Dodge City, Kansas

This is a photo I took in downtown Dodge City, Kansas. The day I took this photo, it was late in the day, and the visitor information center was already closed. Sometime when I am back in Dodge City, I'll add another post, with more photos, and maybe I can find out if "Boot Hill" is still there. Boot Hill was the pauper's cemetery where people were buried who had no money for a funeral, with most of the "residents" being outlaws, and the like.

North Texas Picnic Area with Shade Trees

This is a picnic area in the Panhandle of Texas, complete with shade trees. There is another picnic table to the right of the top photo, which only has an awning over the table, and no shade trees. The shade tree I am leaning against is the one to the left side of the photo with the three shade trees. You have to look closely for the third tree, which is between the two larger trees. Part of the reason for this post, is, my best friend Garry (aside from Linda, my wife) lives north of Charlotte, North Carolina, where they have entirely too many trees for my comfort. I wanted Garry to see what it looks like near where I have spent most of my life, so he might be able to understand why I think there are too many trees where he lives. Garry says the trees are good so you can have shade.

Gloss Mountain State Park

While on the way to Dodge City, Kansas to look for Dorothy and Toto, and also to pick up some FHC (for human consumption) dead cows to take to Florida, I came across this park. I had been looking at the bluffs for quite some time before I finally reached them, as visibility in the plains of Oklahoma is normally quite good. I am not sure what the rules for flying in state parks in Oklahoma is, so I'm not sure if I could legally launch from here or not, but some of the bluffs south of here would be launchable, as they are not in the state park. If I had a Paraglider rig, and had it with me, I would have done a sunset sledder from the location of the top photo, and claimed ignorance if anyone complained. The third photo is a slightly different view from where I would have launched from that day, if I had had gear with me. The wind was coming straight in where I shot this photo, but is probably not a common deal, as the wind was out of the north, north east the evening I shot these photos. I have seen several sites in northwestern Oklahoma since I shot these that might be flyable, under the right conditions. Most only have a max of 200 ft vertical, so launch timing would probably be critical to get a soaring flight. These are the only photos I have taken in the area, as most of the rest of the sites didn't have a good parking area close, and/or I was on too tight of a schedule to be able to stop.

The bottom photo is of the Hajjitruk in the roadside parking area at the park, looking south. The second photo is looking southwest from the west side of the bluff I could have launched from. I can say it is a Hajjitruk, as it has been to one of the hanggliding Meccas, namely the Wallaby Ranch, in Florida. I didn't get to fly the day I went, as it was too breezy to fly that day, but at least I got to relax that day.

If I can remember how to move the photos, I'll change the order, so it will be more logical.