An L-23 tandem!   Got a tow to 2800 AGL and then cored several thermals, topping out at 10,800 MSL.  The VSI was pegged positive many times and the feel of rising on thermals is quite euphoric.

I took my GPS along to record the course, altitude and groundspeed.  Will have to do this later as I am very tired from the drive.  But it was worth the drive...7 hours.

Here is what it looked like, minus the cloud shadows as there were none today!:



The big buildings seen in the fore ground are greenhouses for tomato and other food crops.  This is a desert at 4000+ MSL.  

The smaller buildings diagonally opposite are a training range for Border Patrol, built by Marine engineers in 2002.  There is a UH1 fuselage on this site.

Cool!

www.nwinternet.com/~blanikam/ba/prod01.htm

Here is the GPS track.  Yes, LOTS of turns, all 2000-6000 feet AGL.  We made one trip down to to the town of Marfa but since off-field landings are to be avoided, we stayed near Marfa Muni, some 4 miles north of the town.  Yes, this is the same town as the Marfa Mystery Lights which just happens to be an abandoned Army Airfield.  Private property.