Bruce

Amazing Mooseing!

Walking in our neighborhood, we were surprised to see how far they’ve gotten putting in new roads. The houses are growing faster than the soybeans they are replacing…

A construction site showing a newly poured concrete slab on a curved surface, surrounded by dirt and piles of earth, with construction equipment and residential houses visible in the background under an overcast sky.
A person walking on a dirt construction site with heavy machinery in the background, including a bulldozer and a grader, under an overcast sky.
Construction site with heavy machinery including a grader and a roller, surrounded by dirt and grass under a cloudy sky.
Three construction vehicles parked on a dirt field, including a grader, a bulldozer, and a roller, with overcast skies in the background.
A partially completed road in a rural area with several vehicles driving on a concrete surface and construction sites in the background under a cloudy sky.
A dirt path running through a grassy field with tall grass and scattered vegetation, leading towards a modern building in the background surrounded by trees.
A soybean field with yellowing plants, surrounded by bare soil and a cloudy sky.
Other side of new road
Construction site featuring various heavy machinery including a tracked vehicle, two skid steers, and an excavator, against a cloudy sky.
A construction site featuring heavy machinery, including a large machine used for digging or grading, with marked boundaries and flags indicating site layout.

Monday we hopped on a plane to visit our wonderful family in Spokane. Can you recognize our first stop? Hard to miss the iconic tent terminal roofline!

View from an airplane wing showing a runway, airport buildings, and a cloudy sky.
View of an airport with a distinctive tent-like structure and modern terminal buildings, surrounded by grassy areas and parked vehicles.

As we were taxiing to our gate, we passed this 737 painted up like a Continental Airlines ship from years past. I remember when Continental merged with United (or was eaten up by) so I was very curious about this hold-over. Asked my AI buddy about it, and learned a ton. This exact plane, N75435, was delivered to Continental in 2009. When the merger happened in 2010, it became part of United, but the Continental “Heritage Livery” was retained, rather than repaint to United colors. In 2016, it was painted to the Continental scheme of the 1950’s, and since then has been the only United plane wearing Continental livery. It flies a regular schedule, just in retro garb.

Continental Airlines airplane parked at an airport gate with ground service vehicles nearby.

The current United planes include a graphic symbolizing the world on the tail – a carryover from the Continental planes before the merger.

A United Airlines aircraft parked at an airport gate, with the distinctive white tent-like structures of the terminal in the background under a cloudy sky.
Aerial view of a city illuminated at night, with a wing of an airplane in the foreground.
Arriving in Spokane

The next day Cherryl got to meet with her Japanese tutor, Megumi. They usually meet via Zoom on the internet, but get to meet in person a few times while we will be in Spokane.

Two women smiling together in a well-lit room, one holding a plate, with a background of wooden furniture and a chandelier.

Later Loren flew us to Walla Walla to watch Bryan’s Upper Columbia Academy soccer team play! An absolutely gorgeous day for flying! (especially in a Cirrus SR22T- a gorgeous plane to fly in!)

View from inside a small aircraft cockpit, showing the runway ahead and the aircraft's propeller in the foreground.
Cockpit view showing two large Garmin displays with flight instruments, navigation data, and a map of the area.
Aerial view of a winding river surrounded by dry, agricultural land and hills under a cloudy sky.
Aerial view of agricultural fields with curved and patterned rows, showcasing varying shades of brown and green under a clear sky.
Fun patterns on the ground
Two male pilots wearing headsets and sunglasses posing in the cockpit of a small plane, with a female passenger visible behind them.

We saw several fires burning – we are pretty sure they were all fields being intentionally burned. They didn’t look like forest fires.

Aerial view from the cockpit of a small airplane, featuring a blue wing and a propeller, with dramatic clouds and sunlight in the sky.

The propeller was constantly spinning and getting into the shots, but I was really glad it kept spinning…

Aerial view of smoke rising from a fire over rolling hills and valleys, with a propeller blade visible in the foreground.
View from an aircraft showing a blue propeller and brown agricultural fields below, with smoke rising in the distance against a blue sky.
View from the cockpit of a small aircraft facing a runway with painted markings and a blue sky.
A blue and silver small airplane is parked on an airport runway with hangars in the background.
Arrived in Walla Walla
View of an airport tarmac with a parked blue airplane, surrounded by landscaped grass and concrete pathways.

I didn’t get many shots of the game at Walla Walla Valley Academy, but here’s UCA’s star player, Bryan. (at least in my opinion.)

The teams fought hard, and it was tied almost to the end, when UCA made a great goal and went home victorious!

Two young soccer players walking on the field during a game. One player wears a black jersey with the number 12 and the other wears a white jersey with the number 26. In the background, other players and spectators are present.
Bryan on right in white
Youth soccer game in progress on a green field with players in black and white uniforms and a referee in the background.

Sun was setting on the horizon as we got ready to fly “home.”

A small blue and white airplane parked on an airstrip at sunset, with a person working near the open cockpit.
Close-up view of a small airplane with its door open, set against a sunset sky.

Flying at night is very beautiful- an entirely different experience!

A small airplane on a runway at dusk, with the cockpit door open and a hint of the airport's control tower illuminated in the background.

I’m still in awe of the wonderful “glass cockpit” of this plane – and Loren’s mastery of both the flying and the working of the sophisticated avionics.

Cockpit display featuring navigation and flight data, with two high-resolution screens showing flight path and airport information under red lighting.
Cockpit display showing various engine parameters, including power percentage, RPM, manifold pressure, engine temperatures, and fuel information, with a dark background and red lighting.
Cockpit view of an aircraft at night, displaying navigation screens and a city skyline illuminated below.
Cockpit view at night showing illuminated flight instruments and a city skyline with lights below.
Aerial view of a city illuminated at night, featuring bright lights and a dark sky, with an airplane wing in the foreground and cockpit instruments reflecting in the glass.
View from the cockpit of an aircraft approaching a brightly lit runway at night, with city lights visible in the background.
Approaching Felts Field in Spokane
A blue light aircraft with its door open, parked inside a hangar at night. The hangar has overhead lighting and visible walls.
A small airplane being refueled at night, with a fueling truck parked beside it and a person connecting the fuel hose.
Refueling before putting her to bed

The other morning we were told there were moose in the neighborhood, but that wasn’t actually accurate. There were TWO moose RIGHT NEAR THE HOUSE. Probably about 20 feet from where we used to park the motorhome when we visited here. They stopped and looked at us periodically, but decided we were no threat and went back to munching trees and bushes.

Two moose grazing in a forested area with pine trees and dry grass.

There is a slight drop off from the level place we stood on – the moose are 3 or 4 feet lower than we were. This might slightly hide how HUGE these guys are! They calmly ate while we watched… for about 40 minutes!

Two moose grazing on shrubs in a forested area with pine trees in the background.

I was fairly sure this spider web would not slow the moose significantly.

A moose partially obscured by trees and bushes, with green leaves and brown foliage in the foreground.

I got a lot of footage of the two moose… the hard part was trimming it down so it was watchable in less than half a day. Watch the moose if you have time…

Second Japanese lesson of the week, with cool writing charts!

Two women sitting at a wooden table, smiling and engaged in conversation. On the table are notebooks, a colorful bag, and sheets of paper with drawings or notes.
Two women sitting at a wooden table, one smiling and holding papers with writing, while the other is looking at the camera, with notebooks and a patterned bag on the table.

Ashlyn’s soccer game was fun, but we drove there in a car. Ha! Her team got the first goal, and the game was a tie at the end… until the referees decided they could add a 5 minute, sudden death finish. The other team made a goal and ended the tie… still a great game.

A girls' soccer match in progress on a grassy field. Players dressed in white and black uniforms are engaged in play, with some running and others positioned near the goal. Trees and a building are visible in the background.
A girls' soccer match in progress on a grassy field, with players in white and black jerseys, surrounded by trees and a sports facility in the background.
A girls' soccer match taking place on a grassy field with players in white and black uniforms competing for the ball, while a referee oversees the play.
A youth soccer match in progress with players in black and white jerseys on a grassy field surrounded by trees.
A soccer match is in progress on a green field with players in white and black uniforms. Spectators are seated in bleachers, enjoying the game under a partly cloudy sky.

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