Mt. Ranier, 9 pm June 19

Mt. St. Helens

Lots of snow on the mountain for this time of year! Summer hiking season will come late, I think.

The View From Here #4

The first sun sighting in the PNW in a couple weeks.  A great evening to fly over the San Juan Islands and catch the sunset over the Olympic Peninsula! Too bad my phone takes grainy pics through the windshield.

The View From Here #3

A rare smooth, sunny winter day in the Pacific Northwest just after a good snow. I snapped a couple shots of the North Cascades and Glacier Peak enroute from SEA to GEG this afternoon, plus one of Puget Sound at sunset.

The View From Here #2

This is turning out to be "the winter that wasn't." Aside from a week of snow storms throughout the northwest, we've had incredibly dry weather. It was even sunny and 50 degrees early this week. The North Cascades have still managed to accumulate a good snowpack. I took this Monday afternoon enroute from Seattle (SEA) to Calgary (YYC).

In the News

Here's an interesting look at how an airline bankruptcy is affected by politics, an angle most of us have never considered before. It's disturbing that yet one more airline is using bankruptcy as a shield to ditch obligations to employees.

Rewriting American Airlines' Bankruptcy

After five years, numerous temporary extensions, and a partial FAA shut-down, Congressional leaders have agreed on an aviation bill to fund the FAA through 2015. Pending approval by Congress, the bill will include much needed modernization of the air traffic control system

Finally, an FAA bill

The View From Here

Every once in a while, I have a view that I just can't resist getting a shot of. Sometimes, I take pictures of things I already have shots of, but Mt. Hood and Crater Lake look different from season to season, even day to day depending on light conditions, snow accumulation, etc. This is one of my favorites--Mt. Hood on January 10, 2011, in the late afternoon light.

The View From Here will be series of shots, old and new, from my "mobile office." Enjoy!

Lufthansa 747 operates first transatlantic biofuel flight to US | ATWOnline

Lufthansa 747 operates first transatlantic biofuel flight to US | ATWOnline

Favorite things

I did a short "favorite things" post a couple years ago, but it's time to share more. These are things that make life on the road (or in the air as the case may be) easier and more enjoyable.

• Smartphone. In my case, the HTC Evo. In the year since I got it, I've learned to do most everything mobile: banking, email, text, news, weather, music, navigation, Netflix, and on and on. It means using my laptop less frequently which lightens my roller bag quite a bit and saves time.
• Kindle. This was a Christmas gift last year and I was reluctant at first to stray from the tried and true paper of a good book. Although I still love the aesthetics of a book, I have come to appreciate the convenience of the Kindle for traveling. I can see a future of reading magazines and newspapers on a device as well. Sure cuts down on the paper I carry around!
• Smartwool kneesocks. Hey, it's the little things that brighten your day sometimes! After two winters freezing my butt off in the flight deck of the frosty Q400, I hunted high and low for good black kneesocks. Finally found a 3-pack of Smartwools on line and have been flying comfortably ever since!

Unfortunately, I can't afford to give all my viewers a goody bag of my favorite things like Oprah used to do, so you'll have to enjoy from the sidelines!