John & Anne Wiley

2011/03/05

Change

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,People,Random,Relationships,Tripp,White North Adventure — John @ 17:59

Sometimes things turn out differently than we imagine. We start the day dreaming of a stop in Boise for lunch with our precious friend, and an interesting easy flight to San Jose. Looking out the window of our Spokane hotel, noticing the gathering clouds we begin to wonder what will come from this difference from the forecast. Looking online, it soon became clear the day would involve some change.

After a quick tour through beautiful Spokane on the way back to the airport, we changed to a nearly direct route to San Jose.

5864 Farewell Spokane

5864 Farewell Spokane

We soon discovered another change from the forecast: strong headwinds. Flying at our normal speed we weren’t going much faster than cars on the freeway. Of course, they had to bend many miles this way and that while our route was a straight line in most places. When we went through mountains, I more closely followed the highways as an extra safety measure. In that terrain with lots of snow and trees, it adds landing options near helpful people and most airports are dotted along highways. Sometimes I imagine what it was like for barnstormers whose planes weren’t so reliable and when highways and airports were very rare. Unlike the forecast, we only saw the sun a few times. But we did of course see lots of spectacular sights from a vantage point those cars on the highway couldn’t imagine.

5868 Lake Abert

5868 Lake Abert

We started off with ample fuel to reach San Jose, because Tripp gets great mileage and has large tanks. The headwinds of course changed that, and we decided to stop in Alturas, CA near the Oregon border just South of Goose Lake at the eastern corner. Opening the door my vision of warm California instantly changed to remembering Winter in high desert is not warm (15mph wind blowing across snowy fields at 35F). A shortcut we planned from there through Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Forrest changed when I noted the road wasn’t plowed, so we didn’t turn direct to San Jose until near Redding. By then it was getting dark, so the brilliant lights of I-5 were a welcome sight.

This morning waking in San Jose, the sun was out. What a change this is! Balmy air and brilliant colors! Anne was literally jumping up and down when we opened the window in our sister’s cozy home. Change makes life interesting. 🙂

2011/03/04

Closeness

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,Relationships,White North Adventure — John @ 15:17

When we were in Edmonton, the closeness we enjoyed with our delightful daughter and her new little family was heartwarming. All the conversations, activities and just hanging out were a treat. Maybe all that closeness is why California seemed so far away, and even relatively nearby Calgary seemed far. As we approached that city, it looked much smaller than we’d imagined.

5767 Tiny Calgary

5767 Tiny Calgary

In that expanse of snowy prairie it looked as far away as Edmonton had seemed before we got up close. Our plan had been to fly by it at some distance, over Springbank airport, but ATC routed us closer to keep us out of the way of airliner traffic at the international airport.

5799 Calgary Closer

5799 Calgary Closer

I’d forgotten that Calgary has a “space needle” and noted that like all the great Canadian cities we’ve flown so far it’s nestled next to a river.

Even as the hours and miles increased the distance from my daughter, we savored our increasing closeness. Yesterday there was a special warmth in the hum of Tripp’s engine as we flew over the frozen landscape, reminding me somehow of the safe warm feeling of a small child in the back of the family car on a long trip passing through King City where we flew just days ago. Today we take another long flight, with our goal being San Jose to visit my sisters and share more closeness. Flying and family are an excellent combination. 🙂

 

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.

2011/02/28

WEM

Filed under: Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,Relationships,White North Adventure — John @ 06:43

We finally did it. After talking about it ourselves and with our hosts, several people asking if we’ve done it, and hearing from others that we Should do it, we finally did it. We all piled into the rental car and drove across town through a blizzard with snow blowing across the highway. Exiting to a semi-plowed surface street, at last it came into view through the car windows that even with heater full blast for the half hour drive still had ice on the inside.

1585 West Edmonton Mall

1585 West Edmonton Mall

West Edmonton Mall came into view, looking almost black and white in the light snow (even with the window down for this quick snap). Like we’re in Kansas on our way to Oz. Our main destination is the domed roof to the right in this pic (distant, above the black car). Just inside the door, everything was technicolor.

1595 Sub 'n Seal

1595 Sub 'n Seal

I went up on a bridge to show you both the sea lion show just visible through the fence at left, a submarine ride at right, the multi-level standard mall, and yes that’s snow collected at the base of the skylight being completely ignored by the throngs in shirtsleeves everywhere. This little world is a colorful combination of downsized Disneyland and Everything R Us all in a bubble with -25 degree windchill on the other side of that skylight. Could make a great disaster movie: to create an emergency, break glass. Quite a fascinating sociological phenomenon. Anne enjoyed the trekky starship hibernation pods (note the head and hands protruding on the left).

1598 Dry Water Treatment

1598 Dry Water Treatment

They are actually water massage beds. Think tanning bed, but you’re on your belly with water jets hitting a rubber film touching your back. They stay dry (most people had street clothes on), and it looked like you could dial up the jets much stronger than in a jacuzzi. We paid the reduced senior fare for the less expensive late afternoon entry to the water park part of the mall, suited up, and played grandparents so the real parents could have some fun together. Happiness all ’round. 🙂

1606 Happy Sitter

1606 Happy Sitter

Just left of my head in this snap is the climbing tower, and at the top is a bungee jump over the pool. If you can climb the tower fast enough, they give you a free jump. I’d just get a chiropractor, thanks. To the left of the waterfall is where the wild surf comes from. There’s a room-sized area where the waves are almost like a typical day at Santa Barbara’s East Beach. Except that area (just at the left edge of this pic) is a flotsam of screaming kids in special (expensive mall-approved) inner tubes. The lifeguards don’t let you swim under the waterfall, but everyone was still having a great time. My daughter thinks of it as a brief and relatively inexpensive Hawaii vacation. 🙂

1621 John's Joys

1621 John's Joys

Anne took a pic of me looking all melty-eyed and blissed out, so I snapped this to share what made me so deeply happy. Last is a fuzzy video capture of my beautiful daughter and her great hubby going to ride one of the water slides. It was such a delight to see them able to enjoy some time alone together while we so enjoyed making it possible.

1617 Quick Date

1617 Quick Date

What a fun and fascinating time we had! Shortly after this, we made the elaborate change back to Winter for the drive home. Anne made some great soup, and we watched the Oscars (hurrah for Colin!).

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