John & Anne Wiley

2011/03/04

Migration

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Random,Tripp,White North Adventure — John @ 06:29

We feel like happy ducks. We started off the morning here.

1661 Hard Winter

1661 Hard Winter

There’s a man (feet visible under Tripp) and a tractor working hard along with me, pushing Tripp through the snow so we can hook up a Tannis heater to warm up the engine and battery. It’s -10F in blowing snow with a chill factor about -32F. I used that brush I’m carrying to clear snow off the plane twice before it finally cleared and we took off. Anne was worried about some accumulated ice on the rear of the fuselage, but we managed to get most of that off by thumping it gently with our gloved hands. When we landed in Spokane five hours later, it looked like this.

1694 Golden Greeting

1694 Golden Greeting

On final approach to Felts in Spokane, it was 34F and felt like Bali. That’s liquid water in the river. Something we’ve not seen outdoors for quite a while. I know why ducks migrate. But everything that goes with that 66 degree temperature difference is only partly why we’re happy tonight. We’ve just met our new grand daughter and enjoyed a Winter wonderland. Maybe tomorrow I’ll post more pix, but our migration continues early tomorrow so we can stay ahead of approaching storms.

Made It!

Filed under: Flying,Random,White North Adventure — John @ 01:47

We got out of Edmonton late due to a lonely snowstorm hovering right over the city. Still managed to arrive in Spokane just now, 20 minutes early. In normal scenarios that would be good news, but CBP is making us sit waiting in the plane until they arrive for their suspicion dance at the appointed time. Anne’s bladder will be gladder then.

Pix to follow in a few hours once we’re settled in our hotel. Some remarkable scenery we’re excited to share.

2011/03/03

Window

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,White North Adventure — John @ 16:00

We’re hustling off to the airport, with this general route in mind: click for gMaps. Basically along the highways to Spokane, WA with a detour slightly to the West of downtown Calgary to avoid the busy airport there. Waking at 6am to get an early start, we looked out the window and went back to sleep. As predicted in the forecasts just before bedtime last nite, it was snowing rather than clearing as earlier predicted. But now, at 9am there’s actually some blue sky. Once we get a little South of here, things are better – and warmer. Looks like we’ll be taking off about 11am, and if we can avoid strong head winds it’s about a 5-1/2 hour flight. By the time we get situated in a hotel and have a chance to blog it might be 7-9pm.

So we’ll be blogging again once we land, and you can have fun guessing where it will be from. 🙂

2011/03/02

Last Day?

Filed under: Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,Relationships,White North Adventure — John @ 21:28

Can we possibly be thinking of flying? This morning dawned another lovely Spring day: -30F wind chill with tiny “white fly” snowflakes. We had another glorious day yesterday with family including a routine clinic visit, and a stop at possibly the most unusual Starbux we’ve ever seen.

1639 StarSki's?

1639 StarSki's?

Much as this looks like a ski lodge, it’s actually a Starbux in the parking lot of the Millwood Mall in South Edmonton. After a relaxed coffee convo we headed back to the “kids” place, where Anne was treated to a lengthy smile & coo audience with grand daughter.

1650 Irresistible

1650 Irresistible

Cute as this is, it’s late. That is, I crouched poised with camera ready and each time she smiled or made a sweet “coo” or “ahh” the moment had passed by the time I snapped. She’d flash a massive smile, often with associated squeal of delight that entertained us all immensely, then instantly thrash her arms and legs so as to defeat the grand-pappa-razzi. At least this evokes the memory. Say what you like about evolutionary science and the fact that babies are wired to do this, while adults are wired to love it. When she does this, all thought at science withers in the face of the adult-melting baby smile.

I’ve been the focus of many such smiles too, of course. But yesterday my main reward was the Study. That’s where she looks deeply into your eyes and memorizes your face. Most often during feeding, but sometimes at random like this pause to hold my finger and calmly take in the essence of John.

1656 Studious

1656 Studious

Hopefully we’ll have one last visit with this delightful family today. Tomorrow bright, early and frozen, we’re going to make a run for the border. Our plan is to arrive at Felts Field in Spokane by 5pm. We’ll find out whether weather has other plans, and will try to post at least a quick update once we’ve landed wherever we end up.

2011/03/01

Snow Day

Filed under: Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,People,Random,Relationships,White North Adventure — John @ 01:48

Our sweet son-in-law got the day off, and we enjoyed they had opportunity for an uninterrupted day together while we stayed close to the car in case they needed us. Anne baked some brownies, leaving us just half a bar more from the stack of TJ’s 70% Pound Plus we brought. Canada has great milk chocolate, but I haven’t yet tried to find the good dark we prefer so that might happen soon. Anyway, we decided to experience -25C (-13F) with a -35C (-31F) wind chill on a sunset exploration within sight of our neighborhood. Donning our long underwear and two layers of everything, we set out for the river walk near our B&B. Within a quarter mile we were on the edge of the open land, and it reminded me of my years in Smithers, B.C. We’d hike a bit, then pause to look at something. These tracks, for example.

5741 Fresh Tracks

5741 Fresh Tracks

Since it had only recently stopped snowing and blowing, we knew that within the last hour or two some critter(s) had passed this way. Viscerally tactile to see the tiny impressions of delicate toes and make up a story about what had just left a whisper of scent here in passing, what it was, and what it was doing.

5742 High Nest

5742 High Nest

Could it have been the same animal that build this nest 20 feet up in the birches? Was it watching as a noisy old man and his perfect wife plowed their own deep tracks?

5755 Happy Hiker

5755 Happy Hiker

She loves to walk, and my enthusiastic snow bunny added much to the fun of it all. I enjoyed pausing to take in the shapes, colors and textures. The twisted branches of some tortured trees on the edge of a clearing entertained me with their garnish of fresh snow.

5750 Gnarled Bare Birches

5750 Gnarled Bare Birches

As we turned on a loop to take us back toward home from the other side, the lowering sun through the trees cut swaths of shadow and light across the expanse of new snow.

5753 Snow, Shadows, and Light

5753 Snow, Shadows, and Light

I don’t recall any other hike of a mile or so we’ve taken, that felt nearly as far. Maybe because in the back of our minds was how different an experience it would have been if we were in one of those isolated valleys we saw during our flight here. Could be the fact it was cold enough to freeze exposed skin within a few minutes. I like to think it was the rare beauty found in standing at the edge of life as we know it, looking beyond in a moment shared with the perfect companion.

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