Buzzing a cruise ship on my way to Williamson Rocks

OMG how drunk were they when they made these lines

Looking up the Columbia River where the Wenatchee meets it, the way I came on my previous flight

Keeping an eye out for traffic from Pangborn's runway while also admiring the cliffs of the plateau

Up amongst the clouds at 4,500' but they are scattered enough that I can dodge around them as I continue to follow the Columbia River south

Just a few short miles later I am surrounded by green fields as I approach the town of Ellensburg. Human agriculture is quite a wonder

Appreciating some well-tended fields

Headed back into the frost as I follow the highway and power cables into the Cascades

Mt Stuart and Dragontail Peak

Turn turn turn turn turnturnturnturnturnturntu

Continuing to follow I-90 as it wends towards Issaquah

Sticking to the east of Lake Sammamish and following it north while below 5,000' to stay out of the Seattle Bravo airspace. Coming over Redmond. I only thought now to wonder where the Microsoft campus was. Turns out I didn't fly over it

Checking out Seattle, won't be getting closer on this flight

Across the Sound and coming over Bainbridge Island

You're not *supposed* to use the propeller to back up but it looks clean out there and my inertial separator is on

Long Key

Coming over the Cape Florida lighthouse on Key Biscayne

Sun and Moon again, looking across Long Island Sound

It was a relatively long runway so dive bombed the approach

Passing by the Fermi II nuclear power facility. Andrew descended faster and sped up ahead of me for a short time

Clear of the low Detroit Bravo airspace floor, we begin to climb to our new cruising altitude of 4,500' as the skies open up above

On the slope, fighting to stay lined up with a cross-wind coming out of the south east

Looking back across the bay to spy Cape May

Here the sun is breaking through a bit better. Wowza

Eventually Andrew just couldn't see me in his sim anymore and just took off on his own, the faster C172 slowly leaving me behind

Taxiing out

Looking back at a line of more organized storms

Diving down past the capitol city of Nouméa The airport is at the bay behind my tail

Approaching Snæfellsjökull over a volcanic field

Snow capped mountains on the horizon, not just clouds

Skimming through the valley and already a low fuel warning for my right tank. But the airport is close...

... but I'm thinking there's also spots on the main tarmac

The Grand Canyon from over Grandview Point

Had plenty of distance to get setup for a good approach though despite still being horrible at rolling out for a straight final

Starting my bridge run

Storms continued all night into the dawn. Definitely made an otherwise boring flight more eventful

Climbing past Turtleback Mountain on the west side of Orcas Island

We are through the gap and still close enough to being on course but now the horizon is filled with overcast and possibly rain. A trough in the clouds however makes us decide to attempt to climb over them

Fixed gear FTW

Climbing up and away from the Gambier Islands

Using these lookout points along the Bunda Cliffs to help mark my passage

Cruising up through the clouds towards FL120

Further north now near Point Pleasant and the NY/NJ metropolitan area starts to light up the sky

OMG a cloud!! Some bug in the live weather was preventing any clouds from showing up anywhere which is why this whole flight was CAVU

Grand Turk and its neighboring islands visible in the sun glint? Nope that is not land those are cloud shadows!

Melt water headed into the Greenland sea past the Mánárbakki Museum

Keeping track of the valleys. Nope, don't want to head down that one...

Downtown Perth

Leeetle windy out, trying not to let the plane flip as I slip

Made it to Lake Towada, largest crater lake in Honshu, before hitting the cloud wall so good, because from here I head south not east towards it