This morning I got up early, hoping the winds would be calmer than yesterday so I could fly to the dunes. Flight Service gave a good report, and winds seemed mild, so I got ready to take off:
Kiting the wing to make sure all the lines weren’t tangled:
Liftoff for flight #33:
So long RV:
The entire area between the RV and the dunes is a massive dry wash:
Extensive dikes have been built to channel flood waters under the railroad tracks at periodic trestles:
Flying out over the dunes was amazing. There weren’t many people out on the dunes this early:
The dune field is roughly 40 miles by 6 miles. It’s amazing to think that it would take a good amount of time to climb even one of these dunes:
Coming in for a landing back at the RV. The air became progressively worse as I came in for a landing:
I was excited about this flight, as it’s the first time I used the PPG for the use I had in mind when I decided to purchase one. I was able to see an object in the distance and fly over to explore it. Hiking or driving the dune field would be difficult to impossible, but from the air, exploring the dune field was easy.
Trish was inspired by how amazing the weather was while drinking her morning coffee outside:
The kids got some biking in between home school subjects:
This afternoon we left the dunes and drove south and east to overnight at the Paradise Casino in Yuma, AZ. Yes, that’s right, the same casino that hosted us on Day 173. I managed to get in a short ride before nightfall, heading north to pass by vast tracts of agricultural land growing lettuce and other leafy vegetables:
See the trip map for today’s drive and our current location.
Gerat post & fab pix! I keep thinking “don’t drop your phone/camera!” Or do have a gopro now? Yesterday was day 90. It’s amazing to think I saw your day 90 and now it’s day 558! Poling a bamboo raft down a Thai river was a good way to spend the day LOL All the best!
Andy, I have an SJ1000, it’s a $70ish GoPro clone, and it’s strapped to my helmet. I don’t take my hands off the controls long enough to use a camera!
I can’t believe you’ve been out for three months already! I use GReader on my phone to download your blog when we have wifi, and that hasn’t happened for almost a month, so I’m looking forward to catching up when we get back to civilization! I’m glad that you’re safe and obviously have Internet access from time to time. Are you relying mostly on mobile data, or do you use hotel wifi?