RE: lost glider
Anybody ever lost sight of a glider? You betcha.
The rule at the sod farm in Minnesnowta wasn't simple but worked. When the glider got so high that it was just two dots, one sorta long dot and one small dot (the wing was the long dot and the tail was the small dot and you couldn't see the fuselage at all) it was time to pay attention. But when the two dots became just one dot, it was time to bring the sucker down.
It's hard for southern boys to believe, but Minnesnowta is glider heaven. Great thermal flying sites with all the flat, clear land, but still has slopes all over the place. Around Minneapolis-StPaul the land seemed to either be perfect for thermal or it was a cliff face. I'd move back if they had more than two seasons: winter and a couple of weeks of mosquitoes.