Josh and Tanner each recently completed all of the requirements for their Eagle Scout award! We had a nice quadruple-Eagle court of honor, which included two other young men from our ward who had also earned Scouting's highest honor.
We had a nice backyard afternoon lunch with extended family. After that we went down to the church to set up for the Court of Honor.
Keri and the other moms made sure everything was just right.
Troop 413 made last minute preparations for the flag ceremony. There were very few empty chairs as family and friends of all 4 boys filled the room to support and honor them for their efforts. After the presentation of the colors and various introductions, there were three 5 minute power-point presentations put together by each boys' family, highlighting their lives of Scouting!
Then came the actual presentations, including recognition of parents and mentors. Although each boy has to do the work to meet the rigorous requirements, it would be very difficult to achieve without the help, support, prodding, nagging, and occasional threatening by leaders, parents, and extended families :-)
Finally the four new Eagles were given the Eagle Charge by Scoutmaster Scott.
After that they were escorted into the Eagle's Nest by the most recently awarded Eagle Scout. The program concluded in just under an hour, followed up by refreshments, congratulations, and of course, more pictures!.JPG)
It was neat to have both sets of grandparents in attendance, along with other family and friends - thanks for making the effort to come and share in this day! Although the boys may have considered this ceremony somewhat perfunctory in nature, I believe each of them will appreciate it more and more as they progress through manhood and are able to reflect on this special occasion.
Congratulations to Tanner, Josh, Paul, Brayden - and Eagle Scouts everywhere!
featuring Josh,
where she can enjoy the view without dangling in her harness. There was plenty of ridge lift with the stiff wind, and I soon found a mild thermal over launch which allowed me to drift back and quickly bench up over Clarkston Peak. I watched as Cody safely launched below,
and soon joined me over the upper mountains. I explored the air, took pictures, and flew some tight formations with Cody.
Cody & I flew over to Gunsight Peak allowing for a nice view up I-15 to Clover's birth place and beyond into Idaho. As the afternoon progressed the air mellowed and the lift band expanded.
Cody and I pulled on the VG's and went on glide out over the valley a couple of times. Near the end of our flight we found zero sink and even widespread light lift even a mile or two out over the valley!
About an hour into our flight we were joined in our airplayin' over the peaks by a group of 7 or 8 golden eagles!
Although they are on a migratory journey, they didn't just fly by and continue en route. They paused for about 15 minutes to apparently play with Cody and me in an aerial game of follow the leader.
They were not intimidated by the size of our wings, occasionally coming within 15 feet of us -
causing Clover to get a bit excited. She is one of the few dogs who actually gets to chase birds in flight! It was amazing to watch how the birds of prey made small adjustments in their tail and other feathers to control their flight. The eagles soon moved on, and after over 2 hours of airtime Cody & I decided to fly over the back and safely landed in the Clarkston "corner LZ."
Clover enjoyed the flight, but was glad to be back on solid ground as we broke down our gliders and then retrieved Cody's pick-up from launch
as the setting sun painted the mountains. What a great way to spend a beautiful, Fall, Saturday afternoon! Thanks for sharin' the air, Cody, in another memorable milestone flight over Short Divide!
Airtime: 2.5 hours!
It was blowin' straight in about 20 mph when we arrived, but by the time we were ready to launch it had dropped down to about 15.
Clover made it very clear that she wanted some airtime too, so we harnessed her up and hooked all three of us in! We had a nice, healthy launch, but there was just not quite enough lift to maintain or gain altitude. 
We explored the air over each little bump and ridge during our extended, 25 minute sled ride. I set up for a long, straight and level final glide, and came in with a decent landing right before the gentle upslope in the bailout LZ. As we unhooked Landon said, "I lost my shoe!" 
I looked down and sure enough, his left foot was shoe-less. He thought it fell off just as we levelled out in ground effect, but a quick search yielded no luck. After breaking down the glider and retrieving our ride, we spent over an hour walking every inch of the field below our final flight path.
Clover found a couple of badger holes, so I suspect that the shoe may have fallen on the head of a stinkin' badger, who then promptly confiscated it! We never gave up hope, but in the end we just ran out of daylight. Anyway, it was a nice, albeit short flight on a beautiful fall afternoon.
Airtime: 25 minutes x3!
I turned left and cruised along about 75 feet over the small ridgeline over launch in the smooth, fall lift. I decided to keep it simple today, flying without any instruments, to see if I could tune in to the gentle thermals enough with my own senses to bench up and climb the upper mountain. After a few ups and downs, I found a ride up to about 200' over launch. It turned into zero sink, but I managed to drift with it all the way back to the upper face, where I slowly began my ascent. I hugged the lower flanks, contouring every bump, bowl and gully to stay in the lift, flying at minimum sink with just enough airspeed for a margin of safety.
After nine or ten passes I finally crested the summit ridge,
rewarded with an incredible view over the back, to Idaho and beyond. There was a bit of haze in the air from farmers burning off some stubble in the valley below, but overall it was a clear, crisp, sunny fall afternoon.
Over the peak the lift was smooth, widespread and plentiful, although the lift band was not a large as it can be during a summer glass-off. The mountainsides were mostly orange, brown and rust colored, with the muted fall colors beyond their peak. After enjoying the view for an hour or so, I did a few wingovers in celebration and "just for fun",
and then flew over the back to begin my descent as the evening shadows lengthened. The wind in the landing zone was a bit stronger than normal - about 12 mph. As a result I came up a little short of my target, but it was inconsequential, and actually turned out quite well with a gentle no-step landing where Dallen was waiting. A fitting end to another magical evening over "the Divide." Recovery definitely has its rewards! 
Airtime: 1.5 hours! 
