instructor, a smaller glider and cold erratic wind we ended up not improving much over our second lesson! Looking forward to the fourth lesson with our favorite instructor Dave and hope that the weather will be a bit warmer.
We had a fantastic 4-day trip to Death Valley National Park with Arupda, Pampadi and Riti last week. Initially we were thinking of going over the Thanksgiving weekend but didn't get any reservation. So ended up going on Monday and returning on Thanksgiving day. We stayed at Stovepipe Wells for 3 nights and did a lot of activities. Got up at 5am every morning to catch sunrise over Mesquite Dunes and Zabriskie Point. Hiked in Golden Canyon, Artists Palette, Natural Bridge, Mosaic Canyon. Did a bit of Titus Canyon too but need to go back there. Climbed the highest dune in Mesquite dunes. Badwater Basin and Devil's Golf Course were interesting, so was the view from Dante's View! "On very clear days, the highest and lowest points in the contiguous 48 states of the United States: Mount Whitney 14,505 feet (4,421 m) high and Badwater Basin - 282 ft. (-86 m) can be seen" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante's_View). Some places like Racetrack Playa, Charcoal Klin, Marble Canyon got left out. I guess we need to go back there again, this time with 4-wheel drive hopefully for those unpaved roads out there :)
It was so much fun thanks to our awesome instructor Dave! After the euphoria of free gliding in lesson 1, we are now in for hard work. We have started learning how to control the glider instead of the glider controlling us! The hard work of pushing the glider up the hill afterwards is also worth! Can't wait for more lessons and eventually going by ourselves to Ed Levin park near our house for some gliding...
Last weekend we were watching the movie 'Into the Wild' which reminded us of our friend Jim Hagan. We had met him in Uncertain, TX during our x-country trip last year. He used to be a software engineer who one fine day decided to leave all and explore the country. After the movie Joy wrote to him about the movie and how it reminded us of him (right now he is in Alaska!). Next morning we get a reply from him saying that he had met 'Rainey' played by Brian Dierker sometime before the movie was released! What a small world :) Brian is one of the most experienced river guides in the Grand Canyon and owns a business doing just that!
