John & Anne Wiley

2010/10/13

Mind the Gap

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 02:27

It’s been fun treating this blog like a diary of sorts because we sometimes review the posts and recall related experiences, and also because it’s fun to share with you. So the longer gap between posts lately is a little surprising. We’ve had plenty of fun, but just didn’t blog for some reason(s).

We’ve become a little involved with the growing movement to replace four of the seven current SBCC Board of Trustees. Four new candidates are running for the first hotly contested Board election in recent memory. They were begged to run by many friends who know how much they can contribute to getting SBCC back on track, and we’re very much hoping to help get the word out because the local media hasn’t done a very good job. If you’re interested in education, take a look at the Citizens4SBCC group’s website where you can learn about the issues and the four to vote for: Haslund, Croninger, Blum, & Macker. If all you need is something to remember when voting:

No SBCC Incumbents!

OK, so another recent activity was our Sunday flight to San Diego for Dad’s 91st birthday. The date was actually last weekend, but we missed the family gathering then due to thick local fog that prevented us getting Tripp out of SBA using “Visual Flight Rules” (VFR, basically meaning clear of clouds).

As if to reward us for waiting, the weather was glorious! Here’s what we saw soon after takeoff, looking past SBA and UCSB out to the islands.

 

1910 SBA to Channel Islands

1910 SBA to Channel Islands

 

Looking the other way, the canyons leading up to the mountains were also incredibly beautiful. Such a place to live!

 

1922 Quiet Mountain

1922 Quiet Mountain

 

The first small bare spot on the ridge just left of center is a favorite local hang glider launch spot, but I guess the air was too calm because we didn’t see any flying. For more detail, click on Our Photo Page in the top right column to see tagged identification of areas on the mountain.  I’ll blog more about the trip soon (I hope).

2010/10/10

Soft Sunset

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 03:58

We took a short and serene flight out to Montecito at sunset, and are still in a quiet mood. More people than usual were out for a sunset stroll at Hendry’s (Arroyo Burro) Beach as we quietly passed half a mile offshore, remembering enjoying a glance at passing planes on our own walks there.

1853 Hendry's Walkers

1853 Hendry's Walkers

Oprah’s fountain was on and lit, looking especially lovely. I think that’s a small amphitheater at the right.

1856 Oprah's Fountain

1856 Oprah's Fountain

I’ll probably put another pic or two on my Photo Page, and then maybe just meditate on happiness and contentment for a few minutes.

2010/09/30

More Mtn Marvels

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Nature,Random,SB Region — John @ 07:59

I can’t seem to stop looking at pix from our weekend jaunt past Mammoth. Nearing there from the Bishop area we saw some really remarkable scenery, and our angle to the sun helped minimize haze from the fires just on the other side of the mountains. This shot of Convict Lake is a sample of similar geology for miles around.

1335 Mountain Lake

1335 Mountain Lake

Mammoth itself looks like a scar from the air, especially without snow. People in Bishop told us it used to be quite different but now caters to people with money. We haven’t been there in decades, and decided not to land at the airport just out of view in the distance because they charge just for landing and getting into town costs even more.

1362 Mammoth Scar

1362 Mammoth Scar

Just beyond Mammoth, after looking at the Minarets and the Fossett site we enjoyed a pristine high glacier-carved lake.

1514 High Lake

1514 High Lake

A bit further was a small dam that seems to have been there for a long time. Wonder if there’s any electricity generated there, or maybe it’s just for flood control or water supply.

1517 Water Works

1517 Water Works

California is such a beautiful and varied part of the world, we never seem to run out of fascinating and magnificent places to fly within an hour or two of home.

2010/09/28

Quiet Passage

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,People,Random,SB Region,Tripp — John @ 18:13

Part of our Saturday flight from Bishop to San Jose was quiet. After passing Mammoth we turned toward the Hetch Hetchy valley, and that took us by the area I call the Minarets. There are several other named features here, and all are remarkably beautiful.

1368 Minarets

1368 Minarets

But among all the lakes and magnificent peaks, the jagged Minarets really stand out and instill in me a sense of quiet awe. Adding to my quiet this day was the knowledge that famed aviation adventurer Steve Fossett died here (see my Photo Page for details). Flying here can be challenging even when weather is good, so I had waited a long time for this clear and almost completely calm day. So mingled with the other sources of my inner quiet was a respect for both the power of this terrain, and for Steve’s skill in flying here so many times in difficult weather. I share his appreciation of this as a favorite place, but not his willingness to fly here on less favorable days. Flying even higher and more quietly than usual, I contemplated what a magnificent place this is to be forever connected with.

1372 Middle Panorama

1372 Middle Panorama

It might give you slightly more impression of the beauty here to see a broader panorama, so above is a photo taken about a mile from the first one and looking more toward the West.

1383 Toward Hetch Hetchy

1383 Toward Hetch Hetchy

This one’s also from the same general area, looking more toward the northwest where we flew over Hetch Hetchy valley. Imagine these three photos side by side, with #1372 in the middle and #1383 on the right. Now that you’re “flying” along with us, note that this is about a third of the panorama we were swimming in. More mountains in every direction, and Mono Lake visible in the distance behind us. Some places we’ve flown evoke gasps and joyful shouts, but here we were mostly in quiet reverie.

2010/09/27

Yosemite

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Nature,Random,SB Region — John @ 10:05

We woke at sunrise Saturday in Bishop, with the moon still shining and the sunlit Sierras glowing over the sleepy valley.

1270 Tripp Sunup Moon

1270 Tripp Sunup Moon

Tripp seemed to be stretching her wings as if anticipating the spectacular flight ahead. Within a few minutes the sun had brightly painted the airport sage in subtle hues.

1279 Morning Paintbrush

1279 Morning Paintbrush

By the time we took off, Bishop was glowing greener than we’d remembered it from driving trips. Certainly when we landed in the fading light, we had no idea how large the town is and no hint of the broad green stretch of valley.

1287 Bishop Green

1287 Bishop Green

Soon we passed over a lovely swath of textured life across the arid plain.

1296 Life Lines

1296 Life Lines

I’ve sent Edhat pix of our flight over Mammoth and Hetch Hetchy, so here’s one I like of our entry into Yosemite Valley.

1566 Yosemite

1566 Yosemite

Though it might not seem like it due to the long zoom, we were very high to clear the flight restriction over the valley. Luckily the smoke here was less than in Hetch Hetchy, so the pix came out relatively clear. Last for this post, here’s a different angle on Half Dome than the one on my Photo Page. I like the massive feel of it from this side, and the context of the upper valley.

1602 Shoulder of Half Dome

1602 Shoulder of Half Dome

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