a Swift at the Point of the Mountain

I happened to be at the North side of the Point of the Mountain one day this last week, and got to see a Swift pilot launch there. The photo isn't the best, but it beats nothing. The glider was relly pretty in the air. I bought a harness and reserve for the Firebird G Sport PG wing I have borrowed, so I have a complete flying machine I can carry in the truck, in case the opportunity arises to be able to fly when I am out.

Attempting to get some air time

I borrowed a Para Glider wing, and a Para Glider harness, and was hoping to get some air time today, but alas, the weather gods were not cooperating today. Linda took a couple of photos. The first indicates how cross the wind was with the hill, which is the main reason I didn't get any air time. The second, she took, because she thought it looked like a nice photo. I must admit, a Para Glider is much easier to lug around than a Hang Glider. The white portion of the glider framing my head is the nose of the wing, where the air enters the wing to pressurize it. The breeze was very light when this photo was taken, and there was enough air pressure to make the glider billow around me.

A Nice Lennie

As I was on the way home, I passed thru Albuquerque, NM and took these two photos of a classic Lennie over the Sandias. The one with the trucks in the foreground doesn't look as good as the other. Neither looked as good as the lennie looked twenty minutes before I took these shots. Might've been a good day for flying a glider, and launching from Sandia Peak.

Shiprock, or Rock with Wings

I took these photos of Shiprock, near Shiprock, NM on the way to Laredo, TX a couple of weeks ago. Shiprock is located in North Western New Mexico, about 6 miles Southwest of its namesake. In the top photo, you can see the telephone wires in the foreground. One of these years I will go back to some of the places I visited
when I have time to be able to stop and get better photos. I probably have photos of Shiprock somewhere, as I have been visiting this site for many years.

Members of the Sierra Club first climbed Shiprock in 1939, which did not sit well with the Navajo Nation, as Shiprock is a sacred site to them.

According to information I found at: http://www.lapahie.com/Shiprock_Peak.cfm and at: http://www.sacredsites.com/americas/united_states/shiprock.html the early Anglo-Americans called it Shiprock because of its resemblance to the Clipper sailing ships of the time. The Navajo Indians called it Rock With Wings. There are a couple of other smaller formations south of Shiprock itself, but there were no places for me to stop in the truck to take photos. I came back thru here going North last week, and there was one area where all three formations were visible. I was wanting to pull over to take another photo, but the truck isn't small or light enough to be able to park off the narrow shoulder for a photo opportunity.