Two week road trip and flying Monument Valley

This is truly a great country for road trips! We drove across Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and ended in Utah – in Monument Valley to be exact and along the way, we stopped at places that looked interesting or sounded interesting. For ex. I was dying for a starbucks coffee but we were no where near any for the longest stretch but we drove past this small place that advertised “Expresso Cafe” – and it’s got an artist feel to the building with many handmade things from pottery to suncatchers. They also had a beautiful garden out front that stood out. So we u-turned back and stopped for coffee but also ended up with healthy lunches. I wasn’t at all surprised that they serve organic ingredients in almost all their dishes. It was also very reasonably priced and Iordered the avocado and walnut sandwich with a side of bananas which is refreshing with fresh avocado, tomato, cheese and a sprinkle of walnuts, while hubby got a quiche.  Nutritious and refreshing! It’s such a simple recipe that I will try making one at home soon.  And they serve their coffees in cute ceramic cups that I ended up asking them whether they made them there and was disappointed to find that they bought them from the local store and are mass-produced from China, on one hand, but on the other, I did find a local store they told me about as we continued on our trip and found the exact ones for $1.50 a piece! Another town that caught our interest and we had to stop by just to find out the history or at least how the town came to be as it’s named is the town of Parachute, Colorado. It is of particular interest to us as ultralight pilots as well. It seemed that the town is shaped in that of a parachute..hence the name..at least that is what I’ve glimpsed from the postcard in the visitor center. Interesting!

We saw fall colors and snow on the mountains along I70 in Colorado – passed Vail and couple of ski areas; visited and camped at Colorado National Monument, Mesa Verde National Park, revisted Arches National Park after a 3 year hiatus, and toured Monument Valley Park by car, but the creme de la creme is flying Monument Valley. The monuments looked huge and towering from the ground but to fly and see them from the air, one has to be really high up, at least to clear some of the top of them..and the vastness of these magnificient rocks/structures really began to dawn on me..and it’s a really hard to describe the  feeling..something between marvel, awe and humility. I’m grateful to be able to see this “Wonder” and from the air as well and am safe to write about it now because one knows how winds that come across these huge structures can cause major rotors and the latter is not good for our sport!   

Me flying Monument Valley (above) Monument Valley as seen from the air (below)

 Pagosa Springs CO

On our way back, we visited Four Corners USA – we spotted it on the map (as an attraction!) and so we went for a visit – (standing on 1 spot we are in 4 states simultaneously…UT, AZ, CO, NM).  We also stayed at Pagosa Springs CO, famed for it’s hot springs and did spend a night at “The Spa” motel and RV park..got our first taste of hot spring waters and even a choice of three temperatures..95, 102, 108 degrees. We tried each of them. Spent equal amount of time in the 95 and 102 degrees and we had to try, at least a couple of times, to dip in the 108 degree pool which is SUPERhot. Not recommended to stay more than 5-10 mins in there. It feels like a really hot sauna in the room where the pool is and takes quite a while for the skin to get accustomed to the temperature. I barely made it in the first time, just ankle deep and had to bail. But after sitting in the 102 degree pool for a while and trying the hottest one again, it’s doable-barely and this time I made it down to where my neck is underwater but had to chicken out of submerging my entire self under even for a second. We both smelled like eggs with the familiar smell of sulphur for a while but it seemed to have put a sheen on our skins after soaking and swimming in the springs pools.  It’s a shame we only spent a day at Pagosa Springs along our itinerary because I’d love to go back to the hot springs again; I very much doubt I’d be able to gleam the healing aspects of the hot springs in just a couple of soaks in a night and day period.  Our drive home was uneventful, and since we were accompanied by drizzles, rain and fog, we pretty much drove 8-9 hours a day without stopping anywhere except for meals, breaks and sleep.

 

Flooded garden

Today’s rains bring back memories of sad news we hear from friends, acquaintences, even strangers affected by last year’s June flooding. My backgarden is once again flooded even though the water level then was much lower than today’s. Last year, my garden is totally submerged and one can’t see the fences or the door into the garden. Good thing the rain has stopped and I can still see half of my garden though the low lying plants are all underwater. I am worried what havoc today’s rains have wrought..already the evening news is showing some of the affected areas…

 

Having fun with Wordle

Wordle generate word clouds from text and I thought I’d give Wordle a try by putting my hobbies and likes to see how it turns out. I played around with the layouts and colors and it’s really fun. Give it a try!

 

 

Our first attendance of Air Racing

Incidentally,  the winner is Paul Bonhomme from GB and he flew this plane. Of course, we didn’t know it at the time of the picture taking.

We went to our very first Red Bull Air Race in Windsor Ontario, across from Detroit MI. Left the house early around 6.15am and got to the border in Detroit  just around 11.30am. Drove across the Ambassador Bridge onto Ontario..and the town appears to be very much similar to the US. Familiar names like Walmart, Petsmart and Payless Shoes were there. I never even felt like I left the country. Perhaps the only thing that might have given it away are the car license plates.

It was easy to find the venue and after parking a few blocks away, we proceeded to the event. It hadn’t started yet, much to my surprise as I thought it was starting at 11am. Turned out that was the time when the gates were open. We found a decent spot just by the railings next to the river which offered great view and photo-taking.

Weather was surprisingly cool and I had to get my windbreaker for the most part but it worked out really nicely.

The qualifying rounds were fast paced and exciting! Planes flew at speeds of up to more than 300 kph,  races into the course with smoke trails and doing their necessary maneuvers to get across the course as fast as possible and pulling as high as 9Gs, all tht time having to abide by the rules of the race. Huge screens with live real time info and view are situated strategically and was just as impressive,  as we, the audience could see the real time from the cockpit of the plane, the speed they were going at and the view as if we were next to the pilot himself, if not in the pilot’s seat. Before the day ended, we got a great show by a helicopter doing all kinds of interesting and dare devils moves that defy helicopter flying. Even the helicopter is equipped with a very nice camera on the front and could capture the audience as it flew by! Spectacular! A crowd pleaser!

This being the first day, it ended with the first qualifying rounds. Tomorrow is deciding day for the overall winner. We also bought a pass to go and do a public pit walk and get to see the planes and pilots up close.  Managed to get a few autographs and pictures with the pilots.

Downtown was the place to be and it was festive and crowded with revelers an; we both had lamb dishes at a Lebanese restaurant.  By this time we were really exhausted, especially having eaten a  nice and relaxed meal. So we headed to our hotel – it’s more a college inn/convention center and our room was in a dorm-like setting.

On race day..we managed to find street side parking. Also found out at the Tourist center that the city is on strike. We saw tall grass in public playgrounds and piles of litter everywhere but didn’t really pay much attention until it was mentioned.  Found ourselves a fairly good spot under a tree and plunked our lawn chairs down but was standing most of the time in order to watch the race and take more pictures.

The action was just as exciting as the day before.  As with all races, some contenders are sure bets etc but the results were really interesting.  I think the commentators were also slightly surprised as the race unfolded.

We made a bee-line to our car and try to beat the traffic to the border to get back home, in anticipation of long lines. But we needn’t have rushed as traffic was decent. Truly enjoyed the air-race and would love to attend another one in the future if it’s close proximity like this year’s. The only regret is we didn’t get a T-shirt or cap but the designs did not impress us enough to justify paying the high prices; and there were a few we would have considered purchasing , but again the prices were just too high. But not all is lost..as my husband is pretty happy that we did  not splurge!

 

If a picture paints a poem..

Healing Fields

I was driving past a funeral home/memorial service and saw the flags. I’ve never seen it before! The wind was blowing and and all the flags were fluttering and against a bright afternoon sun, it looked really beautiful! That image was in my mind and I was determined to go back and take a few pictures of this scene with my very first SLR camera I just bought a few days ago.

When I finally managed to come back to the place a few days later, it was around 9pm at night but still bright enough for me to take (steal) a few shots. I said “steal” because I felt I was invading somewhat and I really didn’t want to disturb anything. I reviewed my pictures on the computer and found this one to strike a sad note with me. Surely, so many flags for so many fallen…unknown… 

I knew it was some kind of memorial but wasn’t sure exactly what it was. I started questioning the more I dwell on the picture..who is this for? Which war etc? You see, I was so determined to take the pictures first and find out what this is all about later. I found out that this is a flag tribute to all the US service members whose lives are lost in Iraq and Afganistan since Sep 11, 2001. It was there since 2005! Yet I have not noticed it before for 4 years! OK , I don’t drive that way often but surely in 4 years I would have at least once driven that way??!!?? In any case, I was really disappointed that I could never catch that scene again – the one I first saw from the car the first time round; it will remain in mind’s eye.

I was surprising thinking of this poem by W.B. Yeats

“Gratitude to the Unknown Instructors”

What they undertook to do

They brought to pass

All things hang like a drop of dew

Upon a blade of grass”

  

 

Flying in Hermann MO on Memorial Day weekend

We arrived on Friday evening and managed to get a flight in Hermann MO. Weather was great! Here’s a video of our wonderful flying weekend that ended on Sunday afternoon since forcast was for wet weather and we headed home early instead of Monday.  Got to visit one winery in Hermann for wine tasting – Adam Puchta Winery. But I ended buying their Port wine instead.

 

Second road trip for the year

Our 2nd road trip for the year. We left for Hermann, Missouri at noon and arrived at their airport here at 7pm, local time. Weather was great and we had our first flight here flying along the Missouri River for an hour or so. Flies and bugs here are BIG! We’ll be spending a night at the airport. For this trip, we did not organize too well-brought along our motorbike to facilitate getting to places for food or errands. However, we forgot to bring our helmets! Missouri Law states all motorists must have proper headgear so helmets are mandatory. So we brought the bike for nothing!

My camera appears to on it death door! The view on the LCD appeared purple and images were blurred. I guess it’s good timing since I’m considering a new camera, perhaps an SLR? What is a good step up from a point and shoot? Nikon and Canon brands are highly popular and are often featured in digital photography magazines. I’d have to go look and see what else is out there. How about Olympus or Casio? I didn’t even know Casio made cameras! I guess I’ve always associated their name with calculators and watches.

 

Cilantro and its wonders

As a cilantro lover, I’m curious as to whether this leafy plant has got any antioxidant values and I’m not disappointed.

It’s rich in phyto-nutrients and in phenolic acid which is good.
Even better, coriander (the seeds from cilantro) can also help lower cholesterol, fight inflammation and free radicals so that ’s having antioxidant value.
Good to know also that it helps prevent urinary tract infections (sound more like what I’d worry about for my cats since one of them had to be euthanized for the same problem!),
A good source of iron and magnesium– those I definitely feel I need and I’d prefer coriander and cilantro leaves to synthetic vitamins,
Anti-inflammatory, relieves intestinal gas and aids in digestion,
Pevent flatulence – now that I’m not so sure because my detox concoction which includes cilantro gives me the biggest flatulence that precedes a just as big a dump to detox my system!

My detox concoction is made up of

a few cloves of raw garlic (chopped or sliced)

a pint of grape tomatoes (sliced or chopped)  (or any other type of tomatoes and you can have as many or as little as you like)

hot Chinese chilli peppers (or habenero peppers if the Chinese peppers are not available)

a healthy big bunch of cilantro leaves (chopped coarsely)

black pepper

salt

olive oil

Mix all ingredients and let it marinate for an hour to two in the refrigerator.

Eat as a salad.

It can be “spicy” given the raw garlic and spicy peppers. I’ve built a tolerance for it since I eat raw garlic almost every day and I try to get fresh hot spicy chilli peppers whenever I can and it’s great that summer’s coming as I can now grow my own and I grow as many plants as I can reasonably have (sometimes I get carried away and grow way too many seeds) and results in way too many chilli peppers which will wither/shrivel when picked but not eaten at a reasonable time.  Because of that, I used to dry the excess ones and make chilli ornaments but what a waste of not being able to eat all that fresh crunchy chilli peppers which, by the way, is also high in antioxidant in the likes of beta carotene and Vitamin C. But I love chilli ornaments that goes up on my kitchen wall so it’s all good…

Anyway, after eating the salad and letting it do its thing..I hear my tummy building up a ”symphony” and voila..flatulence and soon bowel movements will ensue and that’s when I take the biggest dump to empty out the system. It’s best to be alone at home at this time!! I don’t know if it will work for anyone else but that’s my way of detoxing and getting rid of stuff in my system and intestines. Can you imagine I even weigh lighter?!? Could be my eyes playing tricks but…at least half to a pound off the scale!

So I’m really happy I found what appears to be a last pot of cilantro in one of the big box stores that I can plant in my garden along with rosemary, sage, thyme and basil. A Simon and Garfunkel song comes to mind…..

 

Addicted to races?

Am I addicted to races? I just finished and completed my third marathon last Sunday and now I’m considering another one for later this year but definitely next year!

 

Back to bed to dream…

This morning I woke to this news:

World’s best job

Is this a blogger’s dream or what? This would be a job I could do for just a month – although he gets to do it for 6 months, enjoy and explore the island and blog about it and get paid for doing so!

Sigh..time to go back to bed and start dreaming….