On the way to Sacramento

Flying out to Sacramento, California was fun today.  The first picture is over Battle Mountain, Nevada.  It is in the middle of no where but is a little mining town.  The picture is a working Gold and Copper mine.  Sorry I could not quite reach a piece of Gold for ya.  The second picture is how they grow crops out there.  They have irrigation systems that water in a circle.  These green circles are everywhere and stick out in the dry brown dessert.  The last picture is Lake Tahoe.  It is a great summer place for boating and a wonderful winter ski destination.  The lake looks like a bowl.  It sits high up above the surrounding ground and is filled with water.  The town next to it is called Reno, Nevada.  Well they say Arnold S (The Governor/Terminator) is in town and eats lunch across from our hotel.  I will see if I can see the Terminator.  Be Good!

The Western Path

The Western United States is amazing with its rugged terrain and amazing feats needed to pass through this area. The top picture is Spokane, Washington. It is on the Eastern Border of Washington State, next to Idaho. The Mountains can be seen in the distance as we get ready to head East. Our route takes us over the Great Rocky Mountains. I have shown them to you before but they amaze me every time I fly over. What amazes me is how people in the 1800's traveled through them. There are only small passes that work there way through these great mountains. One of them is called Mullans Pass, (the second picture). It is a small pass that crosses the Continental Divide in the Rocky's. Explorers found this pass and in the middle 1800's the Military came and turned this wagon trail into a road for the military to bring troops and supplies through the Rockies to fight the Indian's. As you can see by the last picture, which is just to the South of Mullans Pass the mountains are very treacherous and rough making the feet of building a road a huge endeavor even today.

The storms around us!

Like life storms come and go. Some are small and short lived and some are what we call Big Mommas. The small ones you can easily fly around even though they are a little inconvenient but the big mommas can tear you up. The way we fly around the big momma's is to slow up, keep alert and navigate through the rough ride. Much like life. Not always smooth but we do get past the turbulence.

The top picture is a drawing of how a storm grows to be a big momma. The weather must be just right. Usually there is cold air that moves over warm and moist air. The warm air lifts up the cold air which then freezes and gets heavy and falls. As it falls it warms up and rises to repeat the process all over. This creates great energy and a lot of turbulence until eventually it blows the top off and starts to shrink or dissipate.

The second picture is a medium size thunderstorm that is building. Note the top of the cell. It looks as if it has a hat. The third picture is a big momma. If you look closely you can see the rolling clouds all around. Big mommas can be very destructfull and suck everything in all around it. We are very careful to stay away from those. As a rule of thumb we will fly 20 miles around a storm that size as it is very powerful and can disrupt the airflow around it for miles.

We flew past all of the storms yesterday and I am in Spokane, Washington today and it is very beautiful. It is cool and crisp and smells like pine trees. We leave in a little bit and on to Philadelphia. We will see what we see today.

Cool and Fuel

What a day! On the way out to Salt Lake City we saw a very rare event. The top picture is a B1 Stealth Bomber. We were only one thousand feet away. It is very rare to be so close to one of those. As you can see by the picture they are fast. We were flying directly at it at over 600 miles an hour and they were coming at us at over 600 miles an hour. That is a closure rate of 1200 miles an hour. You see a black dot and then it is gone. Remember the speed of sound is about 680 miles an hour. FAST!

On the way back we ran across a long line of storms coming into Minneapolis. They closed the airport and we held in a holding pattern with about 10 other airplanes until our fuel got low and had to divert to Fargo, North Dakota along with 6 other aircraft. There we could get more fuel and wait for the Minneapolis airport to open and then fly back. Today with the high fuel prices all of the airlines carry only the fuel they need. To carry more fuel means the airplane is heavier and burns more fuel costing more money. Because of that if something disrupts the traffic we have to divert and go to a closer airport. Just the way it is today. We are very safe and plan to make sure we have enough fuel but they do not allow any extra. Fargo had so may airplanes on the ground we all had to park side by side and get more fuel and wait our turn to blast off.

What a day!

My Morning Reflection

I was performing my preflight of the airplane this morning in Flint and looked up to see this cool reflection of the aircraft in the terminal windows. I ran back up and grabbed my camera to take this picture. That is me looking goofy under the wing taking this picture. I bet the passengers thought I was crazy. Well I am in Detroit now and getting ready to head to Salt Lake City and back home. See ya soon!

Cool sights along the way

I started the day in Hartford Connecticut. Early up and on my way. Close to the airport is this amusement park. It looked like a lot of fun. It is next to the river and would be fun to go too. Click on the picture and it will get bigger and you can see some of the rides.

The next picture is coming into Detroit. (Motor City). Detroit is home to the largest American manufacturers of cars. The picture is hazy but it is the test track they test their new vehicles on. They run the track for handling and endurance testing. This helps them to design and develop new cars.

The last picture is in the Detroit terminal and I laugh every time I see it. It is called an Oxygen Spa. People pay a bunch of money to put on an oxygen mask and breath. I always walk by and say "Hey, its free out here". They look at me with that face of, " He just doesn't get it, does he." you know that face you guys look at me with. Well on to Flint Michigan and tomorrow Detroit, Salt Lake City and back home. Have fun at the play and baseball! Wish I was there.

Stormy Day on the way to Billings

Today started out very stormy and we were delayed in Minneapolis because of the lightning. When ever there is lightning within 10 miles of a airport they shutdown the ground area so the ground workers do not get hurt. The first picture is the radar on the airplane. We can see the storms and fly around them but it can still be bumpy. The second pictures is a plane landing in front of us in the rain in Minneapolis. We first flew to Billings Montana, which is the last picture and then back to Minneapolis and on to Hartford Connecticut. We did not get in until about 11pm. Long day again. The Billings airport sits on a Plataea and the city is below it with small mountains off in the distance. Well it is off to sleep as I have to get up early and fly to Detroit and Flint Michigan. See ya soon. Goodnight.

Tuscon

Tucson is a cool airport. The approach is over the mountains and through a valley as you can see. The summer can be very stormy as clouds form over the mountains. I will show you more pictures of the storms latter. The airport itself is small as you can see by the old style control tower. The last picture is a military bone yard. This is where the military parks many of their old fighter and military aircraft. If you look closely or click on the picture you can see the aircraft all lined up. This airport is also a F-16 fighter Air Guard unit. There were several fighters taking off with practice bombs to get ready for their deployment. They were all lined up and taking off.

Fun on the beach and back to work

The top picture was a time of rest with my family. The beach is the place we seek when we need rest. It is such a peaceful place filled with Gods Majesty. We spent a few days just walking on the beach listening to the waves and searching for sea life, which we found each day. The beach holds such a special place in our hearts and we love being there.

The next picture is back in the office. It was a early morning departure from San Jose, California. The sun was just coming up over the mountains and it is very beautiful. On the way back to Minneapolis you see aircraft fly by and realize how fast you are traveling. We are flying at over 600 miles an hour at 40,000 feet above sea level. It does not feel like you are traveling that fast but when we drive our car we drive about 60 miles per hour which equals one mile a minute. At 600 MPH we travel about 2.5 miles in 15 seconds. That would mean we could be from our house to Church in 4 minutes. WOW!

Well on to Minneapolis and Duluth today. Tomorrow Tuscon. Sea ya tomorrow.

High Flying

I saw a very rare cloud formation the other night. The first picture you can see them fairly well and the second picture they are up in the darker section. They are called noctilucent clouds. It means night shinning. They can only be seen at twilight, that's why it is so hard to get a good picture. They are seen in the summer months and are the highest clouds know to exist. These clouds were about 80,000 feet high. It is amazing as we are flying at 40,000 feet. These clouds form at over 50 miles up in the sky. They are to faint to be seen during the day and are illuminated by the sun when it is setting. Scientist don't completely understand how they form as they are almost in space. Most clouds are formed in our atmosphere and use wind and heating and cooling to move but these clouds are too high for that. Some scientist think they are the left over ice crystals from the exhaust from the space shuttle. Wow!

Well in New York today and saw some fireworks last night flying in. We were very high so they looked like bombs going off. You could see all of the little towns around the big cities shooting off their fireworks at the same time. Looked like they were under attack.

Can't wait to get to the beech with you all tomorrow. Save me a spot.

Missoula Montana

It is the 4th of July and I am in Missoula Montana. Not to bad although I miss the Parade in Florida we like to go to. Where else can you see a confederate soldier riding a bull with a goose. Not here. I did decide to make the best of it and take a little hike which turned into a strenuous mountain climbing experience. It was worth it as the view here is spectacular. I was warned of the ferocious mountain lions and did manage to capture one here as you can see. It was pretty scary! All in all a beautiful place to visit cool mornings and small town atmosphere. Tonight I head to New York. Maybe I will see some fireworks. Enjoy the 4th!