This just east of Jackson Hole. It was a beautiful day to be flying around out there. All the Aspens have turned, making big yellow patches amongst the evergreens through the west. Fall has been announced.
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Many, many buttons we get to push. This is on the climb out of Riverton, Wyoming.
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Fast Trip

I'm back.

I left Wednesday morning - rather, Continental left two hours late on Wednesday, so I left that afternoon, really. Got in to Newark at 9 and found the rental cars very hard to find. Finally got on the road at about 10, and got to Factoryville, PA, at 12.30 a.m.

I know travelogues about flying adventures leave a lot of people cold and pretty quickly glazed over, so I will keep it to myself. Mostly.

Thursday we got out of Factoryville in Gordon's totally refurbished P210 Silver Eagle at about 1pm. I flew it down to Wilkes Barre to get Gordon, who returned the rental car. I went with the factory pilot so I could get some intensive training in the behavior of the airplane. It's a great airplane, but it's got a whole new set of peculiarities that I need to learn.

So we got Gordon, then flew to Indianapolis and dropped the factory guy off so he could fly back to PA. Gordon and I then went on to bucolic Vincennes, IN, and stayed the night with his sister in-law.

Yesterday Gordon and I were in or around the airplane for 11 hours, flying for over nine hours. That is a very long time to be in a cockpit. We stopped in Norfolk, NE, then went on to Riverton, WY. Riverton was the most interesting stop - it was virtually no-wind all the way in. And then five minutes out, the wind picked up. We landed in wind gusting over 45 miles per hour. It was very hairy. Watched two other big aircraft come in right after us, and they had a real time of it. Freak wind event - though I have knowledge that it's more likely that no-wind events are freakier in Riverton. I can say that it blows in Riverton.

We got out of Riverton and flew the rest of the way home. The weather went crap just after Jackson Hole, WY, and we spent a lot of time in the clouds, picked up ice, then popped out over Walla Walla, WA. And it was gorgeous the rest of the way in. Unbelievable sunset as we passed Mt. Rainier into Seattle.

(And I said that was the short version. Sorry.)

Like this.
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Daddy Takes Long Trips Because You Cry

I'm off to Newark, NJ, this sunny day. A filthy township in which I will spend not a second more than necessary - Gordon and I land there at 7 tonight, rent a car, and drive to Factoryville, PA. Sounds sexy, Factoryville.

We'll be flying his just-refurbished and exceedingly cool airplane back to Seattle from there. Many fascinating stories and pictures for the air nerds to come; likely tedium for the rest of you. But I won't be writing anything here until Sunday or Monday.

I'll miss you.

I know I'm biased. But honestly - I don't think anyone can look at this picture and think that what's coming out of his mouth is either sensitive, smart, or thoughtful. His track record defies any other conclusion. (And the goofy pose doesn't help.)
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To the Moon!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- NASA unveiled plans on Monday to return humans to the moon by 2018 at a cost of $100 billion.

President Bush's plan to send Americans back to the moon by 2020 and eventually on to Mars has drawn skepticism since its unveiling in January 2004, less than a year after the February 1, 2003, shuttle Columbia disaster.

"The President is proving again that he has a strong and unambiguous plan for the past," said Scott McClellan. Then he muttered, "shit. I knew I'd do that. I meant plan for the future."

The President was quick to call a press conference around a perceived 'positive' move by his administration. "My plan - actually developed by NASA...I take no responsibility for it except for the vision part - my plan envisions leaping forward into a new era of, uh, well, space. Lookin in space."

The fact that Americans walked on the moon first in 1969, and last in 1972, seemed to be lost on Bush when asked. "I don't know about that one, porky," his nickname for Camy McCormick of CNN. "You'll have ta ask Cheney about that. In '72 I was still drinkin."

When contacted, Donald Rumsfeld said, "you're either with us going to the moon, or you're unamerican. You don't like the moon mission, we'll hunt you down and kill you."

Bush's plan has Americans landing on the moon in 2018, which will be at least a decade after his long but poorly hidden retardation is made public.