Learning the Eagle

Most of you probably realize that you can't just walk out to a state of
the art fighter jet, jump in and start flying. However, I think you'd
be surprised at all there is to learn before you even get to start it
up. After two intense weeks of learning the F-15s systems (hydraulic,
electrical, engines, fuel, etc.), avionics, controls, and more I have
another two weeks before I will strap in and take it to work. You see
all this stuff is especially important when you're talking about flying
a single seat jet cause there's no one else to back you up.
This beauty is incredibly complicated! Unlike other planes I've
flown this is primarily an instrument of war and the normal flying
instruments are almost an afterthought. The cockpit is crammed with
displays, switches, dials, knobs, encrypted radios, radar, weapons
controls, electronic warning systems, countermeasures and more. On the
stick and throttle there are 14 switches which each can be pushed,
pulled, or prodded in 4 or 5 directions, and combining them does even
more - meaning that there are over two hundred things that can be done
without taking your hands off where they need to be (nice in a
dogfight, yet way confusing). I love learning all this and am having a great time.
It's tough but we have our lighter moments. One dangerous, yet funny thing that
happened this week was a guy in the class ahead of me was air refueling
from a tanker and as he was disconnecting he hit some switches by
accident and started popping off flares (super hot phosperphous
fireworks we use to confuse IR missles). Not a great thing to do next
to a flying tube full of over 10,000 gallons of gas!

Klamath Falls

So, here's the last part of the story of getting to my new town (the picture I took today from a lake nearby). Somewhere in North California about 400 miles from the final destination of Klamath Falls my Jeep becomes indecisive on whether it really wants to make it there. The clutch began to start slipping out of gear. But I figured I would try to make it and if it broke - I had to fix it anyway.

It broke.

After driving over 3000 miles the Jeep decided it would die only 45 miles away, so there I was... on this little mountain road with three feet of snow on the sides of the road unable to move. Then up comes this lady in a Jeep who offered to pull me to the top of the mountain. Turns out she was absolutely nuts. She had made her millions 10 years ago and has been playing ever since. She was really into aviation and had even bought her own fighter jet from the Czech Republic, so of course she loved me. I ended up hanging out with her in her "cabin" (one of her five homes) till the tow truck came. The last 45 miles took two hours over fresh snow and ice, and finally I made to the new home, Klamath Falls. There's more to the story but I'm trying to keep these short.

If you want to see a photo album of the trip then check out my Facebook page.

Walking with the Giants

Driving up the coast of California is a treat for the eyes. From
rolling hills toasted hills to jagged mountains to cliffs dropping into
a sea spattered with house sized rocks that look like a giant threw a
handful of pebbles into the ocean. Then as you get farther north it
becomes a lush forest with filled with the largest trees on the planet.
I took a walk in the rain through one of the giant redwood forests
and it was something I will always remember. I found&n bsp;hollows bigger
than my college dorm room, downed trees with more rings than Tiffany's,
and some trees whose tops were so high they were lost in the foggy
clouds. The concept of 'big tree' is so hard to impart through writing
or even a picture. To stand next to a living thing that towers above
you fifty feet higher than the statue of liberty and has been there for
over eight of your lifetimes is a unique experience. The hike was one
of my new favorites for sure. Starting in the&n bsp;forests of redwoods it
wound down through the giants over two miles to end at a little bay
where the waves of the Pacific ocean crashed on the rocks.
I have now made it to my new base in Oregon, though the last bit of
getting here was perhaps the greatest adventure. I'll tell about that
later...

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From the top of Angels landing in Zion

City on the Bay

After I left the mists of the Sierra Nevadas, I drove west over rolling hills sparsely covered with cattle and knobby trees. It is the kind of country that makes me want to just pull over and set off into the distance on some adventure. A few hours later I saw on the map that one of the places on my "Visit before you die" list was not that far south of where I was. So I took off to find Mt. Hamilton. This is a beautiful place covered in lush green even this time of year. Spoiled by more rain I set off towards San Francisco.

As I came around another precipitous mountain bend I was suddenly confronted by a view of the San Jose area. I've never seen anything quite like it. There are neighborhoods, stores, buildings, and roads crammed with humanity as far as the eye can see. The cities of San Jose, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, are all one mass; nothing divides the San's other than a thin black line on the map. Coming from a lovely solitude, this brought back to the surface a dynamic that has lived with me this entire trip, that of the difference between The God-created world and the Man-created world and how they intertwine and interact in our souls.

San Francisco is quite a city. I walked all over Chinatown, North Beach, the Wharf, the Presidio, Union Square, SoMa and by the end of two days had a great feel for the place (so did my feet). Last night I rented a bike and tooled around, even rode over the shining Golden Gate Bridge at Sunset (see how man's structure is improved by the natural). It's pretty decent as far as a big city goes, but I don't see how I could live in the middle of all this concrete for an long period of time and not either go crazy or become hardened.

Oregon here I come!