John & Anne Wiley

After the short and pleasant hop from Cascade to McCall we stopped for lunch and a leisurely look at the town near the airport. Then back into Tripp for a takeoff over the lake, where our zoom lens picked up this ski boat towing someone on a flotation device of some kind (shown in the version on my Photo Page). But here’s a crop at full resolution where I can make out people watching from the boat. I get the sense of adults taking great care while the person being towed is having a great carefree thrill. It just says “family fun” to me in a loving way.

4188 Boatload of Love

The lake wanders back into the foothills and then wraps around, with a lovely swamp in the middle.

4192 Heart of Lk. Payette

While most of the lake is patrolled by speeding boats and jetskis, there are quiet corners that remind me of solitude in a silent canoe.

4194 Quiet Shore

We followed the Salmon River for quite a way, and going thru the pix again just now I found this one that includes people in at least four different boats taking turns enjoying the rapids.

4265 Whitewater Boating

I was predictably fascinated by this rock dome, and wondered if it had been the core of a small volcano standing fast as the wandering river flattened the surrounding land.

4327 Steadfast Dome

Anne snapped this last one as we were lining up to land in the variable winds. At the right is a large apple orchard that we strolled in the morning light. Beyond it where the white hangars are in shadow was a grassy spot designated for “fly camping” (tent next to the plane). Beyond the end of the runway you can just make out the highway that winds past the mountain to the town and lake we toured briefly at dusk.

0362 Local Layout

In the warm night we lay on our backs with only the tent’s mesh skylight between our contemplative eyes and the starry night.

After just two nights at Smiley Creek, it felt like we’d been enjoying the serene beauty in this area forever. Partly due to the people and scenery I guess, and partly “prop advance.” That phenomenon we’ve frequently noticed, that seems the opposite of “jet lag.” With the latter you can feel exhausted and confused, and many people say you lose at least a day. With prop advance, you feel exhilarated and invariably seem to gain at least a day. So when we woke in Smiley and I went flying to meet the gals in Stanley, it truly felt as if puttering around the teepee at sunup had been the day before we met at the airport. Since I flew several times every day, it was even stronger and was then compounded by scenery like this.

4098 Redfish Finger

Wasn’t it at least a week since we’d met Julie’s friends on the shore of Redfish Lake? Doesn’t looking at the Sawtooths reflected in the deep blue water take the observer out of chronos time to wander in reverie? When we flew up to look at the headwaters of the Salmon River back beyond Smiley, I was flashed back in time to 20-something wilderness hikes in Canada.

4109 Salmon River Headwaters

When we flew back past Redfish again climbing to leave the valley, wind patterns on the water seemed to wave a slow motion farewell.

4131 Redfish Reflection

As we looked back at the Sawtooth Mountains a few minutes later, Sawtooth Lake seemed to be waving too.

4150 Sawtooth Lake Farewell

Time is such a fleeting thing. A young man wandering the wilderness becomes an old man flying over it. Strong friendships form, and are broken when one departs. People and places we love come and go, and it all passes in reflections on the river of Time.

Imagine yourself in a boat on a river. After fun with family in Grants Pass we flew over the area and saw a boat on the river that summed up some of what people love about living there.

5633 River Boaters

The people who live along the shore enjoy it too, building shaded areas to sit and watch the flow. We spotted the hillside home where we slept out under the stars last night.

5634 Starry Night

In the clear skies I spotted five shooting stars and three satellites in an hour or two of gazing up into the quiet night. Flying out to the coast, we found the clouds thicker than yesterday so at Eureka we headed direct to San Jose. This river bluff is similar to, yet so different from the one we saw further North.

5661 River Bluff

Further along I admired the rocky crest of this hill, awash in a sea of trees.

5668 Rocky Crest

So now we sleep, to dream of flying adventures and wake to discover new vistas tomorrow.

Tripp is our magic carpet. We huddle beneath her stout wings and she whisks us to imaginary lands. Today we bid goodbye to our Renton hosts, enjoyed deep conversation with one of our dearest friends, and then Tripp-ed out toward Snoqualmie. Near the small town of Carnation, a magic mirror pulled us effortlessly the remaining distance into another dimension.

4629 Magic Mirror

We saw the farmhouse where loved ones once lived in an enchanted past, opening doors into the soul and forming lifetime bonds in a shared exploration of nature.

4666 The Farmhouse

Now it’s up on blocks with the chimneys pulled out, ready for a move to some other landscape. Nearby we saw the famous Snoqualmie Falls as never before. The added dimension and context gained by flying over this wonder left us awestruck.

4687 Snoqualmie Falls

Close by, another home from the past slipped slowly past our shadow. The forest chalet where part of our marriage was formed as we fixed it up and built a meditation pond next to a small stream in the woods.

4717 Treehouse

Now this treehouse has new dreamers, and has been fixed up even more. We were pleased to see that the old circus wagon (top-left) is still there, working its charm on the new owners and their visitors. Then we turned back toward Seattle and flew out toward the Sound, snapping this on the way.

4863 Seattle Skyline

Where once we dined atop the Space Needle watching a small plane move slowly across the sky, today we were in that plane watching ourselves down in the remembered restaurant. Then on to Olympia where we picked up another lifetime friend for a wander out to Hoquiam. There in the wide bay we spotted an offshore islet sporting a punk haircut tuft of green.

4934 Fantasy Island

Turning back toward Olympia a sea cave in the colorful bluffs came into view glowing with sunset accents.

4937 Sunset Sea Cave

Once again our magic carpet has transported us to new dimensions for a short journey that feels like generations have passed gracefully before us.