On the road to Oshkosh-added Glacier National Park pics.

Great photos, as usual.

Did you get the deer butchered out, Mark, so you can pick up the meat on the way home? Hmmm, venison.

Have a safe trip Mark, and keep a lookout for those deer too !
Sorry about what happened to your car, but that could have been
worse, and at least he didn't come through your windshield like you
said ! Holy COW !

Your pictures are GREAT so far ! The rivers, and mountains are
TOO beautiful imho !!! The one with the bridge over the canyon is
so good, it literally feels like 3D or something ! Can really feel the
height, along with scope of it all there. It is stunning to see this
scenery ! Must be fun to drive through too !!! Be careful, and I hope
you enjoy Airventure 2010. Which by the way..sounds TERRIFIC !!!!

porschefan wrote:

Great photos, as usual.

Did you get the deer butchered out, Mark, so you can pick up the meat on the way home? Hmmm, venison.

I wish- I like venison, but there's this thing about being out of season, let alone no Montana tag. Authorities frown on that kind of thing. Its usually wet and cold during the actual season, so I don't even hunt anymore. I tried to swerve and locked the brakes up but we both juked each other out. You can see in the pics where the front shoulder and the hind quarters pretty much hit dead center on the hood. After I hit the deer I was kind of upset and mad and thinking what the hell, I dare any of you to step out on the road. But then I saw an elk cow beside the road and decided I did'nt want to play that game anymore. I'll try to avoid the critters from here on out Tom.

merichar wrote:

porschefan wrote:

Great photos, as usual.

Did you get the deer butchered out, Mark, so you can pick up the meat on the way home? Hmmm, venison.

I wish- I like venison, but there's this thing about being out of season, let alone no Montana tag. Authorities frown on that kind of thing. Its usually wet and cold during the actual season, so I don't even hunt anymore. I tried to swerve and locked the brakes up but we both juked each other out. You can see in the pics where the front shoulder and the hind quarters pretty much hit dead center on the hood. After I hit the deer I was kind of upset and mad and thinking what the hell, I dare any of you to step out on the road. But then I saw an elk cow beside the road and decided I did'nt want to play that game anymore. I'll try to avoid the critters from here on out Tom.

Yeah, I noticed the dents in the hood are spot on. Since the deer committed suicide, I thought maybe that whole "season" and "tag" thing would go out the window.
Best part of the whole event is you're safe.

Very nice pics!
The scenery may be nothing out of the ordinary for you guys in the states, but I find it fascinating!
Sorry to hear about the deer, think I would`ve shit myself if I was the one behind the wheel. I would DEFINITELY shit myself if I was the one caught in the headlights....

Very cool pics...

...really like the one of the bridge!

cool photos Mark. great time of the year for a road trip, have a good time at the show

Awesome pics Mark, hope we get to see some cool aircraft pictures! Stay safe and have a great time!

WOW Mark! On center with the dear. Sorry for the incident. Like your pics. Wishing you a great trip and a fun time in Wisconsin!

Hey Mark,
Too bad on the deer hit. Thankfully it's a no fault accident. We seem to average a couple a year as the only thing outnumbering the deer here in Wisconsin are the mosquitoes (state bird). Have a safe drive the rest of the way and maybe we'll bump into each other. I'm trying to talk my wife into going this week one day. I think Chicago is playing tomorrow.
BJ

merichar wrote:

porschefan wrote:

Great photos, as usual.

Did you get the deer butchered out, Mark, so you can pick up the meat on the way home? Hmmm, venison.

I wish- I like venison, but there's this thing about being out of season, let alone no Montana tag. Authorities frown on that kind of thing. Its usually wet and cold during the actual season, so I don't even hunt anymore. I tried to swerve and locked the brakes up but we both juked each other out. You can see in the pics where the front shoulder and the hind quarters pretty much hit dead center on the hood. After I hit the deer I was kind of upset and mad and thinking what the hell, I dare any of you to step out on the road. But then I saw an elk cow beside the road and decided I did'nt want to play that game anymore. I'll try to avoid the critters from here on out Tom.

Continued good luck to you Mark !!!..Have fun too !

Well day 3 ends in Tomah, Wisconsin. Did about 800 miles today, only 100 or so to go. Took a few pics but spent the better part of the day dodging wildlife and other drivers. Brian-if you go to the airshow let me know and I will PM my cell number if you're interested in meeting up there.

This is an oil drilling rig near Stanley, ND. I worked in the oilfields there for a year or so right out of high school. The economy was really shitty and I could'nt stay gainfully employed there. If I had stayed there then who knows how things would have turned out. Things like that make you wonder.



All I can say is God Bless America-it's not the autobahn, but it beats the hell out of 55. Somewhere in Eastern North Dakota.



I know what you're thinking-this is a watch forum so how about a wrist shot.

That is some kind of drive Mark ! Only 100 miles to go, and
that must sound like a piece of cake after all the driving you
have already done..The oil drilling rig looks cool, and it looks
like a beautiful day for a drive out there !..You even got an
AWESOME looking Ocean 7 shot in for good measure !
..NICE pics once again !!! Thanks ALOT !

Finally made it to NW Milwaukee from where I will drive about 80 miles to the airshow everyday. Can't get a hotel room too close to Oshkosh unless you book waaaaaay in advance. In 2008, I stayed in Green Bay to the north-trying the southern approach this year.

Here's a shot of Lake Michigan from a viewpoint off Lake Drive. The beach is closed and roped off but don't know why.



These are some real nice homes along Lake Drive. I guess they were included in the flooding a few days ago. The curbs are lined with stuff people have taken out of their basements probably. There are many dump and garbage trucks just picking stuff up curbside.

I'll bet the beach/lake is closed in that area due to pollution from the run-off during the heavy rains. That's what happens to the beaches in SoCal ever winter.

Here are a few pictures from the Air Show today. The thene is "Salute to Veterans" so it was pretty much exclusively old warbirds flying today. Maybe someday, I'll buy a real camera so I can pictures of far away and fast moving objects.

These are three of the dozen or so P51's on hand this week.



The business end of the B25 bomber Pacific Prowler.



A C47 (DC3 airframe) comes in for landing.



T28 Formation flight break maneuver.



And oh yeah-Hamilton and Breitling have booths here this week. I saw the new coin edged Hamilton retro piece that was posted here the other day. I'm dissapointed to report that I did'nt really care for the new Superocean-looked smallish and cheesy in person. They also had my fave SOH Heritage 46-but I wonder if that's a little large?

P-51, one of the best looking and sounding prop planes ever built. Looks like fun, Mark.

Woohoo Mark ! ..Talk about a FUN time !!! WOW !
Those airplanes are honestly just AMAZING !!!!
The P51's have a mean attitude ! Almost kind of like
a flying hot rod ! AWESOME !!!..The B25 looks ominous,
and is VERY impressive imho. Must have been something
seeing all of these, and seeing them fly like the C47, and
T28's there must have been spectacular !..What a nice
salute to veterans, as well as cool show ! Your pictures
are RIDICULOUSLY GOOD by the way !!!..THANKS !

Hey, seeing those watch booths at the show must have
been the icing on the cake too ! It's almost TOO MUCH
FUN !!!

cool pics Mark! looks like your having a great time with planes and watches to look at.

porschefan wrote:

P-51, one of the best looking and sounding prop planes ever built. Looks like fun, Mark.

Yes, thats the Merlin music. I know you're a car guy, you may not know that the Rolls Royce Merlin engines were actually licensed to and made by Packard during the war years. Seems the Brits were too busy building engines for their own planes.

Did not know that. Cool info, Mark. I also love old planes. When I was a kid, we lived very close to El Toro. Loved all the air shows, especially the old ones. Every time I hear something old sounding here, I go outside to see what it is.

A few more pictures form the air show today.

An Erickson Sky Crane manufactured by Erickson in Central Point, Oregon. The Sky Crane is primarily used for heavy lifting and logging. Here it shows its airborne fire fighting capability.



Four L39 Albatrosses, (Soviet bloc jet trainers) in formation.



The Commemorative Air Force (formerly Confederate AF) B17 Texas Raiders.



The UAV Global Hawk, I could'nt believe how huge this thing is in person.



The Goodyear blimp coming in for a landing.



This is the same model aircraft Jack Roush crash landed here Tuesday. Beechcraft Premier.

This is the only way I've actually have seen it used, in person. Quite an aircraft.

This is evidently some kind of show Mark !
Some unbelievably neat things going on there ! Those
Sky Cranes are remarkeable, and are some terrific examples
of engineering imho. The planes called Albatrosses look like
they are about 10 feet from eachother ! Amazing stuff !!!
While the B17 Texas Raiders are SO classic ! Almost a mix
of vintage, and sci-fi happening with those turrets, along
with SUPER cool paintings ! ..You are right with the size
of that Global Hawk by the way. The wingspan is something
to behold on that as well. Kind of reminds me of a large
Predator Drone or something !..Nice to see the Goodyear
Blimp there too ! That Jet is awesome at the bottom, but
I didn't know about Jack Roush's accident until just now.
I hope he will be alright !

Thanks for ALL of this info, along with pics sir !

Thanks for sharing those great pics Mark. I was unable to get away as I'm just too busy. It is ashamed that I cant get over there for a day as it is only 2 hrs form me, but maybe next year.
BJ

A deer?! Krikey...

Thanks for sharing the pics. SWEET!!

used to see a Sky Crane sitting here at Evergreen usually with a large container under it.

porschefan wrote:

I'll bet the beach/lake is closed in that area due to pollution from the run-off during the heavy rains.

Yup that is exactly why they were closed. That was after we had the huge flooding that previous Thursday with 7.5" of rain in two hours

The beach is not closed form "runoff".

Because of Milwaukee's antiquated sewage system, any considerable amount of rain forces them to dump raw and untreated sewage into Lake Michigan to prevent sewers from backing up into basements. Many homes were flooded anyway.

Read here from 2004 and see the picture:
http://www.zmetro.com/archives/000369.html

This year, they have dumped on 4 separate occasions. IIRC, over 600 miilion gallons of crap has been dumped this year due to rains overtaking the $2.8 BILLION deep tunnel sewage system. In 2002 they dumped over 500 million gallons into the lake.

The sewerage district dumped an unprecedented 4.6 billion gallons of raw sewage this month - exceeding any annual dumping tally since the deep tunnel system opened in late 1993.

To visualize how much sewage was dumped by the district, consider these calculations: The 4.6 billion gallons would fill Miller Park 15 times over, from its base to its retractable roof. The sewage spill would also fill the U.S. Bank office tower on the lakefront 41 times.


It's a quiet little secret that that the feds have looked the other way on. Could it be because Milw is ademocratic city???

And I thought those were Brown Trout swimming around in Lake Michigan!

Cool pictures Mark , if you like aircraft this is the place to be. We were in Milwaukee on the 15th-19th , it rained before and just after we left there. Can't wait to see the rest of your pictures. There is a Air show up here at the old Pease Air Force Base where I was stationed at the end of August, its been a few years since they had one. We will be going.

I finally made it home last night, 11 days and 5234 miles later. Glad to report I did'nt hit any deer on the way home. Was able to stop and see some friends in Montana on the way back, visit the CM Russell Museum and make a loop through Glacier National Park. The weather at Glacier was a little cloudy and some of the peaks were obscured but still a scenic drive.

Now you're talking, Russell and Montana.
Nice shots, Mark.

What a long trip Mark !..Sounds, AND looks like it was ALL
worth it though ! You got to see some amazing aircraft,
landscapes, and I'm sure talk with alot of cool people !!!
These pictures here are REALLY beautiful !..Can't believe
how astonishingly nice it is there with all of those mountains,
and rivers. The one with the stream flowing all the way down
the mountain like a small waterfall is phenomenal. Also like
the tunnel going through the mountain ! They are ALL stunning
to be honest !..Thanks again !!!