Bad-ass Bikers
The day dawned gray and cold as we gathered in the kitchen and cooked up a large batch of premium Ghirardelli hot chocolate mocha which we had with slices of fresh fruit. We were all nervous about whether we would get another day of heavy rain or something more conducive to exploring the town, so we quickly set to with loads of laundry, gear cleaning, tent drying and bike maintenance. The house and yard were something between and laundromat and mechanic's shop.
Mid-morning the sky started to open and the sun came out. A quick call to Burt at www.FlyGliders.com and Kami and I were set for a 2pm take off. So we all went down to the very cute Squeeze Marfa cafe for a quick bite then Kami and I set off on our bikes for the airport, 3 miles out of town.
At the airport we met Burt, our glider pilot. Much of his business is as a flight instructor and gliding license certifier for the FAA so in spite of his rock star appearance [he really is in a rock band] we felt pretty safe. After helping get the beautiful bird out of the hanger, Roger came by with the tow plane and after a few instructions (i.e. "Whatever you do DON'T push the red button") I was off down the runway and soaring up over the plains of Marfa. My one mistake was using the camera. Close focus while getting airborne was not a good idea and I was soon feeling rather queasy. Gliding was everything I had hoped for though. Burt was an excellent pilot, talking about the landscape and town as we flew over it and visiting with a flock of birds coming our way. The rushing sound of the wind. Did you know you can stick your hand out of a very small window in the cockpit? After 15 minutes riding the thermals up and down I was ready to get my feet back on the ground so we swooped back down for a perfect landing. Kami went next and I enjoyed watching the glider from the terra firma of the picnic area.
Burt and Roger kindly gave us and our bikes a ride back to town since I was still a bit weak at the knees. After meeting back up with the others, we explored the town of Marfa. Everything arty was closed on account of it being a Tuesday, and this past weekend was Marfa Open House, the biggest art event of the year, so we had to content ourselves with window browsing. This is a fabulous town, and very interesting to walk around even with everything closed. You could spend days here when things are open (Thurs-Sun).
Back at the house we drank a little wine and beer and repacked our stuff before heading back into town for dinner. On the recommendation of a local we went to Maiya's, an Italian restaurant that was excellent in every way. The wine and beer (and some spirits) flowed, along with great food and conversation, before we all returned to the house for a nightcap. From the looks of the locals we were a little louder than most folks seen wandering the streets of Marfa at night. The sky was full of stars so we're hoping the Fort Davis crew managed to get to the McDonald Observatory star party tonight as they had hoped.
A most excellent day, but not sure it counts as drying out!
Sent From Handheld