I got a later start than I had wanted (didn't connect with the tow pilot early enough), so flying the whole task again might be pushing it, I told myself. However, if I rounded Anderson better, I might pick up the delay and the rest of the flight might be in sync with the yesterday's one. Further, since there was an easterly wind, I might actually have an advantage coming back from Davenport with it.

Thermals seemed to work about the same as the previous day. I got a good start and was able to speed all the way to the end of the plateau by Brewster, where I saw a good dust devil from the distance. I continued to it at high speed, however, it turned out to be a very elusive thermal. Again, much to my dismay, I got stuck there for a full twenty minutes before I finally located a good thermal. This upset me so much that I abandoned my plan on going on to Davenport.

Instead, I redrafted my task and headed for Dry Falls turnpoint. Going became progressively worse and I was started dropping in altitude. By the time I arrived at Dry Falls, I was already seriously considering landing out at the Coulee City airport. I made one last ditch attempt on finding something, inching along the escarpment of Dry Falls towards Sun Lakes, hoping that the easterly flow would kick up a thermal. I was down to 4200', and 6 miles away from the (upwind) Coulee City airport.

My gamble worked, for just about above the Falls Museum I ran into a thermal which eventually topped out at 8000'. I was greatly relieved. During this climb I made a panorama of pictures.

First, this is where I came from (view towards Anderson from Dry Falls)

Next, the view where I eventually went, towards Wenatchee from Dry Falls.

And now, here is a view in the opposite direction, towards the town of Coulee City, with its airport beyond it.

The cirque of one of the Dry Falls escarpments is visible in the lower right.

The actual turnpoint of Dry Falls is at the start of the dam in the lower right, with a gas station and a restaurant. The body of water is called Banks Lake, which stretches all the way to Grand Coulee Dam.

In the opposite direction, looking south, is a series of scenic lakes, collectively known as Sun Lakes. In the foreground is Park Lake (there is a state park and a golf course), next up is the Blue Lake, then Alkali Lake, Lake Lenore and finally the Soap Lake. Very, very scenic.

Beyond Sun Lakes are the canyons gouged by ancient floods. In the upper left is the Billy Clapp Lake with at its north end the Summer Falls, a refreshing sight of cascading water, especially on hot ninety degree days. On the top left horizon is the town of Wilson Creek, another turnpoint and a good airport to land at. All these names are very familiar especially to pilots flying out of Ephrata, as good location identifiers.

This view is basically the same as the previous one, only from a little farther south. Park Lake is in the left foreground, and Blue Lake on the right.

Moving on still farther south, now Blue Lake is on the left, Lake Lenore on the right and Soap Lake is now better visible at the top. The Ephrata airport is just above Soap Lake, another five miles to go from there.

After leaving Sun Lakes I flew back towards Wenatchee, and did not encounter further problems. Just before arriving at the Columbia River I found a strong thermal which enabled me to climb high enough to fly all the way to the Four Corners emergency airport atop Mission Ridge; it makes a good turnpoint. It is possibly landable even for gliders, without damage. However, with even a few hundred feet above it, one has a glide to either Pangborn airport, or to Bowers at Ellensburg - so - why land?

I have been rather careful, however, not to get myself caught too low above this area, because often very strong downdrafts occur here close to the ground which might make the escape out of this plateau into the Wenatchee or Ellensburg valleys impossible. The runway is along what seems to be a ditch, at the right angle to the dirt road.

As I arrived above the Mission Ridge Ski Area, I was pleasantly surprised to see that many large yellow water pipes were distributed along the access road for the planned snow-making. Windy Ridge is in the foreground.

The access road leads to a large bowl in the upper right, which

will become a large reservoir after it is dammed up. The stored water should assure guaranteed opening of the ski area by early December or perhaps even earlier, thanks to the snow-making possibility.

After leaving Mission Ridge I headed towards Burch Mountain across the Wenatchee River valley.

I was amazed to see how much residential development takes place here, converting the landscape from rural to urban.

Most of the houses shown were built recently, and development seems to creep up higher and higher up the slopes of Burch Mountain. One of the homes is practically a castle, the one at the very top of the picture.

This was another great flight. Even though I did not achieve my goals - the undoing of the delay at Anderson, flying the same route in the reverse order, and improving my cross-country speed, the flight was very rewarding. I was especially happy that I did not have to land out, as it looked like for a while I might at Dry Falls.