Today is Scott’s sixty second birthday. I often think about all of the life he is missing. Of course, it makes me sad for him to be missing out. It also gives me (even more) reason to live a full life. I’m trying to honor him by living out what I know would be his wish for me: keep living a life full of love, adventure and meaning.

I am certainly trying! Since off the river, I have had so much to do! First, 243CM moved (again) to it’s final assembly location. Things are moving forward at bread neck speed! I wish I had found Ephraim a year ago…..and wow, better late than never.

Yesterday, I went to the hangar and installed the VG’s on my wings. While I was working away on the front, Ephraim was inventing a new tailwheel system. He is amazing! The tailwheel has been an area of concern for me and I have been wanting to beef up what originally existed. Voila! Ephraim saw what was there and immediately went to work designing something better, beefier and more solid! It’s a T3 combined with a Scott wheel. We are thinking about asking Tony (TK1 racing) to design a shock to replace the springs, but that can come later. The springs will work great! I love it!

The weather was fabulous on Friday and Saturday. Gerrick and Michael Lee invited me to go backcounrty skiing with them. Our objectives were Ruby Mt (Friday) and Washington Pass Birthday tour (Sat). We were not the only people with the idea to head to Washington Pass. There were lots of people, and we had lots of fun. Ruby was a bit longer than we were able to get done Friday, but Saturday Gerrick and I knocked out the birthday tour. The snow was classic NW mashed potatoes, but the journey was joyful. Gerrick learned a ton and did a great job.

What a week! The plane is moving forward, ski turns before the snow is gone, and taking a moment to celebrate Scott’s birthday keeps my heart full. Life is anything but boring. Scott must be smiling, just what he would love for his birthday.

The Grand Canyon was amazing! Some highlights were: hiking the many trails and canyons, spending time with an amazing team, and rowing Lava!

I am ever so grateful to Lynn for putting this trip together, to Mike for acting as our de-facto leader, and to Lisa for being my river sister.

Being away from all electronics for three full weeks was such a treat. Something I want to repeat often. Mostly, I cannot wait to go back to the Grand Canyon, assigned to my own boat, so I can row all of the rapids. Whoot!!

I’m sitting in the car waiting for my rider and rower to arrive. Eric is our Grand Canyon trip leader now that Lynn cannot go. She fell skiing and broke her hip. Ugh.

Eric and I will share a boat. I hope to row more on this trip than i did the last time down. Time to put on my big girl pants. 😎

The day started well, with a run along the Columbia River. Great rivers…..a nice thought to ponder.

We are flying out of Spokane. That way, i return just in time to meet Ephraim and move N243CM to Arlington.

Eric has arrived! We’re off.

Things get worse, and then, they get better. I stayed overnight in Seattle and had a backpack full of my favorite clothes and jewelry stolen. Ugh. Meaningless to the person(s) who stole, and quite meaningful to me. Another painful lesson. One we all know, yet sometimes forget.

Attending Taylor and Allyssa’s wedding was a joy. Hanging out with Dru and Wendy (parents of Taylor), a gift.

Now I’m staying at my Dads place, getting ready to head down the Grand Canyon for three weeks.

While here, I’ve been able to sneak in a mountain bike ride

And an amazing day of skiing…..in a cape, just for giggles.

I’m off to the river Friday and will be out of communication for 21 days. Can’t wait.

Trying to absorb and learn from everything that has happened in the past week is beyond painful. Writing this post hurts too, and my hope is that it helps me sort through the mess.

I found out that Ray is a criminal He milked me for money, then held my plane hostage until I paid. I had a verbal estimate only – (I know, how stupid am I)? He did everything he could to add, add, and add to that estimate – and then when I said I had lost trust in him, and that I was taking the plane, he really upped the charges. I could pay or sue him. I decided that getting a lawyer would cost more, so I paid up, got my stuff and now I’m trying to find a way to move forward.

My life has been so privledged. I have been married for most of my adult life. Never did I fully appreciate all the perks of being a married woman. Married women hold a very different status than widows. Until now, I did not know this. Until now, I didn’t really understand.

What I DO know now is that I am a big, fat, target. There are people who prey on situations like mine: single, some money in the bank, and trusting. Throw in an airplane with an emotional attachment and Ka-Ching$!

Trusting people is my first instinct. They seem nice, legitimate, and I proceed. I live up to my end of the deal, and they are just finding a way to get my money into their bank account. I trust = I’m screwed, I’m out the money, and I need to move on. Bruised, battered and belittled.

Yes, it hurts bad. The feeling of being stupid is not one that I am very familiar. I don’t want to become familiar with this place – I refuse! Learning from this and never leaving myself open for it to happen again is what I can do to restore my self-trust. I’m not going to dwell in a pity party. I’m going to move forward stronger, resiliant and wise.

I think of how Scott would respond to this situation. He would be mighty disappointed in me. It would hurt him to see me hurt. He did, many times say, “….and I love you anyway” – which he would now too. Knowing this will help me put the pain behind me. Love wins.

I woke up this morning in an adorable yurt near Sandpoint Idaho. After a press of coffee, it was still too early for skiing to be good, so I went for a run through the neighborhood. The growth in Sandpoint is stunning,

After my run, I packed up and headed to Schweitzer. The sun was beaming. Schweitzer is a huge area! I always confuse it with Whitefish, and just didn’t remember it so large. I skied until the snow was slushy and then headed back toward Chewelah.

The drive was lovely, mainly following Priest River. I had not driven this route before, which made it doubly fun.

The drive took me over a pass on Chewelah Mtn, which is the home of 49 degrees North. I couldn’t help but stop for a quick skin to the top and ski down.

It was the best run of the day! Nicely rounding out my Triple Play Day.

I am extraordinarilty fortunate to a friend like James Bush. He is one in a million. When I need someone to talk to, he is always there. When I need someone to fly me to Reno, he’s game. When I need someone to help me program my new instrument, he is eager.

Yesterday, as I was leaving Seattle to head back to 243CM, I pinged James and asked if he could help me program my new AV-30. They have had a recent software update, and since the instrument is not yet installed, I thought it would be easy to update it while I was in town. Nothing is ever easy……..

I first stopped by a retail store to find “jumper wires”……no luck. I then had to swing by my neighbor’s (Glen’s) house to pick up my mail (one of the plugs I needed for the programming update were in my mail). While there, I asked if he had some jumper wires I could borrow – voila! Yes, he had some! Glen needs his own post. More on that later, but here’s a great photo of Glen!

James met me at the airport with his windows laptop and we set upon the project. Stan (SW tiedowns’ resident mechanic) stopped by with some very helpful plugs and knowledge. Soon-ish, we had power on the AV-30 and it sprang to life. On the first screen we learned that the device already had the most current software and all of this was unnecessary. James just laughed.

James is one amazing person. We met flying to Burningman in 2013. He parked his plane near us at the aiport in Seattle, but we didn’t meet until we were both in Kelso, WA, weathered out on our way south. Scott was a bit snarky to James at first, but warmed up as soon as he learned James was also going to the Playa. We have been great friends since.

I am so, so grateful to know James and to have him in my life. Everyone needs a friend like him. He’s a gem whom I treasure.

When I walked into the hanger this morning there was Charlie Mike standing on new landing gear. I immediately dissolved into tears.

What a milestone in this long, painful, circuitous journey. They were tears of joy.

Alas, there are some setbacks with the axels. I guess that’s the process of a prototype. Tony has been great and I know he will get this fixed just to soon as possible.

Those weren’t the first tears I have spilled over this project, and they will not be the last. If I get to choose, I’ll take the joyful version every time.

We are nearing the finish line! When I say we, I mean 243CM, me, Josh and Ray. My airplane is mainly getting hands-on attention from Josh. He’s a 24 year old A/P mechanic student in Spokane, who holds a PPL and commercial pilot’s license and is a very impressive young man. He goes to school Mon-Thursday and then works for Ray Fri – Sun. Along with that, he has time to ski and do other fun activities. Another fun fact about Josh is that he went to the High School at Boeing Field.

He has done a great job working on Charlie Mike. Today he is replacing the landing gear for the second time. We were ready for final assembly (of the landing gear) when we realized the gear was bent and would not line up. Tony, from TK1 racing, was kind enough to overnight us a new set. This should be the last time the landing gear need to go on and off. Once the gear is on, we add new axels the big tires and then roll the plane outside and put the wings on.

While Josh has been working away, I have been doing a couple of projects too. Yesterday, I installed VG’s to the horizontal stabilizer. They also go on the wing, but I think I’ll wait until the wings are on to install those just to eliminate the risk of damage.

The oil is now changed, the avionics person has begun work, and next we install the prop, and fire CM up! My tentative (hopeful) departure date is April 14. Keep your fingers crossed.

I left Missoula this morning for the last leg of this journey. Thanks to David and Leea for letting me stay. It was a treat to meet Leea for the first time. We stayed up way past our bedtime chatting about life.

Mid way back, I stopped at Lake Coeur d’Alene for a run. Spring is in the air and I’m ready.

The plane made huge progress, the trailer is in ship shape, the snow has melted off the ground, and I’m ready to re-set me focus on being a pilot and flying!