The Wonders of Flying

The view of downtown Seattle and Elliot Harbor was beautiful! The silvery ripples in Puget Sound glistened in the early afternoon sunshine. The Olympic Mountain Ranges could be seen in all their snowy-white glory on the westward horizon.

The Cessna four-passenger plane swung over Queen Anne Hill. Majestic Mt. Baker greeted the eyes of the aircraft occupants when they looked north, toward Canada.

Slowly the light plane rose higher, lifting its human cargo high above the Space Needle and the modern city's downtown skyscrapers.

Rocky, the pilot, headed the worthy craft into the scheduled flight pattern southward.

Quickly flying over Union Bay, Rocky spoke softly, "Look at Lake Washington, the ripples appear to be beads of rhinestone. Their glitter is a ridge of reflections breaking into a colorful collage where waves stop at the shoreline."

Erin, the strawberry blonde sitting alongside her handsome husband Joe, asked "Where do we go from here? Isn't that the University of Washington arboretum directly underneath our plane? Oh yes, and I see the water tower in pioneer park." The aircraft soared southward. Rocky was careful to follow his flight plan.

Amber, who occupied the rear seat of the Cessna, had been silent until Mt. Rainier appeared to the east of the flight's pattern. "Lan sakes," she drawled in her southern accent, "ain't that a heavenly sight? No wonder they named that parking area Paradise Point."

This gem of the sky was a thrilling sight for all the passengers! The next spectacle would be an entirely different scene. The awesome crater formed by the eruption of Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980 was the only demoralizing scene of this trip. The extent of the devastated area due to this explosion of unrelenting volcanic power was humiliating. What had been a beautiful forested area was now a waste land comprising thousands of acres of former natural prehistoric beauty! A deep respect for the power of natural forces made these travelers grateful that they had escaped the fury of this earth-shaking event.

After refueling and gathering a new flight schedule and pattern in Portland, Oregon, the foursome travelled eastward. The flight down the Columbia River Gorge was spectacular! The pilot knew the correct place and right time to dip the light plane closer to the river canyon for viewing Horsetail Waterfalls. The grandeur of the Columbia River was an uplifting experience after the Mt. St. Helens wasteland scene. But time and space are not equated in the dream world.

The adventuresome travellers entered the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. The pilot had flown into this wonderland once before. Now this group was enjoying colorful, breathtaking sights. The little plane tossed a bit in the down-draft wind. The knowledgeable pilot had learned how to maneuver downwind currents while flying in the Alaska bush country. Everyone was at ease.

Amber spoke out again. "Lawdy me, look at them rainbow colors! Did y'all eva see the like? Down in Alabama they would say `The Chariot is comin' for to carry me home' Hallelujah!"

The smoke rising from the Indian village on the floor of the canyon caused the passengers to marvel how naturally the sturdy first Americans had lived. Wonder and respect arose in each of their breasts for the bravery of these people of the red-skin race. "How lucky we are!" they all exclaimed in unison. All four joined in singing, America the Beautiful.

Just as the pilot began to pull back on the ascend control he was disturbed by the shaking of his shoulder. "Wake up Rocky--Rocky, wake up! Turn over and quit snoring!"

This page is maintained by Dr. Wood's son, Harold W. Wood, Jr., of Visalia, California.
My E-mail address is: harold@planetaryexploration.net

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