Tower, this is Ghost Rider.

Requesting flyby.

Negative, Ghost Rider. The pattern is full.


At our pre-flight briefing.


Today was my first time in a small aircraft. We arrived at Renton Municipal Airport in the morning. Weather was looking good.

^We were supposed to be in the Cessna 172SP (on the right) but wound up in the non-SP model (on the left).



By the time flight check was complete, it was getting cloudy. We had to delay the flight by a few hours.


Not the smoothest panoramic shot, but here's Seattle from 1500-ft.

We also had cell phone reception. Hooray VFR!

E-Z Pass Panos

I finally got around to processing these two:

Contrast.


The sun was setting and made things tricky.
I decided to channel my inner J.J. Abrams.

Easy Pass

Not the toll system...
I recently hiked to Easy Pass in the North Cascades. I was looking for nice autumn views... I was greeted with a winter wonderland:

All that's missing is a thermos with hot chocolate...


The peaks around Fisher basin were also covered in fresh snow.


...and view #2.


PS: the hike is a misnomer.

Department of the Interior

I've started combing over the photos on my hard drives...

National Parks are wonderful. Growing up in Texas was kind of like growing up in the Middle Ages, the world was flat (and dull). Fort Worth was visible from Dallas. Austin had "Hill Country," but was still lame.

In 2007, I visited my first park, Bandlands NP, on a drive from Rochester to Seattle. Up until this point, I had only known the badlands to be this. Five minutes into the drive, I was hooked.






The second Rochester to Seattle drive in 2008 called for a stop at Glacier National Park. Unfortunately, time only allowed for one full day and it was still early in the season; so most of the park was closed. However, It had just rained and the sun was setting. Who wants to go next year?








During my first summer in Seattle, a co-worker convinced me to hike to Camp Muir. I agreed but my body wasn't a fan of it. Nevertheless, we made it and the views were spectacular.

Rainier NP - 2007





Weather prevented a return to Camp Muir in 2008 but 2009 was friendlier.





Rather than my usual Burroughs Mountain hike this summer, I ventured off to the Mt. Fremont Lookout.



My favorite however, is the rugged and beautiful North Cascades:







Yellowstone was visited last year over July 4th. I found it touristy but stunning.

Yellowstone NP - 2010