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2008-02-01 Snowstorm Finish
From golden sand to the driven snow. I'm just in time for Chicago's
worst snowstorm of the season. Even that's kind of fun.
Our adventure has completed, its many images and experiences seared
into my memory. No doubt they will simmer there, improving with time
though it's hard to imagine them getting much better.
Top: The Crew left to right:
Jeff Hamann, Mark MacWhirter, Jeff Goin, Phil Russman,
Michael O'Daniel. This was taken in Manzanillo just before
launching on the first leg of our journey.
Bottom: Jorge managed to beat
us to each destination (not an easy task) and was a lot of
fun to hang with when we weren't flying. Photo by Jeff
Hamann. |
The trip was incredible. Different, to be sure, from Magdalena Bay
but equally enjoyable. Mexico is a wonderful country and a great place
to PPG. What great compadres, too. Funny man Michael O'Daniel, photo
flyer "Tank" Mark MacWhirter, filming Phil Russman, organizer "Hamster"
Jeff Hamann and yours truly "Pajaro Loco." Our driver, Jorge, was a key
ingredient who went well above any reasonable call of duty to become an
indispensable part of the group and a lot of fun to be with.
Phil and Mark taped some incredible sights. All in high def, too.
Jeff Hamann and I took some incredible aerials and Mark snapped some
incredible sights from the ground. You'll see. He's gonna put up a
gallery and Footflyer will feature the best of shots when time permits.
The photos below are a tiny, tiny sampling. There will be more to
come, later, of course and the best pictures will be in Ultraflight and
Paramotor magazines. Boy are there some amazing sights. Thanks to Jeff
Hamann for organizing this and making it happen.
2008-01-26 Majahua, Mexico. Midstream on
the way down Mexico's western shore and it's a majestic sight. This
hotel is sweet. Besides being beautiful, with launch beach just outside
our cabana, there is internet. Not that there'll be much time for that
but I've got a quick update out. Pictures will be incredible.
We've covered a couple hundred miles, stood on the hulk of a
shipwreck, slalomed coconut trees and much more. I've put more hours on
my little snap in 6 days than I have in the last 6 months. So much to
cover but alas, food awaits.
2008-01-20 Let the games begin.
Greetings from 30 something thousand feet on my way to Los Angeles.
From there it's on to a place I can barely pronounce, or so I'm told by
the beautiful Mexican gate agent who corrected me.
Have you seen "Why We Fly"? Probably not given that it's not quite
out yet but it will be soon. "Why We Fly" is a national geographic
quality documentary of another Mexican adventure with suspense, human
drama, tension and some of the most beautiful PPG flying you could ever
want. Hand skimming, swoopy, PG ridge soaring is a bonus. Original music by a
Hollywood studio didn't hurt. When I showed snippets to a non-flying
friend his comment was: "I wanna see the whole thing!"
This trip will be far different but no less fun, I'm
sure. Lord knows I've never done this much cross country. We plan to
cover 230 miles. No single flight is that big a deal but the shear
quantity is daunting. We'll be flying from hotel to hotel with a support
van keeping tabs and toting gas. Lots of no wind launches on soft sand.
Ought to be fun. Some of the terrain isn't so friendly but my Agama will
be at my back.
Jeff Hamann is an organizational dynamo. He puts these things
together so thoroughly it's hard to keep up. Of course it never goes
exactly according to plan but, let me tell you, having a plan is still a
great plan.
We've got camera gear out the...well, lets just say there should be
some good photographs. Gotta love digital cameras.
If you don't see anything on Footflyer for a while, it's either
because I've got no internet connection or got fed to the sharks.
By the way, I realize some of this stuff is risky. So, regarding
life, I'd like to say that it's been a blast already. I've done
more than I ever thought possible and some things I never dreamed of. If
ever I don't return from one of these jaunts, know that it's been an
incredible time with many INCREDIBLE people. Mind you, I've got a *LOT*
yet to do, but I'd rather like to think of the life had rather than fret
what's missed.
Having covered that, here's hoping the sharks go hungry! |
Jeff Hamann, Michael O'Daniel
Mark MacWhirter
Don Jordan
Phil Russman
Above is a brief sample of the many sights from this
memorable trip.
In a truly amazing coincidence, on one of the legs we
came across another PPG pilot who turned out to be USPPA treasurer Don
Jordan. He flew over to join us then flew with us for part of our
journey the next day. He is pictured launching to fly back.
2008-Jan-20 The crew has been reassembed for another Mexican
adventure. This trip adds pilot Mark Mcwirter to the Mex mix. It's been
almost 2 years. Hopeuflly all the gear arrives intact. That's always a
relatively big if. If it doesn't we'll still probably share segments
among the remaining motors. |
