Months ago while planning our trip to Washington, I contacted my friend, Todd, to arrange a visit. He suggested that we could fly over to Eastern Washington for the annual Desert Aire Fly-in. That sounded good to me, so we put it on the calendar.
Here it is several months later and the day has finally arrived. We got an early start and arrived at Renton Airport (KRNT) earlier than I've ever managed before. Todd prepared for the flight while I enjoyed the beautiful, cool morning sunshine.
The flight across the Cascade Mountains was beautiful. I could see peaks including Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Hood to the south. Our route took us along interstate 90, past the towns of Cle Elum and Ellensburg. We turned south as we approached the Columbia River and landed at Desert Aire Airport. According to Wikipedia:
The area is sometimes referred to as 'The Palm Springs of Washington', a moniker also proclaimed by a billboard at the entrance to the community.
Desert Aire has some of the hottest temperatures in Washington during the summer and is one of the driest places in the state, being located in the rain shadow of the Cascades.
Average temperatures in July are a maximum of 91 and a minimum of 64. In January, the average maximum is 40 and the minimum is 26. Rainfall averages only 7 inches (180 mm) per year and the average snowfall is 6 inches (150 mm).
Desert Aire hosts a Pancake Breakfast at the airport every year near Father's Day. The price was right and I was completely satisfied with my meal. I did feel bad for the gentleman manning the pancake station. He flopped two pancakes onto the floor during the time I was working my my past. Too bad there wasn't a hungry dog in the area.
After eating, we were shuttled back to the plane and headed back to Renton. Along the way, we passed Suncadia Resort. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Suncadia:
The resort is a joint undertaking between Jeld-Wen and managing partner Lowe Enterprises. When completed, the $1 billion project will feature a mountain lodge with convention center facilities, village center with restaurants and shops, a mountain springs themed spa, a sports center with indoor and outdoor swimming pools, an outdoor venue amphitheater/lake with winter ice skating, trails and recreational areas, 2,000 residential units, and three golf courses. Two of the golf courses have been completed as of 2006.
Thank you Todd for sharing this fantastic flight with me. I owe you one.
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