Riding the Hiawatha Trail

One of the best things about living in the Pacific Northwest is the outdoor activities, all year long. We have boating, hiking, biking, camping, swimming, climbing, skiing, everything. If there’s a sport and a season, we have it. The Hiawatha Trail is one of those exciting activities you just have to do if you’re up

Finances: You can never be “TOO” hands on

Whoa! We’re actually generating content here that is not directly connected to travel or flying. What have I become?!? Seriously though, let’s talk about something dirty for a minute – one of those off limits topics. Money. Finances. Greenbacks. Benjamins. Uhhh…other slang terminology for money… As the title suggests this blog post will be about

On life, turning 30, and goals.

         “The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected.” – Robert Frost Tomorrow is January 29th, and once more I’ll be marking a birthday. To say that it is exciting to have made it this far would be an understatement – though a bit of a tired cliche as EVERYONE seems to

The Dubai Marathon -or- Mom and Dad visit the Middle East

However you want to title it, this is a really cool post to be making. One of the things I vowed, resolved (whatever), to do this year was to run more. I’m not a huge fan of running, I hate it really – but the benefits to your health are black and white. So, last

Egypt in a day? Sure, why not. (Pics)

I’m going to quickly develop a reputation as that one travel blogger who only stays in places for one day and then moves on. There is something to be said for that approach, jet lag isn’t a problem because you’re back home before you even acclimate a bit, you spend less money, and at the

Checking an item off of my bucket list.

I was sent to Murray, Idaho with one of our company R44’s to fly rides for their Molly b’damn Gold Rush days festival. All in it was a really uneventful weekend in a sleepy town nestled in the beautiful North Idaho mountains. The real pleasure of this assignment was the chance to do something that

Captain Mark Penklis, inspired me to fly

I was visiting my parents home in Spokane this weekend and came across an old photo of my sister and I on the flight deck of a Qantas Boeing 747 from way back in the early 90’s. I remember this moment vividly, it was ne of many sign posts throughout my life that led me

A once-in-a-lifetime flight (Gallery)

There are so many things that I want to do as a helicopter pilot. The list seems to grow every day, with every photo I see, magazine I read, or friend I make in the industry. They all have uniqueness to them, and the dynamic of our industry just grows and abounds in front of

Chasing the Sky – Why I’m a Helicopter Pilot

There isn’t one of us that accidentally became a pilot. It doesn’t work that way. We see our first airplane, or in my case –helicopter, and we are mystified by it. Our eyes are always up in the sky, especially when we hear that familiar hum of rotors over head. This is my story. The

I’m registered!

I had a really hard time coming up with a title for this post so I went with the obvious. I’m registered. Took some time this weekend to get onto the Bone Marrow Donor Registry. My heart strings were tugged when our local paper ran a story on the daughter of an Air Force Airman