The Final Legs Home

Home!

As yesterday's short entry stated, we arrived home yesterday after an amazing and learning filled trip of two weeks. Each one of will admit that although the trip was filled with lots of fun and excitement, it was also exhausting. A combination of hard flying, early mornings, extensive adventures, and sometimes late nights leads to one tired group of people!

However, now that we have had a little rest, it is time to put together and recap the final leg for you!

As we went to bed, all of knew that a clearing trend had started, and each one of us was eager to finish the final few hours home. We went to bed relatively early, anticipating that we would have a relatively early start the following morning.

Sure enough, daybreak came soon. Thanks to Kieth Toczek and the "Greater Yankton Area Cessna 152 Aircraft Owners and Student Pilot's Association Inc." we all had a great nights sleep! Kieth's gift was particularly appreciated by us since we have all spent many hours in a 152. However, we were a bit surprised to be recipients, since this blog has clearly shown that we had been flying a 172 and (gasp!) a Warrior!

After further thought, however, we all now realize that Kieth's gift was merely a reflection of the attitude of all of those who fly in the Greater Yankton Area. It isn't just about the plane that you fly or the places that you visit so much as it is about the people that you meet along the way. All these people have a similar passion and love for aviation. We share our stories and love for the sky, and that is the biggest and most important thing. Thanks so much Kieth!

We were all at the airport by 9AM. As always, Katie and Gary were there to greet us, and loaded the planes and flight planned. With the weather clearing, an assortment of planes were now on thier ramp... a couple of King Air's and a Citation X. Gary and Katie greeted each of these pilots with the same enthusiasm and big smiles that we have grown accustomed to over the past few days.

By noon, we were finally able to begin our way Northwards. As we rose above the airport, thousands upon thousands of geese were doing the same. There were patches of sky that were black with the rising birds, and although we were wary of venturing into them, we were also excited to see them heading in the same direction. Spring cannot be far away.

The winds aloft were predicted to be quite high... and as we were soon to discover, the predictions were accurate. One of the great things about a cold front is that it generally brings clear skies. There are, of course, a couple of downsides to a Prairie Cold front. Namely, it gets cold, and secondly, that the winds will blow strongly out of the north.

And they did.

At times, we were grounding only 50 Knots. That's about 100km an hour. In a car, these speeds may seem normal, but in our planes... well, we usually see speeds somewhere closer to 100 Knots across the ground or 200km an hour. We should go twice as fast as the average highway guy! Instead of a four hour journey to the border, we were now facing a four hour journey just to get to our halfway point of Fargo! This slow going was going to force us down for fuel... so Fargo was going to become a stop for us.

The turnaround at the Fargo Jet Center was relatively quick. We all loaded up on free Cappacianos and Coffee, updated our arrival time with CANPASS and Customs, and then winged our way towards Piney for Customs clearing.

Clearing Customs in Piney was uneventful, but COLD! We were subjected to a temperature of -20 Celcius on landing. When one considers that the day before departing New Tribes we had temperatures of +32 Celcius, we had encoutered a temperature variation of over 50C! This is halfway from freezing to boiling water!

The takeoff from Piney was filled with excitement and anticipation. We were less than 40 Minutes from our own beds!!! As we approached Steinbach, familiar landmarks slid into view. "The Bend" in Highway 12... The Steinbach Radio Tower, the Water Tower, and THE FIELD!!!

After touching down, a cheer erupted from our airplane... we had succeeded in completing an awesome but exhausting trip! Rick leaped from his plane and hugged the ground... Steinbach!

Now all that is left to do is the final bits of paperwork and what not. There are also a lot of thankyous to say... and we will be taking the time to do that tomorrow night... for now, a little more rest is in order...

Stay tuned!

Home Safely!!!

The boys are home!

We arrived just one hour ago in Steinbach! 7PM local after an eventful day. Headwinds again! Photos will be posted shortly (Thursday, along with the final installment!)

Thanks so much for your cheering and prayers...

The Providence College Guys!

Watching and Hoping for the Weather to Clear....

Today has been another day of watching the weather. At times, we have been watching the winds blow up to 35 knots, and we have had visibilities that are consistently lower than 2 miles. Fortunately, the storm has tracked a little further North than was originally forecast--although we have had some rain and some ice, we haven't had near the amounts of snow that was originally expected.

With the Low Pressure system that has been plaguing us moving eastwards, the temperatures are now dropping as the cold front moves in--but this should bring us a clearing of the skies.

Tomorrow looks very much like we will be able to head northwards... the weather is indicating that this clearing will begin sometime around noon. Just as soon as soon as the conditions allow, we hope to be fueling up and heading out!

Stay tuned! Almost there!

"Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the LORD his God." Psalm 146:5

Stuck... Still... Day 13.

Well, today has been a day of mostly waiting... then checking the weather, hoping for the best, and then waiting again. We've been seeing ceilings consistently in the 200 AGL range, and visibilities somewhere around the 1/4 mile range. Not the sort of thing to go flying in!

The weather checks have been mostly an exercise in finding out--then confirming and reconfirming that--

"Yep, we are still gonna hafta wait!"

A Low that was supposed to blow over this area with speed and rapidity has suddenly changed its mind, deciding instead to come almost to a standstill right over top of us. As it sits here, it is sucking up a big, juicy stream of moist air from way down south--straight out of the Gulf of Mexico. Of course, at some point all this moisture has to fall somewhere, and of course, much of this moisture is predicted to fall over us! As this is being written there are storm warnings for overnight and tomorrow, with estimates of snowfall in the 4 inch range. Shades of the trip of '08 and a place called Xenia, Ohio!

Our hosts, Gary and Katie Carlson of Carlson Aviation have been treating us well. Gary made sure that the planes were hangared, so that they don't end up coated in the rain (which will turn to ice on contact!) that is forecasted to fall before the snow begins overnight. As we tucked the planes into bed, Gary showed us a couple of interesting projects that he has on the go... these included an L-39 jet, an SR22, and a Taylorcraft.

We have also managed (in only a day and a half!) to become regulars at a great local eatery, JoDean's Steakhouse... This restaurant has an all you can eat Lunch Buffet for $6.95, and a supper buffet for $9.95. All of the food is absolutely yummy, and it has the bonus of being very much home-cooked! Great stuff, tasty eats, all at a good price, and it comes all-you-can-eat! Aaron is thinking that he is going to start recommending that his students take long cross countries to Yankton simply for the experience of this restaurant alone!

Time was also spent exploring the Missouri River today, and the incredible dam and parks that are a part of the Lewis and Clarke expedition...

We noted that we are not the only critters waiting to get north. It was exciting to see large numbers of geese all about, although many of them looked apprehensive at the idea of getting airborne and heading north with the winds, low vis, and low ceilings. Those guys don't have a meteorologist section, and we suppose that if those guys don't want to be flying, then it is probably best that we stay put as well!

It certainly can't stay this way forever.

And of course, we are so tantalizingly close to home.

"He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
And He was seen upon the wings of the wind." II Sam. 22:11

Day 11...or 12 not sure.

Well we ended up spending two full days in New Tribes because of winds that were gusting to 50 kts (nautical miles per hour) in the mountain passes that we were planning on going through. So we spent the day being as productive as we could, we played baseball, frisbee, slept and ate. All in all a very nice, relaxing day to prepare us for our long day of travel.

Today started, well before it should have, somewhere in the 5 am's. We got out of bed packed up what we couldn't pack the night before and walked to the kitchen where Jeff and Wonita had breakfast ready and waiting for us. After that we said goodbye and headed out to the planes.

Our flights today were long and uneventful. We flew from about 20 miles from the Mexican border all the way to Yankton SD where we now sit in and FBO with ceilings outside of roughly 10 feet as best we can figure. When we got here we called the operator and they were more than happy to allow us to stay here over night camping on the floor for which we are very grateful. The hope is that we can be up and on our way sometime mid to late afternoon tomorrow to finish up the last 300 miles of our journey. It's been a great time of fun and learning but there comes a time where you want nothing more than to be home in your own bed, I think for most of us that time has come.

New Tribes Mission. Day 10

This day was great to have some down time (pun intended).But this doesn't mean that we just relaxed all day. We all woke up at about 6:30 am, and headed over to Jeff and Wonita Werley's place for a hearty 7 am breakfast.

Being the only "Mexican"/Canadian on the team, I was very excited for this southern breakfast which consisted of burritos filled with ground sausage and eggs, good coffee and homemade orangejuice. After this wonderful meal we headed out to NTM's main office building and began a landscaping project which turned out quite nice by the late afternoon.

In the evening we were invited for supper at Larry (missionary pilot and mechanic) and Kim Dye's house. After another great meal, Larry and his friend Jason shared some stories and a video of their amazing and challenging experience on the missionfield in Venezuela. It was encouraging and refreshing to hear their stories and to be challenged in our faith.



Isaiah 40:31 says:
"but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

The Flight to New Tribes--Day Nine

We are now in the home stretch everyone!

Looking ahead, each one of us can see that the days left in this trip are less than the days that we have had exploring. Our planes are now regularly moving further eastward with each stop, slowly edging out of the southwest, and making our way towards the Great. It will only be a matter of time before we “cut the corner” and start our journey northward.

Before we start this final turn northwards however, there are still a few things that we have yet to do. Arizona and warm sunshine continue to have a hold on us. We don’t think that we are really ready to cut the corner yet—almost, but not quite. There is still something yet to do!

Our day started with all these things in mind. One of our last stops is to be New Tribes , an organization that trains and supports pilots for the mission field.
We had a late morning, after getting ourselves burned yet again at PIMA or at the ball field yesterday. Lobster in the Southwest? You bet! Although we may be far, far, away from the nearest ocean, any one of us can tell you that lobster is found here!

A quick planning session and a little bit of research had us in the air by 1PM. We elected to avoid the Controlled airspace around Tucson, and plunged southwards towards Green Valley, Arizona before cutting east for the mountains. Green Valley is aptly named, as irrigation and farmland surrounds this town that is fed by a river that runs almost directly through it. For miles and miles around, everything else is coloured red, brown, or a light shade of gray-green.

As we continued eastward, we encountered a series of mountain ridges. We followed a valley and an Interstate south-easterly, being careful to avoid the restricted military air space that was on either side of us.

Tribal Air, as the airport is called, is quite nearly in the middle of a vast plain. As you approach it, it seems to be in the middle of a huge saddle, with mountain peaks to the east, west, north, and south. All these peaks and terrain seem to slope up and out from the airport, with the peaks extended on radials in every direction and seemingly equidistant from its runways.

After landing, we met with Jeff Werely, who helped us tie down our planes and then gave us a tour of the hangars and shops. With its many shops and talented individuals, NTM has the ability to remanufacture and recreate all the parts that might be needed for Cessna aircraft! There are shops for rebuilding engines, testing avionics, and rooms complete with jigs for the manufacturing an entire airplane. With shops for fibreglass, painting, and upholstery, the detail work on the planes can also be taken care of. One thing that amazed us is the incredible degree of cleanliness... The floor at NTM shines! You can literally see your face in it, and a perfect mirrored reflection is found beneath each and every aircraft! There is a place and a bin for everything, so that nothing is lost or misplaced. It really is something to see!

After a great tour, we had a few moments to catch our breath and to settle into our rooms. Much tummy growling was heard, as quite a few of us had elected to sleep in... Missing breakfast and lunch in the process! This, however, was soon to be fixed!

We had dinner at the home of Brian and Katharine Schaadt, who served up a great batch of burgers, fruit salad, and brownies. Appreciation was heard all around, (Rory practically sang an ode to the wonderful burgers as he ate!) Hardly a morsel was left over. Brian has had some time flying in Venezuela, and we all huddled up in their living room to watch some of the flying and mission work that he has completed in that country.

Busy day! Tomorrow promises to be just as much so, as we will be helping NTM with a landscaping project. They have been waiting nearly four years for the manpower to upgrade the look around their main offices, and well, we just happen to be in the area, and we still have things to do!

PIMA and Major League Baseball--Day 8

Tucson, Arizona: the city of unfulfilled expectations, hot weather and oddly-spelled locations.

We all awoke in the morning to a beautiful morning followed by a fairly uneventful (and rather bland) continental breakfast on behalf of the Super 8 Motel that is nestled in the rougher part of town. With Aaron and Rick planning on driving into Phoenix for a pre-season White Sox and the rest of us planning on spending most of the day looking at classic planes, we all drove off to the Pima Air & Space Museum to part our ways—a task that took much more time than expected, thanks to Aaron's GPS system. On the route to Pima, we were all treated to a view of an Air Force field full of airplanes that rekindled our childhood fascinations: AV-8B Harrier II's, A-10 Thunderbolt (Warthog) II's and more C-130 Hercules' than we can count.

Once arrived at Pima, we were greeted to more planes that we had only seen in pictures and were eager to see and touch in person. As we had expected, the plane-related highlights involved seeing the SR-71, the A-10 Warthog, B-29 Superfortress, the B-377 Super Guppy and the numerous amounts of fighter jets—both foreign and domestic. Beyond the planes that were baking in the sun, we were able to look up in the sky and see actual fighter jets practicing maneuvers for quite a long time: real A-10s, F-15 Eagles and C-130s that were flying right above us at the museum. For some reason, all of us were fixated on the planes which were probably doing nothing more than routine flying, rather than the antiques that were within reach—but we weren't concerned at all. We had originally planned to be at the Pima museum from opening at 9 to closing at 5, but soon found out that we were tired and had finished our rounds at the museum by around 12:30, which was a far cry short of the full eight hours that we had intended on spending there.

Since we were roughly five hours ahead of schedule, we decided that we would find a way of getting back to our hotel, which seemed to be only a few miles away from us. Mike pulled out his cell and called us a cab, and we sat around creating general havoc and mischief only to find out that our cab probably wasn't going to come as we had intended. As we were heading out the museum entrance, a volunteer greeter at the museum offered us a ride closer to our hotel, and we decided that we didn't have much to lose so we gladly took it. Little did we know that this short ride would be the highlight of the day; our grateful driver happened to be a retired United States Air Force pilot, who told us more information about flying and the close-by air fields than we would have ever guessed. He told us about his days flying A-26 Invaders, F-80 Shooting Stars and T-38 Talons, and of how the USAF would let pilots borrow them for flying. We could have easily talked for a few hours, but unfortunately we had to part our ways. The rest of the day had been uneventful, with all of us getting our well-deserved rest and enjoying our relatively-cheap Subway sandwiches.

All in all, a good day with nothing to complain about.

FROM THE BASEBALL GUYS:

Anyone who knows Rick knows that he is HUGE baseball fan. HUGE in capital letters is perhaps something that is a bit too small for that sort of a statement. When we found out that one of his favorite teams--the Boston White Sox--would only be a short hop up the I-10 to Phoenix for a Cactus League game, a plan was hatched to make sure that we would be able to take it in. Major League beaseball! In temperatures that are much more than summer like! Whoo-Hooo!

Rick, for the entire trip, has been carrying along a baseball. He desperately wanted this ball signed by his favorite players, but we had a problem. We didn't have anything that would write on it! As we rocketed down I-10, we kept our eyes peeled at every interstate exit for something along the lines of a Wal-Mart or Staples. We saw one or two, but American Interstates are very different from Canadian Highways.... if you miss your turn, you are going to go a long, long, way before you have a chance to turn off again!

As we pulled into Phoenix, we decided that our best strategy was to get off the freeway, and to use our GPS to find the nearest Wal-Mart or Staples. It worked! We found that there was a Staples only a few blocks away! Armed with a pack of Sharpies, we headed for the ball park.

As we arrived, the Sox were still out on the field doing their Pregame warmup. Eager fans lined the dugout and field boxes, hoping for autographs, and Rick was no different! As the Designated Hitter of the Sox came out on to the field, a surge of fresh hopefuls lined up pens, shirts, and pennants waving. Somehow, Rick managed to work his way to the front, and Thome grabbed his ball, nodded, and signed!

"Wow," Rick exclaimed, "this is certainly on of the highlights of the whole trip!"

The Arizona sun shone brightly, and temperatures neared the mid thirties. Although it was a pre-season game, all the sounds and excitement of a full-fledged mid season game were there. We were sitting on the Soxs' side of the field, and many of the fans had traveled from Chicago to see them play in Arizona. Dedicated or what? Quite a few of them also were knowlegeable in Hockey speak, and were quite rightfully proud of the young and up and coming team that they now have in Chicago.

Unfortunately, the Sox ran into a some pitching trouble in the third, and this led to four run lead for the A's. Although the Sox starting chipping away at this lead in the innings that followed, they never completed recovered, and a two run Eigth inning by the A's pretty much sealed the deal... 6-2 A's!

However, the autographs, (particularily the one by Jim Thome!) more than made up for the shortfall on the field. The ball is safely tucked away in a camera bag, safe from the heat, and incapable of sustaining any injury!

Day 7

So breakfast was amazing...as promised. While most of our group woke up at an unusually early hour, the two Ben's took advantage of our day off and slept in to a sweet 1045 local. We spent our morning playing frisbee and enjoyed another homemade lunch from Grandma Hanson.

A few of us spent some time with the Hanson's Neighbor across the street, Gene. All of the locals
refer to him as the "Cactus Man." His yard is a desert oasis... with every type and sort of desert plant that one could imagine on display. It is nearly impossible to imagine that there are so many different types and varieties of cactus! To say that the Cactus Man's yard is a work of art would only understate things. Stone walkways lead one through an amazing yard filled with aloe trees, tropical plants, and of course cactus. The birds also appear to appreciate the garden, songbirds filled the air with sweet soonds, and a hummingbird complete with a nest in progress is hidden and nearly impossible to spot! These nests are only the size of a thimble! The Cactus man also has a selling area, where he sells the plants that he pots. "My kids joke with me," He say, "they tell me that it's incredible to think that I sell Cactus in Arizona!"

The Cuctus man claims that gardening cactus isn't all that difficult. "You learn how to handle the plants and aviod the stickers." He grins. "You dig around them and grab them by the roots.... you stack them in bags, and move 'em slow. They are pretty tough plants, and you can be a bit rough with 'em and they will bounce back!"

With no time restrictions we took our time getting to the airport and were airborne around 2pm. Our flight to Pima, Arizona was supposed to be a pretty regular 2 hour leg. However about 2/3 of the way I was in the back of PTO looking through the binoculars at Rory's plane behind us and noticed two small dots behind him that were growing, and fast! Within 30seconds there were two A10-Warthogs within 700ft of our left wing. After climbing above us, they dipped just in front of us and rocked their wings as a freindly "hello". For most this would be nothing special, but seeing these high performance planes so close made all our day.


The rest of the flight was uneventful and we landed succesfully in Tuscon, driving the rest of the way to Pima. This was the low key day that we all desperately needed. Tomorrow morning we are heading to the Pima Air Museum to take in some more incredible aircrafts and an even closer range, and hopefully get to sit in a few as well. I guess the pictures will have to wait until tomorrow yet, and we forgot a key component to yesterdays blog so reading maybe take another read through that. Tune in again tomorrow for more exciting updates, thanks for your prayers and we will see you all in a short 5 days!

Day 6

After a long day at 6 flags and about as much of California as we could handle, a 630am start put us at Van Nuys and ready to go by 730. With the planes loaded and the pilots ready to go, we had only one problem, EIN was not in the mood to start. After about an hour of troubleshooting and some serious praying, the powerful hand-bombing skills of Aaron got her started and ready to go.

It was a short hop from Van Nuys to Yuma, Arizona where Bev and Foster Hanson (Mike's Grandparents) were anxiously awaiting our arrival. We were fortunate enough to have picked another good FBO, CAREFLIGHT, where we were greeted warmly and killed time playing frisbee in their parking lot while we waited on our ride. Grandpa Hanson picked us up and brought us to our warmest welcome so far (by far!!). Immediately we all felt at home, receiving food and hugs as soon as we stepped out of the van.

Once the sleeping arrangements were settled we quickly were introduced to a Hanson Family Favourite, "The Bean Bag Toss". A picture will be easier than an explanation but our internet has been less than ideal so you will have to wait until tonight when we can upload all our pictures.
What we were not expecting in Yuma was our close proximity to the Mexico/United States border. After some discussion we decided to be the first Providence trip to do all of North America in one trip. Our wonderful chauffeur, Grandpa Hanson, shuttled us to the border and let us roam free. It was a different world. The poverty was evident but the people were friendly and none of us had ever seen so many "pharmacia's"!With the excitement of Mexico fleeting quicker than expected we hopped back across the border and were back en-route for home cooked food and the company of the Hanson family patriarchs.

After the fun and games we were served a fantastic pork roast, mashed potatoes, and a variety of veggies. Home cooked food, what a treat! Soon after dinner we started to crash (mainly Rory.."sorry guys"). Tomorrow we are told that breakfast will be bacon, eggs, toast, fresh OJ and home made blackberry jam (jealous much?) We are hoping to leave sometime tomorrow afternoon for Tuscon, AZ for some Baseball and the Peema Air Museum. Stay tuned for pics and more info!

Day #5 Van Nuys and Six Flags

It was a warm and beautiful morning! The weather was good and despite our difficulties the day prior to, we made it out without any problems. After a pleasant flight through the L.A. basin, we came to the Van Nuys airport. Now we as pilots have a special understanding of Van Nuys due to the movie 16R(One Six Right), and upon arrival at Van Nuys we were all hoping to hear the controller say, “cleared one six right.” When we finally got there the words were sweet music to our ears. I can’t speak for Rory’s landing, but I greased PTO right onto the ground.

We had some creative taxiing (ie got lost) but the controllers there were more than friendly and we got the planes unloaded and went to find transportation to a hotel. The FBO was extremely nice and the people working there matched the aesthetics with personality. We even got a red carpet welcome.
After getting to the hotel, we sent Aaron to the beach for the day while the rest of us headed to Six Flags.

What confidence and anticipation there was in those five young pilots as they headed to the front gates. A quick wait in line for tickets and we headed in towards the park. And then we saw the metal detectors. Now all of the Canadians know that the American was born in jeans, a tee shirt, with a belt and multi tool around his waste, but the security at the Park didn’t think it so natural and sent me running back to the car. The rest of the guys said they would wait up at the newest ride for me. So I hoofed it back to the car and dumped my Gerber, then with a slightly off step I made my way, naked, back to the gates.

After working my way through the entry process and up to the new ride, I discovered my Canadian companions were nowhere to be found. Expecting them to find me there, I waited in line for the newest and supposedly best ride in the park. After about two hours I got on without any of my friends and after a five minute round of intense loops and speeding drops, I set out to find my compadres. I spent the rest of that day wandering from ride to ride stopping at each one to try the ride and then moving on in hopes of finding the lost foreigners. By six in the evening I was bored with the park and convinced Border Patrol had finally caught up with us. With nothing better to do I went back to the first ride and had another go at it. On my way out I glanced at the large lineup of potentials and there beheld the red hair and shirt that I knew to be Jeeber. I had finally found them and with new vigor we spent the last two hours of the day getting in as many rides as most of us had gotten up to that pointing the day.

By the end of the evening we were all sunburned and spent. It had been a good day, and I felt great for having spent at least a little time with my friends (also having put my Gerber back on I was much more inclined to see the rosy side of life).
We caught up with Aaron at the hotel, he had spent the day enjoying the beach and roads that have turns in them (poor flatlander from Manitoba). When we finally crashed for the night, we could all look back and say it was a great day.

Quite a day, indeed! While the rest of the guys were enjoying the twists and the turns of metal tubes, I was sent off to enjoy the twists and turns of another sort...

As Mike mentioned, Manitoba is somewhat landlocked. Manitoba is somewhat flat!

However, (and allow me to take on the role of an apologist here for a moment!) Manitoba occupies the heart of the continent. There are few places where one is allowed the ability to sense and grasp eternity. After all, when both land and sky stretch out before you and disappear into a limitless horizon, how can you not get a sense of being part of something that doesn’t end?

Sky and land are everything in Manitoba!

Shortly after our wheels touched down on the immortalized pavement of 16 Right, I realized that this would be an excellent opportunity to soak in some more of that limitless horizon, and to experience it in a manner somewhat different. California is the place where sky meets ocean.

It was Sunday, and we were soon to find that getting cars on a Sunday (particularly at 8AM!) was going be a challenge. However, Becky at Pentastar Aviation was up to the challenge, and she managed to put together a package for us that worked! I was going to head out and explore the California Coast, while the other guys were to take in an afternoon of thrills at Six Flags.

Becky suddenly found herself working as a tour operator.

“Aaron, “ she said, “You want to get onto the Pacific Coastal Highway North…. However, you want to get there along the pretty and scenic route!”

“Take the Ventura Highway West,” she continued, “and turn south down the Las Virgens Highway. Going this way, you’ll see some beautiful landscape! Once you hit Malibu, turn west again, and head towards Santa Barbara!”

All that I can really say is WOW!!!

Becky’s recommendation put me down canyons and switchbacks. A short turnoff down the Malibu creek highway led me to a little lake nestled in the mountains, and to rolling green summer-type foothills. Getting back on the Las Virgens highway, a journey through a tunnel eventually led to sheer cliffs just off the road, and eventually to the coast and Malibu… the place where sky meets sea.

As recommended, I continued northwest bound for some time. The smell and feel of ocean spray surrounded me, and it wasn’t long before I elected to stop and do some wading. The water was clear and warm, and the power of the surf amazing.

Sunset seemed to come far too soon. With the fading light, I turned eastward, to retrace my path back towards the hotel room.

It had been an eventful day. I had been permitted to see the location where a seemingly endless sky met a seemingly endless sea. In some ways, it was very much the same as what is known in Manitoba, but yet, at the same time, different.

Eternity can be seen, and felt, here too.