Saturday, October 26, 2013 (Olde Stone Village RV Park, McMinnville, OR)

It was a cloudy cool morning when we headed over to the Evergreen IMAX Theatre for the 10:00 movie...Fighter Pilot, Operation Red Flag.  The temperatures have certainly cooled down from the 22.8C/73F that we enjoyed the first afternoon we were here. Today, the high is 59F/15C.

We were the first ones to enter the theatre so had our choice of seats.  More people arrived shortly after...in total about a dozen people were there to watch the movie.  It was excellent...here is the description...
"At Red Flag, the international training exercise for the air forces of allied countries, hundreds of pilots meet for the most challenging flying of their careers. The object is to make the exercises as real and challenging as possible — to take the pilots, ground crews, mechanics and rescue personnel to the limits of what they can handle. The film follows Captain John “Otter” Stratton as he makes his way through this extraordinary event held in the desert of Nevada. As he participates in the exercise, he realizes that being a hero is not quite as simple as he once believed. He notices team members who work all night rebuilding engines and re-installing them into his aircraft so he can keep flying and training. There are people who rise at 4:30 a.m. each day to scour the runways for tiny pebbles that can get sucked into engines and kill pilots. There are people who practice rushing into a flaming mockup of a crashed aircraft, so if there is a real accident, they will be ready to save the pilot. In the flying exercises, John realizes there are other pilots who aren’t just out to prove themselves — they are helping him — watching his back, taking personal risks to cover his mistakes. And he is doing the same for them."

After the movie, we walked over to the Aviation Museum to pick up the picture of us that was taken in the Spruce Goose cockpit...we had totally forgotten about it yesterday! 

The rest of the day was spent inside in front of the fireplace.  I finished my draft of yesterday's blog and then passed it over to Steve to elaborate more on all of the different aircraft we saw at the museums.

I did get back outside briefly...to walk up to mailbox area to mail a sympathy card to a friend in our ATV club.  We rode many times with Bill and Jean Cozens. Just as we were getting ready to leave Canada, we received news that Jean had pancreatic cancer and was in palliative care...only days later, we received news of her passing.  She had such a zest for life and was so active, loving outdoor activities...she will be dearly missed. Unfortunately we will not be able to attend the Celebration of Jean's Life being held next Saturday at Lake Cowichan, BC...our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, Bill.

Another affirmation of our decision to follow our dreams and embark on our current lifestyle.