The SECRET IS OUT ! or is it?  June 9th and 10th, 2001 somewhere near Hawthorne Nevada.

BACHELOR WEEKEND: Tom's last single adventure: 

Widely touted as the event at our wedding where the highest level of security has been maintained.  Well at least on the specifics of what it is all about and where it would be located.  Tom didn't even find out until Monday (June 3)  when Peter sent out the final e-mail:  

Attended by:  Peter (Best Man and Host), Tom (Groom), Paul (Groom's Brother), Richard, Todd and John.

Peter had scouted out a dry lake bed in a valley only accessible via 4WD roads.  I would roughly guess it was about 70 miles east of Hawthorne. or the third valley over if you have an aerial map of the area.  The dirt roads in and out (we took a different one each way) were surprisingly easy to navigate and didn't require 4WD at all.   Paul's trailer made it no problem.

We knew it would be hot and sunny, and the weather cooperated.  Not too hot, not too cold, not too windy.  We got in all the flight time we could ask for.  The ground was a little rough on landings, but the wind directions cooperated with the limited runways we had.  

There was already a shooting range at the site (made by others), so all we had to do is reset the targets every so often.

It actually turned out to be the perfect site for what was planned.  We drank a few beers.  Todd gave Tom a box of cigars.  Shot some targets, flew some RC planes,  fired off some golf balls, ate some desert burritos, re-hydrated, played with the RC flight simulator on Tom's computer, then at night we shot some jars of gasoline launched some fireworks (cigars helped for that) till it got boring, did some night shooting, drank some scotch, looked at the stars, and got to bed by about 11:30  We were up the next morning at about 6:30, flying RC planes.  My compliments to Richard on his ZAGI.  It put my old, beat up, weathered, repaired  ZAGI to shame in flight.  Peter flew his 'D' size Rocket Launch Glider (Truly impressive to see one of these go off), and then flew my B2.  I mostly stuck to My ZAGI until the prop broke, although I did take a full flight of the B2.  At one point in the morning we had 3 flying wings in the air (2 powered ZAGI's and one glider) flying a little combat.  Then the shooting started all over again.  Finally, about 10am Sunday morning we settled into a good old game of liars dice and story telling session.  We were packed up and on the road by 2pm.  (Tom pulled Paul's Trailer to Sacramento to lessen the load on Paul's water pump.

It was all good harmless fun.  Richard didn't even shoot the rabbit that hung out around the camp. Of course those of us there will remember the novel little things like John's shoe catching on fire or Paul's sleep walking (see Tom Said Page).  The only thing I can't figure out is why I'm so soar today?  I would do it again in a minute, but now I must return to work and my wedding plans.

Still frame Pictures: (Click on Pictures to view larger images)

Video's are posted below:

Video 2 Includes footage of the "golf Ball Cannon" and the "Rocket Launch Glider".  <File is still being prepared>

Video 3 Includes <File is still being prepared> 

Mental Notes I made and am writing down for posterity:

Always travel with ear plugs.  Or you may have to use someone else's.

Tom tends to over pack, and over shop.  Why does he think he needs to do that?

It takes more than 36 hours to forget about your wedding plans and de-stress.

Drinking isn't the same sport it once was

Neat place I only have to visit once in a lifetime.

It was very dirty!

It was cool that the firing range had a bunker to hide behind the first time we tested the golf ball launcher.  It even had a camera hole.  The golf ball launcher only went off once right. It didn't work when we used a firework as the igniter.

My bachelor party had a cliff to mark our territory from.  It even faced the rising moon.

It's tough to keep the night time stories going without a camp fire.

We never got to present our weenie roasting sticks.

The cigars were perfect and did not worsen the hang over like usual.

I forgot my toothbrush. I forgot my Pineapple corer!

Richards ZAGI was made much better than my ZAGI.  It had all the right rigidity, still got plenty of lift, and flew well at half throttle.  I've had my ZAGI so long I can't remember if it ever flew that well or looked that good.

It was great to see Todd again.  He obviously had a lot on his mind and seemed a little quiet.

It's weird that my friends are daddies.  It's even weirder that they are offering me advice about being a daddy.  It's even weirder that they are warning me how to change my life, to make being a daddy better and a better daddy!

I had a nagging headache the whole time.  Sinuses?

The stars were spectacular!

We think it was a pumping plant on a perched groundwater table.  The soil was very silty with both silty sands and silty clays present, although the silty clays were only about 2 inches deep.  Water obviously sits out there some times of the year.

I tried not to hurt myself the whole time and still got a puncture wound on my chin.

Paul sleep walks. 

Peter and Paul always tell the truth in liars dice!

Why did everyone keep saying "only two weeks" like there was some impending doom!  The expression on the married guys faces when they said it was especially troubling.

Fireworks got boring!  First time in my life I ever had all the opportunity in the world to set them off, and had to bring some home..

Tamara bought me a hat.

I'm ready to get married!