After a warm and wonderful visit, and surprisingly for us not a single flight in this beautiful area, we took off on the first leg toward home.
8513 So Near
The gateway to Banff in the nearby blue Canadian Rockies seemed to almost be teasing us beyond the green hills surrounding Okotoks. But those playfully shaped white clouds indicate turbulence, and the wind over the mountains would’ve made for uncomfortable flying at best. So between occasional bumps during our climb, we enjoyed taking in the sights like this bend in the river.
8550 River Green
Soon we’d all but forgotten about the fact wind and storms had precluded sharing the delights of flying Banff & Jasper, and were enjoying the prairie sights again. Like this railway bridge across the deep furrow created by the river somewhere West of Lethbridge.
4119 Rail Bridge
River meanders over flats are always visually interesting for us too, especially when the fields are a riot of color.
4127 Snake in the Garden
Having flown this route once in the endless white blanket of February, we had an idea why these silos are brightly painted.
4158 Winter Contrast
Again smoke and storms nudged us South and then West. We bypassed Missoula this time but followed part of our prior route near Helena where smoke stained peaks still sported white Winter mementos.
8568 July Whitecaps
The region West of the Rockies and South of Spokane is always fascinating from the air, and the lowering light of the long northern Summer evening makes them even better.
4216 Summer Shapes
This one evokes a laughing face for me.
4222 Dimpled Joker
The ever deeper shadows were further accented by thickening smoke adding to the reddish hues of approaching sunset.
4248 Textured Terrain
Every element of each scene reveals the interplay of nature and agriculture. Each mile brings some familiar elements, always arranged in completely new ways on the varied terrain.
4259 Variations
OK, maybe you’re still among the likely majority who find prairies boring (we’re clearly not, but are sharing in case you’ve never flown them). So I’ll offer just this one more, in the hope you might find some hint of art in this gallery of goodness.
4261 Splay Play
Just after a glorious deep red sunset we lined up for the airport at The Dalles, OR. Said to be the only city with its airport in a different state (WA), it huddled beneath the dormant volcano of Mt. Hood as if reminding us what it could do.
4283 Dalles Sleeping Giant
John & Anne Wiley 
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