Wow I haven't posted in awhile. . . I think I'll keep it that way. This doesn't count because it contains zero relevant information as to my life and current events.

Badlands Ain't So Bad

This spring break I enjoyed a trip to Medora where we enjoyed the breathtaking beauty of the Badlands. The 4 hour drive went by fast as the landscape slowly changed from flat plains country into smooth rolling hills dotted with dark peaked buttes. Medora, ND is a small town with an even smaller population when the summer months are gone and the winter has set itself for the long haul. When everyone but the hardiest of old timers has left the town the only place to find a warm meal and a good stiff drink is the Iron Horse Saloon. A shy young man who tended the bar, cooked the food and waited on us ran this backwoods joint that turned out some amazing steak and Buffalo burgers.

Talking to my baby

Capturing footage that will never see the light of a TV screen

Faded desert rose holding its ground above a sand stone canyon

Stairway to heaven

Wild doggies on the range!

Dad captured in the canyon forever

Buffalo running on the range

A TASTE OF MY WORLD

I like this one.

Blizzard February 24, 2007

TO PEDRO'S FOR DINNER

Taking care of the trash problem. "When will my roommates learn to take out the trash"
-Pedro

1 o'clock picking up Settlers of Cataan after two exhilarating games.

The ladies head home for bed while the men stay to play games.
(From right: Bethany, Paula, Pete)

Game cubing it up! But man, what annoying music.

Stretching after three rigorous hours of playing DAS CUBE. Pete made the five of us fried sausages, potatoes, chips and green beans, very delicious. The rest of the evening slipped away playing Mario Party on the Game Cube. Eric, Pete and I then played two games of Settlers of Cataan which was a rip, ragging hoot of a time! A nice way to spend a blizzardy evening.

X-COUNTRY

I was once asked to explain what a cross country is and since that was a long time ago I will give a brief definition. A Cross Country is a flight which requires a Flight Plan to be filed with a controlling agency and has one leg consisting of 50nm or more with a landing at the destination airport. This past Wednesday I flew one down to Alexandria, MN (147nm) a quaint little town which resides next to Lake Ida, where I only spent a few minutes on the runway and then was on my way up to Fergus Falls, MN (FFM) or so I thought . . . when my instructor who goes by Chris thought it would be a good time to shut down one of our two Lycoming O-360 engines which caused the aircraft to momentarily bank out of control which I as the student had to quickly correct for. After recovering control of the aircraft and upon completion of the emergency procedure checklist I circled back to AXN for a single engine approach to landing. A turn from Downwind to base and a turn from base to final brought me down to earth again, I cleaned the aircraft configuration for takeoff and away we were.

The route to FFM was relatively uneventful besides my instructor not letting me use any navigation instruments except the Heading Indicator. Fergus is still a part of Minnesota which makes it infinitely prettier than any part of North Dakota. I soon found myself winding my way back home to Grand Forks or as some of my fans call it "Royal Forks"(royal hehe ; ). It was a fun flight nothing big, it took us 2.8hrs to fly and that includes all the taxi times so not bad. Some of you might want to here about my 4.5hr, 250nm cross country coming up so check back in a week or two to see how that went and I might even have some pictures to go with it. If the weather cooperates I hope to fly over to Minneapolis, MN to catch a nice dinner and some of that big town atmosphere?

Sorry no pictures this time, they would have been great if I had bothered to take some. I flew the glass Seminole which has two computer screens to display all of the instruments you would have liked seeing that I think. Maybe next time.

Ice Fishing Is Da Bomb!

Pine Lake, MN. Fish 37 inches, 15lbs.

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the

strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them
better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is
marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiently . . . who
knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself
in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of
high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while
daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and
timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat.

-Theodore Roosevelt

The Sailors' Hymn

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm doth bind the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep:
O hear us, when we cry to thee,
For those in peril on the sea.

O Savior, whose almighty word
The winds and waves submissive heard,
Who walkedst on the foaming deep
And calm amidst its rage didst sleep:
O hear us, when we cry to thee,
For those in peril on the sea.

-William Whiting