Surprise Encounter

[tracker]

You're right; I landed one night in the Sea of Japan
and the wind was blowing so hard the ship had to
back down to recover us. The visual picture looked
the same airborne, though, except for the rough seas
and pitching and rolling deck.

[Richard S]

Dave:

Those are great photographs -- especially the one of the grizzly mother and her cub!  Not many people get to see such a thing up close and personal and then live to tell about it . . . much less be able to photograph it for posterity. Thanks for sharing.  

[Michigunner]

In northern Michigan, my neighbors down the trail can not put out bird feeders, because the black bears knock down the posts and destroy everything.

I've been wanting to put out a bowl of honey, but  it would cause a major squabble among the humans, who have varying opinions about the bear "problem".

The idea is to see one once, take a picture, and be done with it.  Unfortunately, it would become an ongoing problem.

[Michigunner]

Tom, I always watch those aviation shows on Discovery.  I've been tempted to get the Speed Channel, but when I checked they were not showing too much airplane stuff.

tracker, the carrier programs are always fun to watch.  It takes quite a guy to fly onto a carrier.

Before leaving for USAF pilot training, one of the ANG pilots gave me a demo ride in an F-89, a Northrop All-Weather Interceptor.  Some guy had used my oxygen mask the previous day and got Sick.  It was perfectly cleaned out, but the odor was not much fun.

My wife and I went to Maine, twice, and took the schooner trips off the coast for a week.

I don't mind doing aerobatics in an airplane, but tend to get sick on a boat going up and down.

It's a most terrible kind of "sick".  One of the crew members said the only cure was to "sit under an oak tree".

Bill

[MountainMan]

Last Two Pics - I promise!!
I really look up to you jet jockeys - and especially those with the skill for a carrier landing.  I stayed at the Naval Academy for a week in the past and those young men and women really impressed me.

Since Tracker brought up interesting landings...
Before leaving Alaska on the same trip my wife wanted to land on a glacier.  That is my lovely wife.  She was with me on most of the journey.  We went with our friends and sometime the women did their own thing - but they did go to Trapper Jack's place - real troopers.  The pilot is a retired California State Trooper.  Flew planes there and moved to Alaska after retirement to do the same.

[Michigunner]

Dave, outstanding stuff!

I hope you keep posting pictures.  Wow!

It's fun to hear details about your exciting trip.

Good job.

Bill

[MountainMan]

Glad you enjoyed them Bill, but I think I've taken up too much space with them.  I did see many more bears than I posted but the rest were 50 yards away or more.  Always wanted to visit the "backroads of Alaska" and not the usual tourist areas.  Maybe because my favorite movie is Jeremiah Johnson - as why I chose the MountainMan ID.  Take care.

[tracker]

Isn't it amazing what one little gun can stimulate
people to bring to the party. We are very diverse
but with some compatibilites that glue it together.

Kudos, Dave.

[Michigunner]

I've thought the same thing, tracker, about the nice people who congregate here.

In spite of this being the internet, requiring some degree of caution, I consider all here to be a heck of a bunch of guys and gals, all interesting people of good will.

I hope  no one will be shy about posting their stories and thoughts.

Bill

[R9SCarry]

Dave - great to see you post those pics (at last - sigh!!)  hey just kiddin!

That was an amazing trip - and glad the others here - our mutual friends - could enjoy seeing those.

Nice job.

[Calvin Cooledge]

As a former Printing Broker, I pushed the envelope every day;^)

Just when you think you know a guy (Mountain Man, in our case) he
ups and goes off to "One Up" ol' Calvin Cooledge. NOW I have to go do
something better. Perhaps stalking the Rogue Yam in exotic Hawaii...

Dave, you are  an amazing man in a regular guy suit...

Steve
"Just a man in a Happy Clam Suit"

Dave,

I think a lot of
us like the rush and excitement from pushing the
envelope.

[Richard S]

I landed one night in the Sea of Japan and the wind was blowing so hard the ship had to back down to recover us. The visual picture looked the same airborne, though, except for the rough seas and pitching and rolling deck.

Tracker:

You Navy carrier pilots have my total respect and admiration.  As one whose piloting experience has been limited to recreational flying of single-engine propeller-driven aircraft, I've always been thankful to set the wheels down on a stationary runway without bending any parts.  The mere thought of landing a jet on the pitching and rolling deck of an aircraft carrier at night "pulls my pucker string real tight."

[R9SCarry]

[size=13] "pulls my pucker string real tight."[/size]

Richard - I am impressed with that very polite euphemism

[MountainMan]

http:// Steve
"Just a man in a Happy Clam Suit"

Calvin (Steve),
When I first met you those many years ago in the middle of the Blade Show in Atlanta with a sign aroung your neck reading, "Will watch your table for food" I knew there was a man who knew how to enjoy life -- I still think that way.

The Alaska trip was really not hard - nothing compared to the white water canoe trips I have done in Northern Canada.  I was just in the right/wrong place at the right/wrong time in Alaska.

Who I really look up to is our mutual friend in Pittsbugh who has faced many roadblocks in life and gets up to face each new day.

Tracker - bet you miss those wild days in the sky.  I would love once to land and take off from a carrier.  The Navy flew me in the submarine hunter (I think it is the P3) years ago - the one with the famous $600 toliet seat.  Not as exciting.

Thanks again for your picture help Chris.

[tracker]

Richard, Dave, and all--sorry, I didn't mean to distract
from Dave's extraordinary experience and thanks for the
kind remarks and here are a few thoughts on your comments:
1. When one joins up for that he has no idea what it is all
about.
2. The Navy has the best training in the world.
3. The first carrier landings are scary.
4. If the LSO's don't think you are ready, you stay home.
5. After 100 or so you get very excited about doing it
again and again because your skill level approaches the
excitement level.
6. Each one is different and never boring.
7. If you're lucky and good you live to talk about it.