RV7 Flight to St. Maries, Id and the St. Joe River ... Flooded

The temperature got up to a balmy 43 degrees yesterday. The sun came out and the winds were calm, so Mike and I took a late afternoon flight. It was the first time I'd been in the RV7 since our trip over Palouse Falls last December, when the temperature was only 7 degrees. 

It was also the first time I'd been at the airport, where we keep the RV7. The ole' airport was, comparatively speaking for its size, a happening place. Must've counted close to a dozen people there!  

You can always tell the first signs of spring ... the ag pilots start coming out in full force. The one below is on a mission to apply dry fertilizer to someone's field. We sneaked past him.

Once we were in the air, we spotted another airplane, a RV6 and our friend Steve. He decided to tag along with us. I didn't get any pictures of him, as he decided to fly 1000 feet above us, for safety sake. It's pretty unnerving when two planes fly close together. Things happen really fast. So I was glad we had the 1000 foot separation.  

Here's our first view of the river that always floods in the spring. Mike's sister and her husband's lot where they camp out every weekend (when possible) was completely under water. 

We were flying during the golden hour, however things don't look particularly gold, regardless, this time of year. 

A snow-capped peak. 

More of the same. 

Now we've turned around and are heading west, into the soon-to-be-setting sun. Lots of flooding. 

This part of the river flows north and into Lake Coeur d'Alene. Notice the bridge across the river. Another picture, below. 

You can ride your bike across the bridge. A bike trail goes up and down both sides of the river for miles and miles, created out of an old railroad right-of-way. It's beautifully scenic. 

We got home, and an ag pilot followed us in. Mike was proud that he had made a perfect, three-point, full-stall landing, which enabled him to turn off at the halfway point on the runway. 

This was desirable so as not to have to roll down to the other end, where all the ag plane activity was going on. 

To me, the landing seemed like most all of his others--he "greased it on," as the saying goes.