New Year's & Back to Work

For New Year’s I was sort of planning on going to a dance that evening, but decided against it due to the hassle of traffic, downtown Seattle crowds, and parking.  Instead I grabbed some junk food and went over to Emma’s place for a little shindig.  There we just watched movies, goofed off with high powered lasers, shot BB guns, and lit off fireworks in the street.  I disposed of the last bit of my leftover 4th of July stash with a noise that shook the windows. 

A few days later Grandma Rhoda passed away in her sleep just a few hours into her birthday on January 4th.  The following weekend we had a reception service for her at the Factoria LDS chapel.  That weekend Damion flew into town, along with David McEntire.  Bryan, Trevor, and Brandy came also but made the drive in one day!  The night before the reception we had a great time out by the fire pit, laughing, and playing board games.  That weekend we had some time to meet up with cousins and go on a few outings.  One outing was going up to the abandoned mental institution out near Sedro-Woolley.  Even though we got rained on with poor weather, it was enjoyable just to get out and see some sights.  That evening was also spent playing board games and laughing to an unhealthy degree.  After the cousins left back home, I went over to grandma’s place a few times to help clean things up, pack boxes, and clear out clutter.

I was able to take a break and head out to the slopes for a day with my friend Erin.  We went up to Snoqualmie and had excellent weather.  Only problem it was extremely icy.  That resulted in many bruises and sore parts.  Later we went out for some much needed pizza.  In a few days it was my dad's birthday and we threw a little party deal at my parent's place.  Since there were already many people from out of town, the gathering was a bit more elaborate.

I had a quick job out in Port Townsend at the Paper / Recovery Mill a few days later.  I packed some of my things and drove out there late Sunday evening.  The drive got a bit exciting when a massive windstorm came rolling in.  It only got worse throughout the night and kept me awake as it pounded against my hotel balcony door.  The next day I met up with my coworker, and we visited the plant.  The tides were high, and the surf crashed against the docks.  It was the highest the water had been in a long time from what I gathered from several workers.  A few days later I was able to head home a day early and therefore was able to go up to Crystal Mountain to go snowboarding!  I drove Andra out to Emma’s place and picked her up.  Then we got to the mountain and got FRESH tracks down about two or three runs.  Brent came later and was able to join in the festivities of hitting jumps, and weaving down the slopes.  My next job would be in Page, Arizona working night shift, and I would have some time to enjoy Washington before then.  During this time, I converted a simple foamy throw glider into a R/C plane using some spare parts I’ve accumulated over the years of tinkering.  I got the thing to fly several times, but it lacked good control surfaces, and required a lot of speed in order to remain in the air.  After several harsh crashes and broken propellers, it was time to retire the poor thing.  From the salvaged parts, I was able to construct another plane using two foamy throw glider wings conjoined to make a flying wing design.  This came together through the coarse of two lazy afternoons.  I took it on a test flight, and it flew beautify until it became painfully clear that I neglected to charge my transmitter.  The cracked wing was quickly mended, and I was out flying in a few hours. 

I was about to begin packing my things for Arizona when I decided to check my company email, and to my horror I received an email stating that I needed to be at a safety training meeting in 24 hours.  At that point, I couldn’t drive all the way there and make the meeting even without the limitations of sleep.  Apparently on the footer of a very lengthy email conversation that was forwarded to me, there was reference to this particular meeting.  Oh well.  I got scolded by my boss about it, and I informed him I’d make it down when I had originally planned.  This allowed me to meet up with Trevor, Brandy, and her siblings to camp out at Red Cliffs campsite.  Then the day afterward, attend a few lectures at the St. George Bird Festival.  I also was hoping to get my new gun I had purchased, but apparently Washington State law considers the Thompson Center strictly a handgun, and is subject to a 7 day wait period.  Even though I had waited that amount of time, the people running the background check were lazy, and I couldn’t pick up my new toy until a day AFTER I left for UT.  I packed my things, and departed south.  The drive was about as boring as ever.  I started getting sleepy around Boise, so I gassed up and drifted into a hotel out near Twin Falls.  The next morning I headed out and drove into the driveway at the McEntires where Trevor was already packing for the campout.  I stopped in for a brief visit and got some food before heading south.  I was planning on meeting up with Damion and family, but they had plans that evening, so I after a few more stops at Cabela’s and a hobby store, I was off to St. George.  I got to the Red Cliffs campsite past dark, and snagged the same campsite as last year.  However, I noticed they didn’t have a firepit like before and in addition, there were some squabbling kids in the site directly across from it.  My patience ran out, and I went looking for a better spot.  I got it all set up, got a fire going, and assembled my bike to go ride around a little and pay the camping fee.  The other group arrived just before 10pm, and we cooked some food over the fire and a few hours later settled into sleeping bags for the night.  There was an intense halo around the full moon too.  It was so impressive that I had to get out of my bag, and go try and capture the impressive sight w/ my camera. 

The next morning we got up and left for the Bird Festival.  We missed one lecture, but were able to catch another good one.  I learned that a group of ravens is referred to as a Congress.  I had often wondered if the term Murder would apply to them as it did for crows.  After the lectures, we left to wander around a bit, hit up In & Out Burger, did some shopping, and got some more firewood, and blankets for the cold night.  Then with the remaining daylight we headed up to the Red Cliffs to do some hiking and to revisit the dinosaur tracks we found the year prior.  An update on those specific tracks, the lead paleontologist informed me that he did visit that site after I sent him the GPS coordinates, and let me know that there was no record of that particular site, and told me it was a “significant discovery”.  On the way back we decided to head up the canyon a ways.  It got a lot narrower, and in one place one needed to use a rope to get up and over a ledge.  Hopefully without falling into the cold pool below.  We got to a point where we couldn’t go on any further, so in desperation we explored above the canyon to find any potential ways down ahead to eliminate the narrow stretch.  No luck.  By this time on the way back to the roped section, I could smell myself after days driving, hiking, and no shower the day before.  For my own comfort and perhaps those around me I decided to strip down and jump into the deep pool of cold water.  It WAS as cold as it looked, but the dry air felt great when drying off.  Thereafter I didn’t feel the slightest bit chilly on the hike back.  That evening we cooked some more dinner and got to bed early.

  The next morning we met up with some other birders out in Cedar City where we then caravanned out to see bald eagles, golden eagles, and to see Martin Tyner fly his falcon.  On the falcon flight and attack demonstration, the birds he was using were experienced homing pigeons and should have no problem out maneuvering the falcon.  The first dodged the falcon’s attempt without trouble, but the second bird got smacked down to the ground with an audible “WHAP!”  Feathers fluttered to the ground, but the pigeon stumbled around and managed to get back up in the air.  By this time the falcon tried snatching again but the pigeon somehow was able to get away.  I noticed a visible red mark on its shoulder where the bird must have given it a good rip.  The impact was so intense that it snapped the ziptie which was holding the radio transmitter to the falcon's leg.  It was exciting.   We checked out the golden eagle and great horned owl nests at the Parowan gap, and saw some dinosaur tracks.  Then we then went to go eat some lunch at Taco Bell there in Cedar City.  We said our goodbyes, I gassed up, and headed up and over Cedar Breaks and on out to Page.

 Just outside of the AZ border, I pulled off the road to fly my newly completed mini-zagi like plane.  I went off on a muddy dirt road and tossed it in the air.  I spooked a raven on my first flight, and some guys drove past in their pickup truck and seemed to be just as confused as the raven.  They must have driven past 3 or more times, and not interested in starting up conversation despite my effort.  Their focus wasn’t on my plane, or me but instead more upon my shiny new car, and possibly why it was out that far on this dirt road.  I might have gotten a little nervous if it weren’t for my Glock 27 at the small of my back.  The mystery guys in the mystery truck puttered off in the distance, and I loaded up another charged battery pack and got to flying again.  This time a few ravens came flying by, and I tried to chase them a little, and even got one to dip its wing at me.  Fun stuff.  I then checked into the Holiday Inn Express there in Page and tried to fall asleep as to adjust to working night shift.  It didn’t work all that well, but it was worth a shot.