One of Richard Barker’s sons is doing some research on his father’s restaurant and remembers meeting your mother from when he was a boy. He’d appreciate the opportunity to chat with her during his occasional visits to the Valley. I’ve written about the Cloud Nine for Phoenix Magazine and could forward her contact info to him. You can find my email on my website that also has the article: http://www.neonmotel.com/download/cloud9.pdf

I lived right across the street 21st AVE I think, from the dirt lot where the gliders landed. As kids, we’d watch them land from our front yard. I think ot was somwhere around 1986 or so, when an apartment complex was added where the dirt lot was, and the hang gliders no longer had a good landing spot. That’s when I remember them leaving. Hope that helps.

we used to attend a little church at the foot of 19 ave, and after church my brother and i would hike over to cloud 9. this was about 1960, and what i remember, it was never open for business, i don’t know if because it was day time or Sunday, but there was a man there who was very nice, and he would let us look at phoenix threw the submarine periscope they had.

back then there were a lot of space between sunnyslope and phoenix, lots of citrus groves, and to the west john Jacobs farms where we picked cotton, grapes and watermelons, 4 for a dollar.

i also remembered that he drove a citron, first one i have ever seen

The Cloud 9 runs are not at the very top of the mountain by the radio towers. But at the top, there is another old building foundation. I wonder if that had something to do with the restaraunt or its owner, or if it’s a separate piece of history.