From the Logbook...No Flying Yet

If you've read my precious post, you know that this year we have had a particularly long and gross smoke season.  My family and I have been back in Indonesia for almost 2 months and I still haven't flown yet due to the smoke.  Things look like they are changing...hopefully this coming week things will be clear enough for us to begin normal flight operations.

Due to the fact we haven't been able to fly due to the thick smoke, we still try to run the engines on our airplanes once a week to keep everything lubed and working well.  A few weeks ago we took the airplanes about a mile upstream from our hangar along with the speed boat in order to have our weekly prayer and worship meeting.  These are the ways we try to make lemonade from lemons and it's always fun to do different things as a team.

Of course, what is a fun team gathering without a funny team picture as well.  Thankfully, we work with a great team full of godly and humorous men.  It's a pleasure to work with these men and their families and we couldn't and wouldn't do it without them.

We also took the opportunity to give our speedboat a little washing.  After sitting in the gross, low water conditions of the river, the hull was in need of a scrubbing.

It didn't take long for the seriousness of work to be overcome with play.  Soon after starting, buckets of water were flying everywhere and our guys were having a great time "washing the boat."

Finally, we gathered on the beach for a time of prayer and worship.  It's always a great time during our week to take an hour out of our day and spend it with worship and prayer together.  You know what they say, "a family that prays and plays together...stays together."  This holds true at our workplace as well.  We have a wonderful team of dedicated, Jesus loving men, and it's a privilege to serve with them in Central Borneo.

We're back in Indonesia!

We arrived back to our home in PalangkaRaya, Indonesia at  the end of September.  Unfortunately we arrived during smoke season.  We know that every year usually during September and October we are going to have to deal with smoke.  The majority of the smoke is from the forest being cleared and burned to make way for palm oil plantations.

With the smoke this bad day in and day out, we have not been able to fly.  I'm really excited to get back to flying, but on a positive note, it has eased my transition back into the managers seat while I get caught up on all of the happenings that have occurred over the last 8+ months.  To make things easier, we have canceled all flights through the end of October.  Hopefully, prayerfully, rainy season is just around the corner and things will get back to normal next month.  Thanks for your prayers for us and those we live and serve with.  This is always a tough time of year for the people where we live.

Grandma Jean

Thankfully, just a few weeks before we returned to Indonesia at the end of September, we were able to make one more trip to see Grandma Jean.  It was a fun time to be able to "have her to ourselves" as well as enjoy other members of Becca's family while in Kansas.  We always enjoy our time with that sweet woman and now that I'm typing this now from Indonesia, she can't even hit me when I say "we love and miss you Alberta!"

After all of the traveling that we made virtually from every corner of Colorado over the course of 8 months, we finally pulled off the side of the road and took a picture of us coming back to our home state.  Ironically, there are other border crossings that are much more "Coloradoesque" with mountains and hills, but the high plains have their own beauty also.

Taos Pueblo, New Mexico

 In early September, we finally made a trip to the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico; something we had been talking about since arriving Stateside in February.  It is one of the oldest inhabited places in the USA with history dating back more than 1000 years.  It was really neat.

 This structure has been continually inhabited in one form or another for over 1000 years.  As we learned about the building techniques and social practices, it made us all ponder all of the history that has occurred at the Taos Pueblo.

 What's more iconic than blue sky and adobe for the American Southwest?  We love traveling in the Southwest and we feel grateful to have grown up there with those BIG BLUE skies.

 Some of the locals were selling little wares and food stuffs.  Our girls all made it home with a few necklaces and bracelets all made from dyed corn.  They were pretty excited.

The impetus for our trip was Grandmas birthday.  She wanted to take us to the pueblo for her birthday.  Cool!  We had a great time together and really enjoyed learning the history of a culture that is far older than mine and just a little ways down the road.

Air Care - Crop Dusting

Growing up in rural Colorado, crop dusters have been a part of every summer.  Watching and hearing them as a boy is where the spark and love of aviation was birthed in me.  Check out the cool smoke puff coming from the engine exhaust in the photo above.  Oil is introduced into the exhaust pipe to make smoke and tell the pilot which way the wind is blowing.

You can't be a crop duster for long without good stick and rudder skills.  The effortless ability that they display making 180 turns back and forth over the field makes me strive to continue to be a better stick and rudder pilot.

I might have gotten a little bit of fungicide on me as this aircraft passed over me.  But it was worth it, and the potatoes liked it too.

Estes Park

A few days before we left for OSHKOSH at the end of July, we spent a few days at my brother-in-law's family cabin.  It was a great time hanging out with family and enjoying the scenery right on the border of Rocky Mountain National Park.

I climbed a fire/weather tower while we were there and I was treated to a wonderful view of nearby Longs Peak, over 14,000 feet high!

As I wondered through the forest, no matter how quite I tried to be, the squirrels always gave away my position.  Cute and alert little guys they are.

One evening, we were treated to this 5 point bull elk walking in front of the cabin.  They are such majestic animals.

Manasa 5K

At the end of July I ran my first 5K race.  It was just a small town race but I had a lot of fun running with all of the people.

I really tried hard to run the 5K faster than I ever have to better my chances at placing and taking home a "prize." Above, my girls were all at the finish line to cheer me across.

Lo and behold, I did win a medal...4th place.  I didn't know that races give out 1st through 5th place (usually it's 1-3), but I'll take it any day.  What's a good picture without Madison making her funny face?!

Canola Fields

As we drove home from Cottonwood Pass, (see previous post), we happened upon some beautiful canola fields in bloom.  It was hard to get a clear picture because the honey bees were in the THOUSANDS, buzzing everywhere.  No doubt that it's a honey bees paradise in a canola field.

Cottonwood Pass

While driving home from a church speaking engagement in July we decided to take the back roads home.  It proved to be a very enjoyable experience.  We took a trip over Cottonwood pass and we weren't disappointed with the scenery!

At the summit of the pass, we briefly got out of the car to stretch our legs and take a few pictures.  It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful Colorado can be!

Even Mo, our traveling family mascot, was able to get in on a family picture.  Before long, that little sock monkey will have been all over the world with us.

North Clear Creek Falls

In July, we had family from Kansas City, KS make a visit to Colorado.  We had a great time touring the our area with them and we enjoyed a brief pit stop at North Clear Creek Falls.

One of the funnest things was they had a little girl the same age as Paige.  Paige has never had anyone her age to play with and the two were practically inseparable.

Bennett Peak Climb

One of my dreams for a long time has been to hike to the summit of nearby Bennett peak with my whole family.  Rebecca and I had been to the summit a few times before, but never with our family.

In June we took a day and decided to make a go of getting to the summit.  At first the girls didn't think it was that fun, but they began to get into it after a while.

Our littlest Cannon soon took the lead and she could hardly be kept up with.  By this time, we were above tree line and feeling the effects of thinner oxygen.  But Paige set the stage and I had to almost jog to keep up with her.  She was like a mountain goat.

The view from the top was awesome.  Spring was finally transitioning to summer, although the temps at the summit were much cooler than we were used to.

Finally, after hiking a few miles and a few hours, we reached the summit at 13,200 feet above sea level.  Even Mo the monkey, our traveling family mascot, made the journey with us.

Thankfully there was this big rock cairn at the summit.  The wind was pretty strong on the summit and having something to duck behind made the experience better.  I was so proud of my little Cannons making it to the summit.  I know it's not easy for little legs, but they did it anyway.

Float Rating - New Orleans

In early June I traveled by myself to New Orleans, LA to attend a float-plane safety course as well as earn my FAA float rating.  During my 5 days in New Orleans I was able to learn a lot about how Southern Seaplanes operates and how to integrate some safer things into what we do in Central Borneo.  I was also able to get up close and personal with a DeHaviland Beaver on amphib floats.  So cool!

Southern Seaplanes main customer is the oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico.  Surprisingly, their operations and challenges are very similar to our's in Indonesia.

Watching the iconic DeHaviland Beaver was a lot of fun.  I never did fly in it, but I was able to ask a lot of questions that I've had for a long time about it.  They are great airplanes.

At the end of my seaplane safety course, I spent a few hours with the owner of Southern Seaplanes to earn my float rating.  The irony is that I have almost 1000 hours of float plane flying in Indonesia, but I didn't have an FAA float rating.  Thankfully, the few flights we took went fast and earning the float rating was fun and easy.  I was also able to do it in an amphibian, which I had never flown before.  It was a lot of fun to be able to take off on land, and then fly to a lake, and then back to the airport.  I'm looking forward to some of that capability when we get our new Kodiak!

Crested Butte

Earlier this Spring, in early June, Rebecca and I had to drive to Crested Butte, Colorado for an appointment.  It was a BEAUTIFUL trip.  That area of Colorado is amazingly beautiful!

While enjoying a coffee downtown, we came across this neat building completely covered in old Colorado license plates.

Crested Butte still has the charm of a small ski town that many places like Vail and Aspen used to have.  I can't say that CB will always be this way, but for now it's still charming and quaint.

I've always enjoyed old license plates; and no, I can't tell you why.  I think the history wrapped up in them and the stories they could tell of all of the places they have been is intriguing.

Yellowstone

Once Kodiak training concluded in Idaho we went to Yellowstone National Park where we camped for a few days and enjoyed each other and the landscape.

From our campsite it was a short walk to see an almost continual herd of buffalo.  It is so fun to just watch those enormous and ancient beasts.

One morning, we woke up early with the hope of seeing more animals.  As we drove by some of the geysers at sunrise, they looked awesome!

It's hard to see, but we did come across a mama mountain goat with her small kid in trail.  These animals are very elusive so we felt thankful to see a mom and her baby.

Being at Yellowstone reminds you that the Earth is ALIVE!  Seeing all of the geo-thermal activity at Yellowstone makes you ponder all of the awesome power that is continually at work under our feet.

We saw a wolf!  As we drove around, we came across a lone wolf that didn't stop to allow me to get a great picture.  Regardless of the poor quality of the wolf picture, it was a highlight for all us to be able to see this animal in it's native environment.

It was late May when we traveled through Yellowstone so all of the rivers, creeks and streams were flowing strong due to the Spring snow melt.

While hiking to see another waterfall, my girls had to stop and play in a stream that we had to cross.  Kids love playing in the water.

The weather was a little chilly in Yellowstone for our time there, but not un-bearable.  There was still snow on the ground and Spring was making it's entrance into the Park.

Our girls enjoyed seeing all of the geysers and watching the various kinds of small and large eruptions of water and mud.

What is a visit to Yellowstone without a stop at the world famous Old Faithful geiser?   It's always impressive to watch that amount of water erupt skyward on a regular basis.

Here was the daily view we were treated to from our campsite.  After weeks of training hard, it was great to just sit and watch Nature at work.

Yes, we might have had s'mores for breakfast...and lunch...and dinner.  We can't readily get s'more ingredients in Indonesia so we had a fun time indulging in them while we camped.

Once again while driving, we came across a lone coyote.  We see and hear them all of the time in our home of Colorado, but we still always get a kick out of seeing them.

Again, the colors of the hot spring pools around the park left us in awe.  It is so amazing to realize all of the dynamics happening to make those pools look the way they do.

Our girls had a great time also pondering and learning about geo-thermal and volcanic activity.  Yellowstone is a land that is very alive.

We took lots of hikes on the nature trails the park has provided.  It made it easy for us to see a lot of the park.

As we drove out of Yellowstone, we saw some swans early in the morning as the fog was just lifting off of the lake.

In May, our girls still weren't used to the idea of having various types of clothes to use throughout the course of one day.  In Indonesia flip-flops and shorts will work all day, year round.  In the Rockies, they only work for part of the day...maybe.

As we drove out of the park, there was still a lot of snow at the southern entrance.  Spring comes late to the Rocky Mountains, something we are very familiar with being from Colorado.

As we drove out of Yellowstone NP, we drove into Grand Teton National Park.  Thankfully, we were able to see a sow Grizzly bear with two cubs.  Just like the wolf picture above, the photo isn't great, but the experience of seeing these 3 bears was.

The Teton mountain range is one of my favorite.  They aren't big in terms of square mileage, but they protrude right out of the Earth like a bunch of knife blades.  So beautiful!