My Aeroplane ride

Wish I had an aeroplane
I'd fly away up yonder
'Til I could write me the perfect song
It'd be a song for the people
It'd be a song that everybody could sing along

If you needed a ride
You'd have one
If you needed a friend
I'd be your best one
If you got afraid
I'd take away all your pain
And I'd let you fly
In my aeroplane

If this song could spread happiness
I'd sing it long and loud
All over this land
I'd teach this song to the troubled
And we'd sing it for anybody
Who needed a helping hand

Guil has always told me "you wanna go up? anytime! you no scared?" this man has flown his whole life, everyday, for a living, and many adventurous stories to go along. "no, me no scared". he was in town for 2 1/2 short days so now was my time. it's either before sunrise, or before sunset. sunset it was. the typical summertime afternoon showers were rolling in around Marathon so definite take off in Alpine was still yet to be determined until we actually arrived at the landing strip. we just missed the rain, so off we went.

in a small plane i've flown before, but never over this desert land, so i am tempted to post all 150 photos, plexi-glass glares and all. 

the plane we didn't fly...if it was then yes i would have been scared

the "asshole pilot" (as he calls himself), but really not an asshole at all.

slick runway

here she is, Little Brown

checking fuel levels

required attire for flying

warm up and throttle check

air conditioner: check

aaaand, we're off

highway 90 heading west to Marfa

rainbow over Alpine...rainbows everywhere!! you can never have too many rainbows

a few miles outside of Marfa sits the Marfa Lights viewing center. there you'll find plaques describing the landscape, a brief identification of native plants and animals, and most interestingly the WWII Air Force training base that sits somewhere out there. i've always thought since i couldn't see anything from the viewing center that it was hidden way out in the desert, a mystery to everyone who only knows about it. but flying over proved me to be sorely wrong. it lies within spitting distance of the viewing center, and only a footprint of what was 70 years ago remains. i would beg on hands on knees to walk around down there, which would satisfy my unexplainable fascination with the eras of world wars.

a secret public road i heard about that supposedly takes you up close and personal with the dancing marfa lights 

hello Marfa! (and someone's personal landing strip)

Marfa made it's place on the map thanks to Donald Judd. check it all at The Chinati Foundation.

NPR also did a story on it.

leaving Marfa and heading back towards Alpine and over Cathedral Mountain

someone lost their sombrero

Cathedral Mountain in the distance and a dip between the peaks that we're going to fly through!!

it seemed really close

the light shifts and the rainbows emerge. this is where i have no discrimination...there can never be too many rainbows. notice some images have captions pointing out peaks and mountains in the distance. Santiago Peak is one of my favorites, partly because of it's history, partly because it's been in my horizon's view every morning for the past year and a half.

unusually large lake for this area

heading towards Marthon

helllo my little town, Marathon

if you can see the little colored area, that's my humble abode

Ted Thayer's famous junk yard

Guil's place

5 miles south of town is the county park, The Post, a natural spring fed watering hole donated to the town by the Texas State Comptroller's family, once a clean place to swim with diving board and all, now just an unkept habitation for dogs to swim in.

heading back to the air strip in Alpine

...and we're still alive...