Earlier today I took the Cessna up for a solo scenic flight to Cascade Locks and the Bonneville Dam. I departed the airport and almost immediately encountered heavy crosswinds and thermals. The ride was bumpy until I reached my cruising altitude of 6500 feet. After that, it was smooth sailing on a beautiful day with perfect visibility. The sun was low (2 hours from sunset) so all of the valleys and terrain features were nicely lit with deep shadows. Cruising above the timberline while listening to Sabaton and taking in an amazing vista: life is good.

I snapped a few iPhone photos along the way:

I had another adventurous weekend, starting with my flight to Goldendale Saturday morning. I was at the airfield by 10AM for preflight and departed by 10:45 with the intention of beating the gusty winds that were forecast for the afternoon. I made it out to Goldendale and was busy practicing some ground reference maneuvers when the Gorge winds finally started to kick up. The flight home was bumpy, to say the least, and it culminated in my first solo crosswind landing with 16 knot gusts.

Sunday, LRH and I decided to take our little Fuss Nugget to Catherine Creek since the wildflowers are in full bloom. This is a incredible place for photography and portraits. The park itself is set on a plateau overlooking the Columbia River with a paved trail that forms a one mile loop. Siena had a blast with the wildflowers and foot bridges. She would excitedly proclaim “weeee!” whenever an airplane flew by, which happened several times since the Columbia River is a highway for air traffic. In fact, I had flown over this park the day before.

We arrived just a few hours before sunset, so the light was soft and filtered. Here are a few landscape shots I came up with.