Another fly in completed. This one without Karen to help. In some ways it seems strange, but she has been gone long enough that it is almost normal to be alone. I missed being able to tell her of interesting little incidents and funny stuff.
I was pleased that the regulars showed up early enough that we could have some time together before it got too hectic. What a great group of people. All are secure enough that they can take a little teasing, laugh and cry without feeling too exposed. Karen and I treasured our relationship with them more than I can explain.
I had been preparing for Karen's final goodbye for some time, and every thing went smoothly. I am not sure how many of her friends made the herculean trek on a short weekend to attend. After the flight we had a toast to Karen, with some truly awful Sparkling Water that I had bought. Not a proper "Irish wake", but one she would have approved of. We burned through some burgers and hot dogs to finish the evening. The Stoddart family brought food as well and we all had a great dinner and a good time talking. We had a campfire and spent the rest of the night around its warmth.
We had an addition to our group Mike and Kathleen, or is it Cathleen Hale, came down from Seattle to fly with us. I am sure it was a totally different experience for him. So Roger with his KXP and I with my Firestar II, took him out for his maiden desert flight.
https://vimeo.com/290099921 ( owyheeflyer )
Mike had trouble keeping up with us because he had a short wind screen that slowed him up quite a bit, plus the wind in your face is fun for a while, but gets pretty tiresome after a short time. His screen kept bending over and directing the wind right into his eyes. After we got home we braced the top of it with some more lexan bent out to stiffen it up. Still getting the wind, but at least not as bad.
Our next flight was to Mickey Basin and the Alvord.
https://vimeo.com/290089488 ( owyheeflyer )
I am hunting Hope now, and even in all this chaos we have managed to put two Jacks in the bag. It appears that it is going to be another hard scrabble year for me. She is doing very well, in fact she is remarkable. I am taking the dogs with me and hope that I can rein Josie in a bit closer to me.
The last of our pilots left yesterday, and now I get to try to get used to the quiet again.
