I’ve started going thru pix from our AB Joy Adventure, and thought you might enjoy a second helping. Here are two lighthouses I like. First up a view along the shoreline of the Point Sur Lighthouse, on that spectacular coast.
1647 Point Sur Lighthouse
For some reason I really like this perspective on the Santa Cruz Light. I guess it’s the low angle, plus the light angle that colors it into a gem on the water.
1669 Santa Cruz Lighthouse
Home feels SO sweet!! Just got in an hour ago, having tucked Tripp into her spot at familiar SBA, and unloaded all the stuff (most of which we never used) back into our place. The car was so full, how did we ever get all that into Tripp much less all the way to High Prairie and back?! We bid a tearful farewell to sweet Joy, after arranging to meet again next week for a slide show and debrief. Have now enjoyed what sister Dori calls a “spa” (refreshing damp face cloth to cleanse the skin and soul). Now this quick note to update you (no internet and barely any phone service last nite), and a few pix like this one from today.
3711 Division
Last nite we danced along the dividing line between inland smoke and coastal low clouds. As I mentioned at the start of this Adventure, there are many fires in the hot inland areas of western states and provinces making lots of smoke that’s sloshing around unpredictably with the shifting winds. Similarly unpredictable cool coastal low clouds and fog are shifting with those same winds. We wound up placing our bet on a little airport named Andy McBeth. The tiny town of Klamath Glen it’s in does seem to be some combination of a dwarf Mayberry (Andy Griffith’s town), and a Shakespearean drama. I’ll probably share more about that stop in the next few daze. But back to the pic above: Soon after taking off today we encountered thickening smoke so we climbed to 7,500 feet and got this view of the North Pass Fire near Covelo. You can just make out the crescent moon at the top edge of the pic, and the whole pic shows how we danced along the vertical division between earth, sky and smoke while dancing the horizontal division between fog and fire.
3725 Sonoma Stop
We planned to stop several times on this last day of the adventure, to better enjoy the places we saw. But somehow the only landing we made was in Sonoma. Approaching the airport I snapped the City Hall and town square where we’d soon be sampling the fabulous fare at the Basque Cafe. It’s visible at the upper left if you know what to look for. Having stopped there once before and gorged on their incredible cookies, we know where to look. 🙂
3738 Take Out
We savored a bag of sandwiches and cookies under the shade of the town square’s redwoods near the fountain. Then back in for another bag we brought home to share with friends tomorrow. Typing this my mouth is watering as I imagine a cup of Anne’s Perfect Coffee with the second best (Anne’s are unbeatable) cookies.
Now to sleep, perchance to dream…
There wasn’t time for a post last nite, and not much time tonite. But suffice it to say we’re having a blast! It’s hard to believe that we were in Valemount (Jasper area) nite before last, and Creston (3 miles north of the U.S. border) last nite. So many incredible scenes we have dancing in our heads. Many high flights along mountain passes thru the Rockies and Cascades. Lots of pix to share at some point but for now here’s one of our fav parts on today’s flight thru Stevens Pass to Renton where we greatly enjoyed a brief stop with Anne’s sister & her husband.
3031 Stevens Pass Gatepost
This is near the western entrance to the pass, and is one side of a relatively narrow notched peak far above the highway and river below. There’s a tiny lake nestled up there, and views like this on either side. After a nourishing stroll along the river near the airport and a tasty meal, we left Renton at sunset for a beautiful flight directly over SeaTac airport and then direct to Olympia. We’re in a cozy hotel downtown, and hope to have some time for a quick exploration in the morning before heading for our last night of this amazing journey.
It feels like the whole trip has been high jumps. Even the parts where we flew fairly low or even explored on the ground. Each portion of the journey has been so intensely fun and completely different, because we’ve gone “high” in between stops. Up into a totally different dream realm where time, space and place tumble like thrown dice. Except every landing brings very good luck in rewarding experiences, and the air time is enchanting.
Well, we saw many magnificent things on this our first day of the journey home. But none can match the spectacular views we had flying nearly around Mount Robson, perhaps the most famous peak in Canada. The air was almost calm and devoid of clouds, but the smoke from fires afar made it impossible to get a good long shot of the entire mountain. By climbing to 10,500 feet and getting relatively close in the clearer air though, we did get views like these.
2420 Robson “Dark” Side
First this view of the “dark” side. Like the moon, Mt. Robson has a side that few see other than adventurers and people like us riding magic carpets. Unlike nearly all of the others, this glacier makes it all the way down into a lake. Working our way around, you can overlap the features from one pic to the next and see the different faces. Flying counter-clockwise this next face still isn’t really visible from the highway far below, even on one of the extremely rare cloudless days like this.
2424 Mt. Robson Side
Partway down this side are some great waterfalls, some probably 100 feet tall or more, that only aviators and exceptional mountain climbers ever see.
2426 High Falls
At last, here’s the part that’s visible from the highway, though the angle would be much different from so far below. Up here we had a sense of greeting Robson face to face, from a respectful couple of thousand feet below as if to say, “Thank you, sir.”
2428 Robson Familiar Face
Continuing around, we begin to see another glacier at the right, the long waterfall on the familiar face, and another long fall in a rock crevice in the center of the pic.
2433 Robson Other Side
Below is a zoom shot of the high glacier. Though this one’s getting more sun and is thus much more melted than the “dark” side, it still gives the effect of a great powdered wig atop the honorable gentleman.
2442 Robson White Wig
I doubt anyone ever ventures onto this glacier, because it’s obviously very unstable. Countless avalanches tell their tales in the tortured surface. Last up in this Robson roundabout is this wider view from a little further around. The evidence of glacial action is everywhere up here, though most of the ice is gone.
2445 Robson & Neighbor
It would be fun to come here on a totally clear day. No clouds, smoke or even a hint of haze. Fly in with one of those 360 degree ultra-resolution video cameras. We could figure out a way to share that with you on a surround screen. Then you’d have a much better idea of what we just experienced, and why I was so eager to share even these very few of our pix from only this small slice of today’s flight.
But for now, we’re settled into a hotel in Valemount, BC (we can’t seem to stop calling it Voldemort, though it’s undeserving of that). As we left Tripp at the airport riding the hotel shuttle into town, an RCMP cruiser passed at high speed and I started worrying about her. On the highway a moment later, another cruiser actually pulled us over. “My boss was worried,” he said sheepishly. Apparently drug runners have used the airport, but few others fly in here. Too bad, because it’s a great airport and a sweet little mountain valley (thus the name Valemount) town. “I was worried about our plane,” I said to the officer. “Oh, I’ll be keeping a close eye on it tonight,” he assured me. I’m still a little worried, but hopefully we’ll find her safe and eager for another day of delights.
We flew high today, over the prairie northwest of Edmonton, to a lovely prairie town named High Prairie. But let me flash back to yesterday for a moment. We went with our young Grand family to one of the myriad events in Edmonton, called something like Fringe. We didn’t stay for the proper start of festivities but did soak up the festive atmosphere, and dance with our grand daughter while the young couple got some quiet time on a bench. She loves to dance!
0315 Dancers
Anne and I do too, so we took turns dancing with her. Which also included picking her up occasionally when she got excited and we’d intervene to calm or protect her.
0316 Quiet Moment
Today’s flight was to pick up Joy who’d been visiting relatives at a lakeside cabin. In case you’re wondering: No this isn’t it.
2195 Treehouse
Abandoned homes like this fascinate me. I imagine whole generations born, grown, aged and departed where now a tree lives. Since our time was short, we didn’t fly out to the lake. But since we love flying people who enjoy it, we took four of Joy’s relatives on three different short flights over their town in pairs to the great delight of all. Here’s the only passable pic Anne managed to get thru Tripp’s window of me taking two of them.
3880 Happy Passengers
Here’s a sample of the beautiful countryside where they live.
2228 Prairie High
The people living there are infused with this wholesome beauty, and are great fun to be with. We hope to return some day to enjoy a longer visit and maybe see that lakeside cabin. On our return flight to Edmonton with Joy, I got this snap of Slave Lake softened by the smoke of far away fires.
2212 Faust Slave
I think that’s the tiny town of Faust at the shore of the giant twin Slave Lakes. It was dreamy flying home over this enchanted landscape and imagining the stories of the people whose marks we saw woven into the landscape. Warm and interesting folks like the four I’d just flown. As our journey home begins tomorrow, we dream tonight on the rich tapestry of people and places that have charmed our way.
John & Anne Wiley 
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