Galapagos (Giant) Tortoise

Studying science in college opened my eyes to the unique creations of our world and the men, like Charles Darwin, who have studied nature’s secrets. So when I had the chance in Spring of 2010, I grabbed my camera and headed for the equator. The Galapagos, discovered in 1535, is an archipelago (a collection of volcanic islands) in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ecuador. The best way to experience them is to fly in and live on board a boat. While my stay was short and I made it to only half the islands, it is a place I never imagined getting to see firsthand.

Coral I. Our floating home while in the Galapagos.

One of the first stops I made was Santa Cruz Island where the Charles Darwin Research Station is located. The results of Darwin’s 1835 study of the Galapagos flora and fauna were published as “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.” People from around the world have become involved with saving these land tortoises and other natural species of the Galapagos. For more information check out the Giant Tortoise Recovery Project part of the Galapagos Conservancy.

Charles Darwin Research Center on Santa Cruz Island.

I did have the chance to see one the islands most famous inhabitants, Lonesome George, a Giant Galapagos Tortoise. These tortoises made an easy meal for whalers and others who visited the islands in the 1700 and 1800s and almost became extinct from over-hunting. George recently died at over a 100 years old, and originally was thought to be last of his kind. Genetic studies started in the last few years have been done on young tortoises similar to George and provide evidence that hybrids of George exist and have been born within the last 15 years (since George had been in his safe reserve). Are there more of George’s family (subspecies) still out there somewhere?

Lonesome George. So named because he was once believed to be the last of his subspecies of Galapagos Tortoises.

There are actually 14 subspecies that have been discovered over the years although according to “Birds, Mammal, and Reptiles of the Galapagos Islands An Identification Guide” by Andy Swash and Rob Still, only 11 still exist many unique to a particular in the Galapagos Islands (remember these are land tortoises, not the Green Sea Turtles which also inhabit the islands and love the water). There are two categories into which these tortoises fall and that is determined by the carapace (body shell). One is a dome-like carapace and the other is called saddleback.

Dome Carapace

Saddleback Carapace

The Charles Darwin Research center (Tortoise Breeding and Rearing Center) on Santa Cruz Island is hoping to restore the tortoise to the island where their habitat was wiped out by an introduced goat population. The photos below come from the rearing center.

Galapagos Tortoise hatchlings being raised in their pens.

Growing up is so hard to do. It takes tortoises about 25 years to reach maturity.

Darwin studied not only the creatures of the Galapagos, but also the flora. The two prickly pear trees in the photos below survived perhaps by necessity by growing tall. They are quite unique to the islands.

Perhaps to escape being eaten prickly pears grow into almost tree-like form on the islands.

Look at the long trunk of the unique cactus plant.

The following photos give you an extra insight into the physical appearance, slow movement, and daily life of the Galapagos Tortoises. Enjoy. If time and money ever permits, I’d love to go back someday and visit the other islands that I missed.

Galapagos Tortoises are large reptiles that move slowly.

Notice the claw-like toes on this tortoise.

This tortoise knows how to pose for the cameras.

A drink at the water hole.

Ah, content.

Full face close-up.

Move over. You’re such a camera hog!

Fun Flying at Valkaria Air Fest 2013

The wind blustered along the parking and ramp areas at Valkaria Air Fest on Saturday, April 20. Although overcast, the ceiling kept the temperatures cool and stayed high enough for afternoon to early evening flying. The weather scared some fans away, but others came to watch the performances, and get rides in aircraft like the Huey and Cobra helicopters, a Pitt Special, and a biplane. Up front, I will say the gray skies were not optimum for photography, nor the drizzle once it started, so the photos are not the crisp ones you might expect. Sorry about that. Next time someone needs to let mother nature know.

People are almost as much fun to watch, as an air show. One particular fan, Courtney Leighann, stood at the flightline perimeter and collected autographs of the air show pilots. This is the kind of young fan we need to attract to aviation. Notice she is standing in front of Patty Wagstaff’s EA 300/S and has her autographed photo in hand. Patty even posted Courtney’s photo on her Facebook site. A real inspiration to young people interested in aviation. Thanks, Patty. To other young people like Courtney Leighann, check out the Civil Air Patrol in your area. A great way to become involved in aviation and do public service at the same time.

Air Fest fan Courtney Leighann holding autographed photo of Patty Wagstaff (Patty’s EA 300/S in background)

While the powerful modern aircraft capture the wow factor, I have to admit I find the old aircraft capture my imagination. A 1941 Waco UPF-7 biplane with a gray and blue U.S. Navy paint scheme sat near the fuel pumps. The UPF-7 designation had been adopted for the Civilian Pilot Training Program and were built until 1942. The one pictured below is owned by Florida Biplanes (Eric Howe pilot and located in Merritt Island Airport and Titusville/Space Coast Airport), and they provide open cockpit rides (be sure to strap in). The pilot sits in the back seat and the front has a tandem cockpit configured to handle two passengers. If you want to catch a ride sometime, you can get more information at their website.

WACO UPF-7 Built 1941 belonging to Florida Biplanes.

One of the top-notch performers was three-time U.S. National Aerobatic Champion Patty Wagstaff flying a German Extra 300S (more aircraft details can be found on her website) powered by a Lycoming 330hp engine. It was my first time to see her show and kept me glued in place even as the weather turned to drizzle. Wow.

Patty Wagstaff in her Extra 300/S aerobatic plane.

Patty’s amazing record of aerobatic championships and flying on the vertical stabilizer of her Extra 300/S.

Before the rain set in and during a break in the flying, I had a chance to walk around and ran into Women In Aviation (WAI) members representing the FL Tech chapter (yes, the organization welcomes men). Other organizations also had people available to answer questions, assist with the airshow, and tout membership in flying organizations.

Women In Aviation Florida Tech Chapter
From left to right in the photo are Mike Dorow, Gabrielle Landry (President of the chapter), Rosie Piscitelli, and Kenny Peden.

Florida Tech students assisting at the Air Fest.

Aero Club Valkaria

Aerobatic Plane Rides attended with their Pitts Special S-2B and Schleicher ASK-21 glider used for soaring and aerobatics. The weather allowed flights in the Pitt, but nixed any chance of glider rides. If you missed out, the Eagle Sport Aviation (ESA) club is based out of Deland, Florida and can be contacted about rides in the Pitts, ASK-21, and a 1946 Piper J3 Cub. One of the club instructors also made his air show debut with a great demonstration of aerobatic maneuvers.

One of the things I noted on the ESA Pitts Special, was a unique double spoke and wheel set up on one side of the aircraft (see photo below). I spoke with current president, Alain Aguayo, of ESA to ask about its use. The gist (from my POV as a non aerobatic pilot) is that it provides a visual to help the pilot observe his position with the horizon during aerobatic maneuvers. Similar (triangular versions) are also visible on other aerobatic planes flown at the air fest. One additional training feature for aerobatic students, is the orange string on the end of the apparatus. When doing a hammer-head stall, the string hangs straight until the stall is complete, then starts to bunch up, and that is the moment to kick the plane over (any corrections on my explanation are welcome).

Tool mounted to help pilots properly align to horizon during various aerobatic maneuvers. Set up for pilots in either front or back of cockpit.

Close up. Note orange yarn tied onto the end.

For anyone under the impression that flying is an “old man’s” sport, meet Alain Aguayo, current president of EAS. Thanks for taking the time to talk with me about your aircraft and organization.

Not everything performing at the air fest had wings per say. Roy Davis in a gyrocopter did a low-level performance, flying backwards and demonstrating autorotation (engine power off) where air flowing over large upper blade provides lift as the craft descends. That begs the question, what’s the difference between a helicopter and a gyrocopter? The engine of a helicopter turns the large blade (rotor) that sits on top the helicopter. Air gets forced down. That produces lift. On a gyrocopter, the large blade on top is not connected to the engine. It turns freely, powered by the gyrocopter moving forward through the air, thus producing lift. The small propeller to the back (can be front) of the gyrocopter creates the forward trust (rear propeller moving too fast to be seen in the photos below).

Roy Davis Gyrocopter at Valkaria 2013.

Roy Davis performing aerobatics with his gyrocopter.

In between acts, Sheriff Rosco kept the crowds in line and gave the kids someone to “be on the look out” for in his hunt for Hotwire Harry. If you watched carefully (or not too carefully since the “Sheriff” made liberal use of his car siren), you would have caught Jeff Moss dressed up as Sheriff Rosco finally tackle Hotwire Harry (in an orange prison jumpsuit) and carry him away in his security vehicle. While I didn’t get to see the flying portion of their performance, I did snap the sheriff’s photo and caught a glimpse of Harry checking out Gene Soucy’s biplane. You can check out details of their show at the Tiger Air Shows website.

Sheriff Rosco and his modern transportation. Gotta love a guy and his mustache. But where’s the horse?

A brief break in the air show came as four pilots took to the air for a missing man formation pass to honor former air show performer Fred Cabanas the “General of the Conch Republic Air Force.” He is known for many more exploits, including dedicating his performances to the Men and Women of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Salute to Fred Cabanas with a missing man formation. That is Patty Wagstaff pulling out and leaving the gap in the formation.

The remaining photos are of other aircraft performers or interesting shots of their aircraft. Descriptions are in the captions. Here’s hoping for clear skies at Valkaria Air Fest 2014.

Jason Newburg’s Air Hogs. A full size version of Air Hogs remote control plane.

Paul Schulten Aviat Eagle II.

With family members from Georgia Tech famous for its Yellow Jackets mascot, I had to take a close look at the killer bee tail art on Keith Lickteig’s 2005 Extra 300/L.

One of the Twin Tiger Aerobatic Team aircraft flown by Buck Roetman and Mark Sorenson. They are a precision formation aerial demonstration team.

One of the AeroShell T-6 Texans from team of Brian Reagan and Gene McNeely..

Gene Soucy and his 1972 Grumman G-164A “Show cat.”

Something enticing about this aircraft (probably why I took a lot of photos). I had fun explaining to one of the teens nearby why pilots often make S turns as they taxi. Here’s a good look at why. Seeing up over that engine is not easy, so they clear by making the turns.

One thing nice about planes that move slower…they can be easier to photograph. Notice how gray the skies are getting.

I love seeing this plane in flight, flying slow at almost every attitude, even inverted.

If you enjoyed looking through these photos or learned anything new, I’d love to hear from you, so please leave a comment (click near title above). Thanks and blue skies.

Exotic Wildlife of the Galapagos Islands

A few years ago I had the opportunity to visit the Galapagos Islands. Their unique flora and fauna once captured the attention of Charles Darwin and led to his writing the “The Origin of Species” in 1859. If you ever have a chance to go, take a camera and a video recorder. The photos below are from my trip (and require permission for use of any kind). You’ll be within feet of magnificent creatures and watch mother sea lions suckle babies, giant turtles swim, thousands of colorful fish swirl in the ocean, and giant birds play, nest, and court. Their antics are fun, amazing, and memorable, like the Blue-footed Boobie below.

We flew to the islands from Quito, Ecuador on Aero Gal. The airport on Galapagos is understandably small and open; a place to simply congregate for flights and check into the island on arrival.

AeroGal airliner taxiing in after landing on the Galapagos Islands. Notice the frigatebird near the tail.

The number one way to get around in the Galapagos (a province of Ecuador) is by boat. Tourists often stay on one of many small yachts. Ours held about twenty people (there are large and small ones) and had a dive platform to ease getting on and off dinghies that would take us out to the islands.

These are the type boats typical in the islands.

The volcanic islands rest on the equator 960km from Ecuador. The black basalts are visible just about everywhere and create dramatic landscapes.

A nice little cinder cone peaking up from the island.

The first stop was at the National Park to see several different species of the big turtles and the nursery set up to study and nurture babies.

Galapagos National Park

Galapagos Tortoise

During our short stay we stopped on only half the islands (unfortunately I didn’t record the names of the particular ones we visited- lesson learned). One in particular had stunning basalt cliffs. Nazca Boobies, Marine Iguanas, sea lions, the largest breeding bird in the islands (the Albatross), and endless numbers of smaller creatures like lava lizards and crabs.

Basalt Cliffs

Large Marine Iguana

Marine Iguanas are well-camouflaged on the black basalts.

Beautiful sea scape on the island.

Nazca Boobie’s nest on this island.

Two boobies with waves crashing in the distance.

Parent and baby Nazca Boobie.

Blow Hole near nesting site.

The sea lions had no fear of people. Kids in our group came across several sunning themselves on the beach and lay down with them, mimicking their sunbathing. Another day a sea lion launched himself onto our boat platform and worked himself up to the saloon. One of the crew eventually coaxed him off the boat.

Baby Galapagos Sea Lion nestled in the warm rocks.

Sea Lions on Beach

The sea lion who climbed onto our boat.

Other islands had weathered down and provided interior marshes that were home to flamingos, smaller crab species, rays in the bay areas along the beach, and species of finches and other smaller birds.

I believe this is a Yellow Warbler. If anyone knows for sure, please let me know.

Sea Urchins and echinoderms.

Beautiful red crab.

One of the most fascinating islands gave a hint as to what awaited us as we approached the island. Cyclones of circling birds turned out to be frigates. Below the swirling birds, hundreds of nests were positioned in the rough scrub on the island.

Magnificent Frigatebird

Nesting area of the frigatebirds.

Nesting frigate.

Frigate baby.

The frigate island had huge Sante Fe Land Iguanas. We stood within 15 feet of a pair facing off, positioning, and enacting half-lunges. This was the trip of a life time and one if time permits may take me back to see the rest of the Galapagos Islands.

Santa Fe Land Iguanas facing off.

CAP Assists at TICO Warbird Airshow March 22-24

Tail CAP plane

Civil Air Patrol members from the Florida wing converged at Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville, Florida to assist with the TICO Warbird 2013 Airshow. The three day airshow was dedicated to all veterans of the military services with a special recognition of the 70^th anniversary of the Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress “Memphis Belle.”

Valiant Air Command, a non-profit organization dedicated to research and warbird restoration, sponsored the show to share the story of these aircraft and their crews who gave their lives to protect this country. To serve that purpose year round, they have a museum opened seven days a week which has been recently certified by the USAF National Museum. The Command’s signature aircraft is the Tico Belle (seen below), a workhorse in several wars starting with World War II. The aircraft is fully restored and available for rides.

Valiant Air Command’s C-47 “Tico Belle.”

Civil Air Patrol members came from Orlando, TICO, Seminole, UCF FL-242, Central Florida, Patrick, Osceola, and Palm Bay Squadrons, and Deland and Merritt Island Flights. They directed traffic, helped with parking, manned cordoned areas for safety and security, assisted with helicopter rides, worked the main gates, sold tickets, and manned a CAP booth and aircraft display.

CAP assisting the “Sky Soldiers” Army Aviation Heritage Foundation as they gave rides on the UH-1H Iroquois “Huey”, an Army aviation troop transport.

The photos on this blog were taken by Sandy Parks of the Friday crew. Some of those photographed were busy executing their jobs and unavailable to give out their names. If you recognize anyone not identified, please leave a comment and the information will be updated. Not pictured, but much appreciated is CAP organizer Capt. Sue Martin.

Cadet Feliciano, UCF FL-242 Squadron, and Cadet Martin selling tickets at Gate 2.

Hannah Clarke, Merritt Island Flight, directing traffic to parking area.

Alex Cabera, UCF FL-242 Squadron, directed traffic into Gate 2.

Hannah Clarke, Merritt Island Flight.

Two CAP members selling tickets at Gate 2.

Boeing B-17G “Chuckie” Flying Fortress at TICO Warbird 2013 Airshow. Aircraft is from Military Aviation Museum, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

John McMillen, TICO Squadron, on traffic duty.

Chris Bernhardt, Seminole Squadron, parking vehicles.

Chris Bernhardt, Seminole Squadron, learning the art of tight parking.

Kenny Palacio, UCF FL-242, directing traffic.

North American B-25 “Mitchell” bomber. A medium bomber named in honor of General Billy Mitchell and used in the 1942 Doolittle Raid.

Joshua Martin, Deland Flight, securing pilot’s gate near pilot tent.

Luvke Fransbergen, Seminole Squadron, working the parking area.

Cole Frank, Orlando Squadron, working the VIP parking area near private aircraft parking.

Silvio Bohuszewicz, TICO squadron, securing the VIP and flight line area.

CAP plane parked at information tent

Thomas Wolf, TICO Squadron, showing the cockpit to an airshow visitor.

Manning the CAP information tent Lt. Theresa Stalnaker, Seminole Squadron and Maj Tony Wood, Patrick Squadron.

Ian Spirduso, Central Florida Squadron, and Andrew Briggs, Palm Bay squadron, worked at Gate 1.

Nicholas Bersoux, Palm Bay squadron, worked Gate 1.

USAF Thunderbirds F-16s performed after duties were complete for most CAP.

Joshua Martin and Capt. Tac Kong of Deland Flight.

With duty done, time to watch the Thunderbirds perform.

Lt. Col. Richardson

Maj M.M. Wieser, Osceola Squadron, manned the CAP information tent.

CAP assisting the Huey crew. If spaces were available the CAP workers caught a ride. Briggs, Capt Scott Brown TICO Squadron, Stalnaker, Bohuszewicz.

Christian Jones, TICO Squadron, preparing to head to his post.

End of day wrap-up.

Civil Air Patrol worked together with the Valiant Air Command to help make the Airshow days run smoothly. The VAC “Tico Belle” tail seen through the CAP aircraft strut.

Fly It Forward 2013

Fun, inspiring, and educational best describes the 2013 Fly It Forward day on Saturday, March 9. Women aviators and supporters of space and aviation gathered at Arthur Dunn Air Park in celebration of 50 years of Women in Space. Private pilots brought their aircraft and provided free first flights to women and girls. Of course, I hauled my camera along and had a chance to snap photos of faces full of expectation, zeal, and triumph.

Mom and daughter team, Amy and Cheyene Dokos, take their first flight in N1822H piloted by Elisabeth Wuethrich from N. Palm Beach county.

Barbara Ganson, an associate professor at Florida Atlantic University and former NASA employee, planned the day with support from the Gulfstream, GoldCoast, and Spaceport Ninety-Nines, Inc (women’s aviation chapters) and various other organizations.

Florida Spaceport 99 Mary Anne Demmer

Florida GoldCoast 99s prepare certificates for all the flight participants.

A large contingent of Florida Atlantic University women in engineering, belonging to Alpha Omega Epsilon Sorority, joined the fun. Some missed out on the photo as they were in flight for the shot. Three gals in the photo mentioned their majors, which show the diversity and depth of interests in this group of women; Caitlin Miller- Mechanical Engineering, Isabella Pinos- Ocean Engineering, and Heidi Levine- Computer Science.

Florida Atlantic University Alpha Omega Epsilon Sorority

The Civil Air Patrol marshaled aircraft and manned key positions to assist with the day.

CAP Captain Sue Martin (Civil Air Patrol) is manning the gate to the flightline. Sue became involved with the CAP when her son became interested in flying. The CAP also will be volunteering at the TICO Warbird Airshow coming up March 22-24, 2013. Behind Sue is Heidi and her daughters, Angelica and Samantha Jaksetic awaiting their first flight.

Group getting ready to go up with Pilot Wuethrich. Note CAP in background helping marshal aircraft.

NASA sent a contingent to interact with the girls at the event, and several commercial and private aviation pilots chatted with attendees, as did representatives for the EAA (Oshkosh)/Young Eagles program. There were other organizations that I missed, and would love to mention, so please let me know and I’ll add you to this blog.

First Officer Terry Ryan flies for Southwest Airlines

American Airline Captain Kimberly Lowe

Louisa King flies Boeing 737 charter for Miami Air International

Ruth Jacobs set the record for the fastest time flying around the world in a single-engine airplane, landing on all 7 continents.

Fun photo of Ruth and Louisa together

Elisabeth Wuethrich, an engineer from Switzerland, came to pilot for the event with her hubby who is also a pilot.

Left to right: Florida Gold Coast 99s
Ursala Davidson
Kimberly Lowe
Tamra Sheffman (N37TJ is her aircraft)
Elisabeth Wuethrich

The efforts of these volunteers came to fruition with the participant’s smiles and often joy at surviving their flights. Congrats to all gals who braved their first flights and even bigger thanks to those who took the effort to give their daughters and family members this wonderful experience. The following three photos show daughters Angelica and Samantha climbing out of the aircraft, soon followed by mom Heidi who gave them both an excited hug. Heidi, a graduate of Embry Riddle and former safety engineer at Kennedy Space Center, wanted to introduce her daughters to the world of aviation. Great job mom!

Big smiles as Angelica Jaksetic climbs out of an aircraft. This delightful photo was picked up by the international organization Women Of Aviation Week and put in a front page story on their website http://www.womenofaviationweek.org. Five thousand women and girls received discovery flights at over seventy airports this year.

Followed by sister Samantha Jaksetic. Pilot Tom Powers, owner of the Bonanza aircraft.

Mom Heidi gives her daughters a congratulatory hug.

I snapped a few photos of the planes flying for the event. One I missed, but wanted to mention to show the variety, was a powered glider. A King Air belonging to the local jump school also dropped jumpers for the crowd to watch.

A Piper Cherokee carrying a mom and daughter. Let me know if anyone can identify them. I’d appreciate it.

King Air 200 (retired from the Army) jump plane located at Arthur Dunn Air Park

Cub used for Fly It Forward flights.

Awaiting the next passengers on Women of Aviation Day 2014

I can’t wait to see what happens next year on Women of Aviation Day.

If anyone has information to add, please drop me a line. You can contact me through my website (see the page at the beginning of this blog).

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Sandy has a monthly drawing taken from those who comment on her blogs. The one for March 2013 is on. Comment and your name will go into a drawing for a free ebook of Repossessed by Sandy Parks or one of author Julie Moffett’s Lexi series. Once in a while I may even have something special to win. Your choice. You’ll have a month after names are pulled to check back and see if you are a winner. Good luck and  hope to hear from you.

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Girls Fly Too- Graduation from Air Force Pilot Training

Today’s blog honors two occasions…my niece’s graduation from pilot training and Women in Aviation week. If you’ve spent any time on my website or reading through earlier blogs, you already know that aviation is a household word and a lifestyle in my family. Thus when someone gets a pilot’s license of any kind, it’s a big deal.

New Wings on the name tag

So in January, the family headed down to the rousing town of Del Rio, Texas. Once we left San Antonio, half of our cell phones went on hiatus in the great expanses of Texas lacking in cell towers (or really much populace at all save for perhaps a few prairie dogs). The perfect place to put a base with pilots learning to fly. Onward we pressed in the face of adversity, forewarned by my brother to be wary of speed traps. Imagine our surprise later when we passed the car with his family temporarily parked aside the road and my brother speaking to the nice gentleman whose car flashed colored lights. My brother must have smiled nice, because the man in blue gave him a warning and sent him on his way.

We had no doubts when we closed upon our destination as a buzz of aircraft swarmed the airfield. Opposite patterns ran to parallel runways, one which catered to T-38 jets and the other to T-6 turboprops. The entrance to the base took us past a line of aircraft on static display. We later discovered my father had flown a good number of them. Thus, as we traditionally do, we gathered all the military folks, put them in flight suits (some suits had shrunk since retirement) and did a photo shoot in front of the T(trainer)-28, a plane my dad had flown in his pilot training days.

Grandfather (KC-135), Dad (FB-111), Graduate, Uncle (Test Pilot)

To give you an idea of how proud my brother is of his daughter, just take a look at this close-up of the two. Kinda says it all.

Father and Daughter

Later, after formal ceremonies inside where awards were presented, all the students went out to the flight line, where their chosen “rated” Air Force officer officially pinned on their wings. My niece chose her dad and they pinned them on in front of the T-1, a trainer for those pilots going on to fly heavy aircraft. She is thrilled to be going to C(cargo)-17s.

Father pinning official flight wings on his daughter in front of her aircraft

The first plane my niece flew in training was the T-6 Texan II turbo-prop built by Raytheon Aircraft as a military trainer. The second half of Undergraduate Pilot Training brought a switch to the T-1, built by Raytheon and Hawker Beechcraft, with handling characteristics mimicking heavier aircraft.

T-6 Texan II

T-1

A photo of the women in the family was taken in front of the T-6 and included Grandma, Aunt (that’s me), and my niece’s mom. We may not have been the military pilots in the family, but we all gave her encouragement through the years that she could achieve the dream of being a pilot.

Aunt, Graduate, Grandmother, Mom

The next photo is of my niece in front of the T-6 with her shiny new wings visible above the chest pocket of her uniform jacket. After all the stress and effort to get to this point, I can guarantee she has a lot of pride in those wings.

2Lt. Moffett in front of the T-6 Texan II

Of course, I had to have my special moment for a photo. I couldn’t be prouder and am glad my niece had an opportunity to fly for the Air Force that when I was her age wasn’t open to me. Thankfully times have changed.

Aunt and Niece

Any time family gets together to celebrate there are always presents or food. Since we were on the road for this celebration, we ate out and brought gifts. Tradition has it that pilots build a “me” collection of plaques, patches, photos, and models as they go through their careers. This T-1 model of her first aircraft is a great way to start.

Niece with T-1 Model

After all the ceremonies and photos, it’s dinnertime. For the military, it means official mess dress (cummerbund and all). But once they hit the bar, dinner changes to party time and the jackets come off. Just to show you formality doesn’t come without some sense of humor, I took a shot of the  pilots’ party shirts not visible when their  jackets are on. My niece altered these shirts for herself and a few friends (her mom helped to get them done in time). Those are shoes on her shirt. Every girl needs a pair or two to party, and these are a lot hotter than suede flight boots.

Congrats new Air Force pilot 2Lt. Moffett.

Party (Mess Dress) Shirts

The Old, the Classic, The Modern Moroccan Village

While doing research today I was looking through my Moroccan photos from last year’s trip and came across this one I call the Old, the Classic, and the Modern. Along a stream in the barren desert of Morocco, life comes from water. The lush green of an oasis stands out in this eroded valley.

Old, Classic, and Modern Morocco

On top of the cliff is a modern town built up along a relatively new road to the area. Those houses maintain the old look, but are now built of concrete block, making them both less cool and less warm depending on the season. The tradeoff is the lower need for maintenance. The photo below shows a cut out of the modern village in the photo above.

A modern village in Moroccan desert

Across the stream and lower down is the classic ksar (fortified town). Protection was provided in the way the homes were built together within tall walls and around a central open area. The walls were built from clay and straw and had to be maintained (new mud added) about every four years. The photo below is an enlarged cut showing the ksar from the top photo.

Classic Ksar

The old village is much harder to discern. It is underneath the modern town and can be seen by carefully looking along the cliff. The homes there were built in exactly the same building material as the classic ksar. Time is taking its toll and eventually the walls will disappear back into the earth from which it was built.

Crumbling Old Village Walls

Now go back to the top photo and pick out the progression of all three states of this village. That’s a lot of history in a small space.

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Sandy has a monthly drawing taken from those who comment on her blogs. The one for February 2013 is on. It’s a short month. Comment and your name will go into a drawing for a free ebook of Repossessed by Sandy Parks or one of author Julie Moffett’s Lexi series. Your choice. You’ll have a month after names are pulled to check back and see if you are a winner. Good luck and  hope to hear from you.

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