John & Anne Wiley

We did more than wonder about Whitefish. We decided to launch out of Cut Bank into the 40mph headwind toward the stormy looking Rockies for a closer look. As we got closer the wind lessened and it was clear we had three excellent choices: turn and ride the wind back to Cut Bank; weave through the wide valleys along a highway and turn back if we didn’t like how it looked at some point; or, climb over most of the clouds. After some dialog we chose curtain #3, because climbing gave us the most options. We could still descend through any of the countless holes in the clouds or turn back, but we could better see and avoid any of the few tall clouds with potential for rain below. Quickly the wind all but stopped and in mere minutes we neared the valley where KGPI awaits. With a clear path and few clouds ahead we descended between the scattered clouds into the more smoky and humidity-hazed air over Hungry Horse Reservoir.

2427 Hungry Horse

By this time we were hungry too. Not just for a gourmet dinner and colorful nightlife, but also for the welcoming cool and green we were nestling down into.

2434 Green

Even with logged, burned and dead patches of forest, this was a refreshing change from the prairie. Ahead we could see Flathead Lake and several towns just beyond the last peaks below us.

2436 Flathead Lake

One last alpine lake (Strawberry I think) slipped close beneath our wings in the still air, evoking memories of the arduous hikes and rustic camping of youth.

2453 Strawberry Lake

Now all that remained was to follow the river toward KGPI and enjoy the sunset scenery.

2471 Flathead River Eve

That night we wandered the streets of Whitefish and caught a great dinner, completing an especially glorious day that began with family and ended with a toast to precious memories.

Tupelo Grille Toast

We’re settling back into our happy life as Santa Barbarians after the flying trips to Canada and then a week after returning, back North to San Francisco. Enchanting times, and colorful dreams with some restful days, so now back to where we left off: Flying from Grants Pass to Okotoks, AB.

1973 Seattle & Bellevue

The first leg, from Grants Pass to Renton on the Seattle outskirts was so smoky we only have one pic from the flight. So instead I offer the above pic on a clearer (tho still smoky) day, when we took off for the last leg North. We’d had days of delights with friends and family, and the lure of special times with more dear family helped get us moving again. Anne once lived out in the woods near Snoqualmie, where now housing developments and shopping malls are taking over but there’s still the familiar view of noble Mt. Si.

1987 Mount Si

By now you’ve noticed that the colors are so tweaked as to be a bit weird, but my hope is that the foreground is a little less the drab camera view than the beauty our eyes beheld. Farther along I-90 wasn’t much better, but still so majestic I had to share this view typical of what we see above and beyond highway vistas that are themselves beautiful.

2048 Above Highways

We turned North at Coeur d’Alene and stopped at Cranbrook to clear Canadian Customs. Then winding along within sight of the highway (but in a much straighter line) we passed views like this East through the Rockies.

2194 Canadian Rockies

As we approached the Prairie this last butte saluted our journey.

2210 Butte Salute

We collected countless precious memories in Okotoks, and one of my favorites was this visit to the Erratic.

2242 Family Rock

Anne’s “Flying Home” post introduced our first Big Adventure since “Islander” in three years, when we flew the Bahamas. This new one I’m calling the “Smoke Signal” Adventure was familiar after so many flights since 2006 and part of that is how unique each Adventure is, including discoveries of new expressions like this on the face of our planet.

1517 Familiar Discovery

It had grown increasingly surprising to us that it’s been so long, but suddenly something powerful got us moving and we took off. Unlike earlier Adventures we hesitated for many months trying to decide whether to go. Part of the problem is smoke, like this uncorrected view toward the West from the Sacramento area where the above corrected beauty was taken.

1522 Sac Smoke

Our part of the world is declared to be in Exceptional Drought, and around here that means wildfires like the local Rey, Sherpa, and countless other big fires around CA. The smoke from all that burning makes flying more complicated and less fun. But it’s still fun to look more straight down and away from the sun because our brains correct for the smoke to present interesting things like this.

1524 Franklin Airport

Just off the bottom of the pic are a waste water treatment plant and a prison. All we noticed in flight was the airport tempting us to land, but looking at full-resolution pix to discover the adjoining facilities adds a note of curiosity about what it would’ve been like. Nearby this bright feature triggered a shutter press.

1527 Painted Pond

We wondered what “painted” the pond that beautiful turquoise, and now pondering in detail we’re guessing it’s used for boat races. There are shelters where fans can watch, and a swimming pool next to a smaller pond where people can cool off.

Sometimes a feature we’ve snapped remains enigmatic until we’ve not only examined the pix in detail but googled it. This one that looks like an outdoor theater for boaters defied all attempts for an hour. It’s on the Sacramento River Bike Trail next to the freeway, but gMaps only identified the Bill Conlin Sports Complex across the small street at the left. Finally I decided it’s a fresh water facility and found out it’s the Freeport Water Intake in the Sac burb of Meadowview.

1553 Water Theater

In case you’re still not clear about that powerful “something” that finally got us flying toward the North, it’s partly detailed in Anne’s post and in this pic. To me that’s a heart-shaped grove of trees next to the river.

1564 Power Of Love