Christmas Hut 2016

Fun times had by all.  We hiked into the Seiple hut near the Polor Star.

I had not been to this hut, but was pleased to find propane lights/stove and a fresh water well. (No melting snow for water!)

We did learn that the oven in the pictures was non operational.  This made biscuits a little more difficult but we pulled it off on the stove.  Then we got crazy and made potato pancakes...

Great snow finally!

Jackal Hut

We were invited to join a group heading into the Jackal Hut.  A great group that normally gets a hut this time of year.  Thanks Faas for the photos!

 The usual cards before breakfast, and delicious eggs benedict provided by the Danatos.  Excellent job for a first time recipe.

 The views are great when the weather is good!

The 10th Mountain hut

Over the long weekend we planned to ski into the 10th Mountain hut.  When we got there the snow was pretty thin, it's been a slow start to the ski season this year.  The summer road was not yet closed for the season, so Becky and Russ loaded up in the Jeep and we drove to about 1/2 mile from the hut. We carried out skis in, and had lunch.  At this point we decided the skis were not going to be useful.  We took the skis back to the car and went for a hike.    

 Snow is thin but the views are still nice!

South Dakota hunt

Dad and  I went out to Pierre in 735CF for the hunt this year.

We arrived before our friends from Michigan.  There were a lot of planes on the tarmac.

This year we had new ground to hunt.  We stayed at a lake-side lodge designed for fishing.  As any outfitter would work out, we had great hunting.

  And always beautiful sunsets...

This Year's hot wing cook-off and Harvest party

Too bad these two events were on the same night.  I had a tie for win last year with my Chipotle-Lime wings with two sauces (one hot and one mild).

I decided to make the wings again, and share them at the harvest party.  They were a hit.

I guess I still get first prize by default if there are no competitors...  right?

Cruising with Camaros...

We met up with some Camaro owners in a group we participate with, and went for a color cruise.  It was a nice day, a fun cruise, and colors! We ended with a lunch at a member's house.

 I think most people would consider them gear heads.  I was on my '83 goldwing and was called out by a lady member "is that an '82?'.  So they know a lot more than camaros

The lunch was hosted by someone they consider the bible of Camaro parts.  He ran a shop for years and rebuilt numerous cars, but now in his retirement he mostly only judges at car shows.

Kr2 Gathering

Ken Rand came to the attention of the sport aviation world in the summer of 1972 when he brought his KR-1, N1436, to Oshkosh. It was a sensation and along with the KR-2, which was introduced at Oshkosh in 1974, turned homebuilding in a new direction -- toward the composite designs of today. Since 1972 more KRs have been built than any other design and the KR-2 remains at a peak of popularity. -- Source airfoilengineering.com

I headed out to KMVN for the annual gathering.  The location moves around, but KMVN is one of the favorites with tons of support from the airport and FBOs

I flew into St Louis airport and crashed overnight at a hotel, followed by a very rainy drive over to Mt Vernon IL.  When I got there, the first sessions were already under-way.  Lots of great information was presented from Wt and Balance to supplies and painting methods.  Some engine guys were there talking about a new water cooled engine, and another talking about mods to corvair engines to improve performance to 110-120 HP from a base 95hp engine.

When we stepped out to the hanger just before lunch there were already pilots leaving the airfield due to the storm I had driven through and the rest of the conditions for the next few days.  The furthest flier came from New York over 1000 miles.

 Jim Faughn flown by Mark Langford -- relatively stock kr2 (upgrades include dragonfly canopy, rear windows and seatbelt attachment.)

 Larry Flesner (Fairly modified KR2s, wing tanks no header, side canopy design tires O-200 engine)

 Brad Stone running an 0-290 one of the heaviest planes there.

Joe Weber relatively stock kr2, flaps on this one.

Rob VW powered with the Deihl trickle option.  If you look closely you can see it's a little tight with 2 people.  Something I'm going to have to figure out how to resolve if I ever take passengers...

Another Visit to Jay and Ingrid's

Another great visit to Steamboat and to Jay and Ingrid's retirement property.  We somehow missed the memo about taking mt bikes, everyone but Jay, Ingrid, Karyn and I went mt biking.  There are a lot of fun trails.

Instead we went to the airshow on Sunday, we saw some of the same aerobatic pilots we saw in Longmont earlier in the summer.  They had a rough time due to strong winds.

Complete with WWII planes and STOL competition.

 As always Jay cooks some great food, Cheesesteak!

BoomerPalooza!!!

Pork Pork and more Pork!

Of course we start out with the trip.  735CF which I was often getting confused with 756TK en route...

We took Faas and MJ.  I was the meany making them weigh everything for the flight.  After some checks, we would have been at max gross wt departing with 60 gallons of fuel required to get all the way to Ames KAMW.  We arrived at the plane and it had less fuel.  Good and bad.  I could get fuel to make it, but warm weather etc not great flying at gross wt.  Or stop on the way.

 We decided to stop along the way in Columbus and parked on the ramp.  Unique that during take off I heard the hint of the stall alarm suggesting we were tail heavy...  We moved one bag ~25lbs from the trunk to the back of the front seats and gained about 4kts.  Talking to some folks that stopped there in a similar 182 from Platte Valley (Denver) and heard the weather hadn't cleared as expected.

 I filed IFR for the final leg /g.  Karyn's first IFR with me.  No problem, flew just at the tops until descending, I was able to get 2500 feet  VFR  underneath so we cancelled and buzzed Boomers house. He wasn't home AGAIN!

 The next morning it was time to start cooking!

 We should take some time to golf while we're waiting...
Yes I did eventually hit the silos...  But I lost some money while practicing!  It's not like I golf more than once every 4 years!

 And the shirts

 As the party started it was time for the airshow, No... I was on the ground...

 The Nadas!

Scotty came out from Nebraska for the party!

 Somehow the day after always has a party wrapped up inside...  The morning post breakfast cleanup time...

 And we get to review the Lost and Found.  I must say not as good as last year!

 We stuck around for a fire the next night, another good time!