Sedona

Yesterday we did a trip to "the red moutain region" known as Sedona.
It is a city about 140 miles north of Phoenix and 30 miles South of Flagstaff and it's lying at about 4000 ft high (+-1,3km above sea level).
As we got out of the car we could already feel the difference in temperature compaired to Mesa,
especially in the evening temperatures went down more than we were used to (we had cold when walking outside in our t-shirt at 8 pm).
If you come in "North Arizona" during wintertime you can expect snowshowers and especially during the wintermonths temperatures go below 0°C and you can ski and snowboard for shure!

Today again, the scenery with the mountains changing coulours, the road that find themselves a way between the hills and threes, a river in the middle of nowhere with a magnificant view; mother nature is just beautiful when driving, hiking or flying in Arizona.
It is maybe a very dry and hot country but it has a lot to give.
We saw a beautiful sunset looking to the red mountains, the coulours just changed every minute.

The last three pictures are from the sunset,
wonderful colours and an amazing sky.

See you next time!

Next step: navigations

My last solo flight in the practise area is done.Now I have to do 2 more navigation flights (it's a flight of +-300km per mission where we exercise diversions, try to find recognition points on the ground and make shure we are still on the good "planned" track).Such a flights ask a lot of preparation and in the cockpit if you do a diversion the workload become quite high. you have to take your map, draw a new track on it, find all the necessary frequencies, calculate the time and distance, take the weather AND fly the airplane.A hell of a job when you fly at noon with a lot of up-and-downdraughts.Today I was lucky to fly in the morning.very smooth air, very busy in the practise area and a nice sunrise above the mountains.

Have a good weekend!

pictures:

1. On final together with a cessna
2. In the pattern of Falcon
3. Sunrise of this morning
4. Santana Mouantains
5. A quite rich family with a big "house". A pool is almost everywhere standard, the tennis court not.
6. Exept the desert in the SE practise area you have a lot of pools (and green) in the cities
7. SE practise area with some more mountains
   

Saguaro Lake

Yesterday we went to one of the lakes close to Phoenix.
We went to Saguaro lake, it is very pittoresque, surrounded by mountains and the road to get there was sooo beautiful.
To see "big" mother nature in his most purest form makes you silent.
To get there, there was only one single road turning left and right, up and down just between some lost threes and cactusses.
After only 10 minutes driving we were already in a totally other environment.
The scenery changes so fast, after every bend in the road you have another view.
Like this, driving is a pleasure compaired to Belgium, you can drive one hour and you have the feeling having driven though the French alps, through the desert of Egypt, through the mountain lakes of Oostenrijk,...
The pictures speak for themselve I guess...
Dry, dry ground, beautiful nature and very "refreshing" water!

Ciao!