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NEW MUSIC ON THE HORIZON

 A new music project has been in the works now for over a year. Cloud Street is an instrumental album, including eight new songs composed and performed by Bruce Hibbard. The musician lineup on CS includes, Jon Herrington, Tom Hemby, Mark Douthit, Gene Miller, Bobby James, Alex Rowe and John Flanders. And of course, Bruce Hibbard on keyboards and other instruments. 

Cloud Street is due to be released Fall of 2022.

Bobby James on drums and Alex Rowe on bass laying down the grove.

Jon Herrington 

Strong Randolph Day in Early April

Launching!

Flying the new Wills Wing Sport 3

                                                        

The forecast looked too strong for Randolph initially, but Kevin talked me in to driving out despite the possibility of being blown out. Cal and Dave made us a foursome. Early April can definitely be iffy flying anywhere in Utah, especially Randolph. The snowpack can hinder access. We have had a marginal year snow wise, so there was no problem driving up to launch. 

Cal launched first in his new single surface Falcon. He immediately climbed out to a grand over and was parked facing southwest, which indicated the upper wind was a lot more strong and cross than it appeared on launch.  I followed cal and soon Dave and Kevin joined us. Even though the thermals were exceptionally strong, no one got above 9500 asl (2000 ft above launch). When you have strong upper winds, the drift in a thermal can take you too far over the back. That makes it difficult to penetrate back to the windward side of the mountain. The wind in the LZ was consistently strong and gusty, which provided some entertaining landings and breakdowns. However it turned out to be a great spring opener.

 

Just Reminiscing 

From 2006 through 2017,  I worked for Park City Mountain Resort. The first two years I was a full time Ski patroller. The rest of the years I was a member of the volunteer ski patrol at PCMR, working Saturdays. So many great memories from those days. From 2011 on,  I worked the upper mountain rotation exclusively. The mountain is divided into two sections. The lower mountain, which is primarily novice and intermediate terrain and the upper mountain where you'll find the majority of runs are intermediate through expert terrain. The upper mountain rotation requires teams to perform avalanche control and general snow safely work. This includes handling explosives, and utilizing the many skill sets needed to maintain the safety of the ski area, especially during storm cycles. 

All ski patrollers are required to be trained and certified as OEC (outdoor emergency care) technicians, or have other required medical certificates. Though the majority of skier related accidents occur in the lower mountain area, the accidents that happen in the upper mountain tend to be more serious requiring complicated extrication at times. Most teams at PCMR consisted of four patrollers, of which one is the designated team leader. The team leaders job was to direct the activities of the day and be the glue that bonds the team. I was fortunate to be the team leader four years during this period, with the same  amazing crew the whole time. 

Great times, great memories!

Lovely Evening With Friends 

Randolph in November is a bit rare. The forecast was right on, and I love it when that happens. Daylight is so short this time of the year, but there was plenty enough sunshine to give us an hour and a half of supper smooth ridge lift before the sun started setting. 
 

My New Wing

I just got my new Wills Wing Sport 3. I was actually one of the last persons to order a glider from WW before they closed their doors in California forever. The owners retired and sold the biz to an individual who will be reorganizing and opening a new WW facility in Mexico.

Anyway........glad I was able to get one of these sweet gliders! This photo was taken in August by a fellow pilot at The Crawfords in Randolph, Utah.

Thanks for the smoke Oregon and California!

 It seems like smokey summers are becoming a thing. Thanks to the forest fires in the west, summer months are now plagued with smoke filled skies. With covid and other word wide disasters, it's like the end of life as we know it. 

Sunday July 25th, I met a dozen or so hang glider pilots (and one paraglider) at Randolph. The smoke was forecast so it wasn't a surprise to be greeted by thick, visually obstructive gunk! As smokey as it was it turned out to be quite a nice soaring day. I was able to stay airborne over two hours with altitude gains up to 13,000 asl. Thats 5500 over launch. 

Casa Grande

Last week Julie and I headed down to sunny Casa Grande, New Mexico. It's 20 miles south of Phoenix and has a great aero tow operation for hang gliders. Sonora Wings is an awesome facility with two Dragonfly tow planes and an amazing staff of tow pilots and instructors. 

I was able to fly two days and log seven flights. The weather was absolutely gorgeous but the soaring was kinda marginal. Both days I flew there was a super low inversion (800' was the top the second day), which puts a damper on things. On my last flight the thermals were breaking through the inversion and I was able to climb above my tow altitude. Nonetheless,  it was great to get out and do some flying and escape the cold for a few days.

Saturday night we met up with my cousin Ed and his wife Vale for dinner. We ate at a great little restaurant in Scottsdale called Alma Scottsdale. They serve a very upscale southwest cuisine. With their spacious outdoor patio, tasty drinks and food, it was the perfect place for the evening. 

Do people change? Can people change? Will people ever change?

We have all pondered these questions regarding our spouses, family, friends, politicians  - members of the human race. Most of us have introspectively considered these questions regarding our own personal shortcomings and weaknesses.  I think it's fair to say the majority of us  have a tendency to think if we can make certain changes in society, the world will be a better place. This line of thinking could be applied to friendships, marriages and political systems. You name it. The possibilities are endless, right?

Over the holidays I was chatting with my younger sister Sandy about the differences we have politically. I used the word paradigm to describe the concept of viewing an object from different perspectives. A very simple illustration would be viewing a cube that has all of its sides painted different colors. Depending on your position you might see a red top and a blue side. Another person viewing the cube from a different angle may see a red top and a green side. Although both viewers are looking at the same object, their interpretation of the cube is different as a result of their perspective. What you know about a certain individual will result in an opinion and attitude toward that person.  Yet another viewer may have a completely different opinion based on a different knowledge set.

Imagine yourself as the cube. Your imperfections, faults and flaws are mixed together with your strengths, talents and positive aspects. I may have a very positive attitude toward you based on my general assessment coupled with what I know about you, but my opinion will be based solely on my limited knowledge or paradigm. Another individual may know something dark or may have knowledge of something negative in your past. Their image of you may be formed by negative information alone.

How we perceive a situation also has much to do with our own personal lens.  When I was in high school, I found a copy of The Book of Mormon on a bookshelf in my home. When I confronted my father (an evangelical preacher) about the book, I was told, "you shouldn't even be looking at that book, it's heresy." According to my upbringing and as a result of that event, I subconsciously formed a negative attitude toward Mormons. I personally don't believe the same way Mormons do, but it wasn't until later in life while living in Salt Lake I realized most Mormons are just normal human beings. Your environment growing up may have a profound affect regarding the way you judge other people. 

Failures and disappointments tend to make us more hesitant and cautious. It's easy to see that the misfortune and personal defeats in our lives make us more prone to see things in a negative way.  Conversely, a person with a positive background will have a less obstructed view. It's our lens. 

Purposely adjusting your view to see someone or some thing in a different light doesn't mean you are necessarily changing. Change is subtle, and for most of us change typically happens over a long period of time. However, understanding can illuminate instantly, like a light bulb being turned on.  You can observe a situation from a neutral standpoint without becoming emotionally involved and without feeling like you're compromising your own constitution.  You can welcome those ah ha moments without feeling threatened. The time and energy we expend attempting to change other people might be better spent at changing our perspective. As a result our outlook becomes more open. When we learn and understand the differences in each other we can grow, and as a result we can replace our negative and clouded view with a clear and honest interpretation.

These days I'm eager to be outside. Whether it's hiking up one of the many trails right outside my backdoor or flying my hang glider over the majestic mountain ranges of the West. However I can manage to be a part of nature, I want to participate. Sounds a bit trite I know, but it's true! I can't stand to hear the news. I practically shudder and find a place to hide when I'm exposed to a network news program. The mere sound of a sarcastic late night show host makes me ill. I used to enjoy watching the Jay Leno show. It was relaxing and funny. I'm afraid those day are gone. I won't get into the reasons I feel this way, although I'm sure you can imagine the myriad of reasons a person would have this attitude.

I'm content to be in a mindset far removed from current events. That being said, there is a part of me that feels empathy for those that have been hurt or affected by the plagues that have descended on our world. 

I love this place! I can't begin to express the absolute gratitude I have for the chance to live on this planet even though it's just a brief moment. When the uniqueness of our situation sinks in, and when one becomes conscious and aware, love and appreciation replace hate and fear.

Randolph never gets old or boring. Because of dwindling landing zones and crowded skies at other local flying sites, I've resorted to calling Randolph my home site. It's an hour and forty minute drive from East Layton, and though that's a bit of a hike, it's a beautiful relaxing drive. 

This year there's been an abundance of hang gliders showing up to fly this great valley. The conditions, as usual, have been amazing. There were several days of wave formation in the valley where pilots were reporting 10g+ climbs and harrowing "I can't get down" stories.

It's fun just to climb out as high as you can and take a tour of the valley. On one particular day smoke from the California fires permeated the area. You would have thought the smoke would mute or lessen the strength of the thermals, but I found myself climbing out over the town of Randolph topping out over 14g. The higher I climbed the more surreal my surroundings became. In every direction the smoke limited the visibility, and soon even the ground disappeared!

Thanks to the great landowners who have unselfishly shared their beautiful cattle ranches and farmlands for the last three decades. Hopefully the future of this awesome soaring site will be preserved!

Birds Of A Feather

I know that it's been a while since my last post. There has been a lot thats happened over the course of the past year. Julie has recovered from breast cancer for one. She bravely endured a year of surgery, chemo and radiation to defeat the triple negative cancer that invaded her body. Greg, my good friend and long time hang glider companion had a bad landing last September and broke his neck, among other injuries. He was fortunate to live through the ordeal but will be partially limited physically due to paralysis.

On a brighter note, the house is completely finished (including the basement). Im on to bigger and more important things, like building an out building! I just can't stop.

This photo came from a flight I had last month. The bald eagle followed me around for over 10 minutes. For the most part he was right on my tail. We flew together and gained several hundred feet. The wife of another pilot who was at launch took this photo.

Concrete Countertops - The Finale

After taking much longer than originally expected, the kitchen countertops are done! I still have two smaller bathroom countertops left, but they should be cake - right? They just need to be polished and sealed. 

Lessons learned? Ok here it is:

1.  Try to mix all the concrete needed for each countertop before pouring. This will make the work experience less frantic. 
2.  Pour the bottom portion of the mold all at once if you can. Your finish product will appear more seamless.
3.  Vibrate. As most professionals will tell you, don't resist the urge to dismiss this vital step. Vibrating helps to rid the placed concrete of air bubbles, yielding a stronger product. It also aids in helping the concrete flow, filling crevices and cavities in the mold (among other things).
4.  Seriously consider why you want concrete countertops. If you want the granite, or other   manufactured countertop look, then choose granite, quartz etc.. Each concrete countertop will have its own personality, idiosyncrasies and defects that are part of the uniqueness of concrete. 

Concrete Countertops

After much consideration, I decided to once again, tackle concrete countertops for a project - the basement buildout in our current residence here in East Layton, Utah. The last time I used concrete countertops for a project was 10 years ago at our Summit Park, Utah residence. As in child birth, you forget the pain and only remember the joy and satisfaction - so they say.

It took close to a week to complete the molds for five countertops in the 2000 sq. ft. basement. There is quite a bit of detailed work involved long before concrete comes into play.

The mold consist of; a 3/4 in particle board bottom with 1/8 in plexiglass on top. The concrete takes on the characteristics of what ever type of surface you use in your mold. I used 3/4 in. Melamine for the sides and sealed any exposed raw wood with a sealer. Any where there is a sink or plumbing hardware, a knockout has to be created. Carefully placed black silicon is used to seal all corners.

The round PVC apparatus is for the faucet plumbing penetration.

The day of the pour is kind of frantic when you're by yourself. So for the next pour I called a friend to help out.

Rob helping with the main kitchen countertop. 

And there ya' go! The pre-buffing stage. The next step will be polishing the countertops with a special concrete compound. A penetrating sealer is applied next to protect the concrete. Finally the concrete is buffed out with wax.

Crawford Mountains 

Randolph, Utah 10/18

Getting ready to set up for landing near Randolph Utah a few weeks ago. Got to share the air with some of my best flying pals. Cody, Greg and Steve. Beautiful place. BTW, the time stamp in the left upper corner is wrong.

Fall is always great for flying. Cool temps and amazing fall colors enhance the flying experience!

Life Imitating Art

Here's a series of pictures I recently took.

A downburst close to where I live in Layton Utah. It's been a very dry year so far here in northern Utah! The storms have been few and far between, and very isolated. 

 Greg Billow launching his new T2C at the Point of the Mountain

Cody Dobson on his Millennium at the Point.

I guess It's about time for a few pics of the finished residence, LR3!

The entry is oriented facing north. Some of the finishing touches include, Ipe hardwood (the red tinted siding) which is a Brazilian hardwood. Local sandstone and galvanized deck railing.

The roof design is an all hip roof system. I remember getting the roof design back from the truss company. It looked like a jig saw puzzle from another planet! Luckily I had a great framer that brought a crew out to install the roof trusses and plywood skin. My nephew Josh Judkins and I framed the rest of the house with some help from Steve McGill.

 

Looking from the dining area into the living room. The stairwell leads to two additional bedrooms and a media room.

Living room

The kitchen with all viking appliances. Walnut cabinets with quartz countertops.

Kitchen

Living room

Ruby - one spoiled pup!

A view from the dining room 

Looking west out the dining room. Great sunsets!

More dining room views!

A night time shot looking from the entry to the dining area.

AN EVENING LIGHT

Here's a video I put together of a flight from last Saturday. The site is Randolph, Utah in the northeast corner of the state. It's a site that I fly quite a bit.

I drove up with a few friends from Salt Lake. Initially it looked like it might not be a great day. Earlier two pilots launched and managed just under an hour of airtime before the conditions shut down. Another pilot and myself waited it out till just about 7pm. Our patience was rewarded as the conditions improved and we flew for about an hour in the smoothest air!

The Layton Digs

 Possible heli pad!

And a new pup to boot!