My helicopter, at the orchard.
Yesterday, after doing some cleanup in my camper, which is now parked at the orchard near my helicopter, I took a drive up the hillside behind the orchard. The road winds up and around, though thousands of acres of fruit trees. When I reached the tall antenna with its scary guy-wires, I spotted a trail from the main road. I parked the truck, grabbed my camera, and went for a tiny hike.
The goal was to shoot the orchard from the hillside behind it. I found a perfect spot and took this photo.
In the foreground, you can see the orchard’s upper reservoir. Farther down, beyond many cherry trees, is a smaller, algae-covered pond. There’s a parking area on the close side and you can see my trailer parked there. On the far side is a tiny, bright red speck. That’s my helicopter.
To be fair, my helicopter’s cockpit cover is on it, so it’s not fully exposed. I assume it would be a lot easier to see with the cover off. Before I relocate, I’ll pull the cover off, drive back up to this spot, and get a shot. Hopefully, it’ll be a crisper day and I’ll get up there while the light is still good.
In the close-up, you can see the taco truck that arrived not long after I left the orchard. The folks quit working at 10 AM (they start at 5 AM) because of excessive heat. It got up to 107°F in Wenatchee yesterday; I assume it got up to at least 100°F at the orchard some 1500 feet higher in elevation. The guys — mostly Mexican farm workers — were quitting for the day. The grower offers them soda pop and beer at day’s end; I assume they get lunch from the truck.
The helicopter is parked at the edge of the pond with one skid on the gently sloping embankment. A nice easy slope landing site. (And no, it won’t fall into the pond.) There’s a road between it and the shelter (dark reddish). They use the area for staging the cherries — loading them on a flatbed truck for transport up to the chillers and refrigerator truck in the main packing area. I’ll probably get some video footage of the operation later in the week for anyone who is interested. It’s amazing how much work goes into bringing cherries to market. Hard to imagine how anyone can make a profit with prices this year as low as $1/pound.
This is Greg, a fellow helicopter pilot. He’s posing 
This is one of the windmills at the huge Wild Horse Wind Farm between Ellensburg and Vantage on the Vantage Highway in Washington State. It huge. There’s a visitor’s center up there that I really recommend for family outings. It’s also nice and cool up there.
On the way back to where I was staying in Quincy, WA, I stopped off in Vantage at Blustery’s for a “Logger Burger.” You’re looking at a hamburger with bacon, cheese, ham, and fried egg. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner on one big bun!
If you’re looking for seafod, you’ve come to the right place: Inna’s in Wenatchee, WA. (Personally, I prefer seafood.)
I did, however, treat myself to a hot fudge sundae at the Owl Soda Fountain across the street. They claim it’s an authentic soda fountain, but I think it looks too new and shiny. It certainly has that feel about it.
Mike came out for a visit at the end of June and we flew Zero-Mike-Lima (far right) up to Chelan. We parked in the “heli base” between the hangars there, with two other red R44s. The one in the middle belongs to my friend, Jim, who has 
I also sent this one to TwitPic. I thought the sign was funny. When I sent it to TwitPic, someone commented on it, thinking my helicopter was the only one there. It was actually one of four, but happened to be the one parked behind the sign.
I had my birthday lunch at the Applewood Grill in Wenatchee, WA. It’s in a wonderful old stone building near the railroad tracks. I’m sure it’s got all kinds of historic significance that I failed to look into while there. We sat outside on the patio in the shade. It was a nice day. The food wasn’t bad, either.
Later, we went RV shopping in Wenatchee. We walked into one RV after another, going up in size and luxury with each step. This is the kind of 5th wheel model we’re considering as a trade-in for our sad little camper. This one was 32-feet long, had Corian countertops in the full kitchen, two La-Z-Boy recliners, a sofa bed, a table with four chairs, desk, a flat screen television, and king-sized bed, and a full bathroom. I could live in something like this.
I shot this one in a Wal-Mart parking lot mostly for the amusement of my skeptic friends. You either get it or you don’t. I’m not explaining the joke.
I stopped by one of the orchards I’m providing drying services for at about 2:30 PM this afternoon. A refrigerated tractor-trailer truck full of cherries was just pulling out. The grower was there, and he looked very cheerful. He told me I was too late; they start picking at 4:30 AM and finish for the day by 1:30 PM.
He and his pickers had begun picking on Thursday. He’s got 30 acres of mostly mature cherry trees and expects to be done picking on Monday. That’s when my contract with him ends.