Pics from this week

We’re enjoying the Fall color views from our breakfast table, and on our outings in the Littleton area. Here are some photos from this week. 

Rapids along the South Platte River near the Mineral Avenue overpass, with some nice yellow Cottonwoods

Nice view of Eagle Watch Lake, through a yellow Cottonwood

Nice yellow Cottonwood by the rapids where the rafters and kayakers usually put in, on the South Platte River

Reds and yellows along the South Platte River

Cottonwood trees and clouds, with some pretty yellow in the foreground

South Platte River with pretty yellow in the foreground

Pretty red leaves — my iPhone says this is a Virginia Creeper

Pretty reds — the three-leaf pattern reminds me of the Poison Oak I used to see in California — my iPhone says this is Fragrant Sumac

Raindrops on Blackrock Lake

Cottonwood tree chock full of Blackbirds all enthusiastically singing

House Finche inbound to the bird feeder, with Fall colors in the neighborhood below

My favorite tree for Fall, the Purple Autumn Ash

Kitty Rufus and round squirrel

House Finches, Fall colors, foothills and overcast in background

Blue Jay and Fall colors

Kitty Rufus sprawled out

Blue Jay enjoying the peanuts that we put out for the squirrels

House Finches on our Bird Buddy feeder

Cyclist pausing on the bridge over a creek feeding into the South Platte River

Pretty red Fragrant Sumac along the South Platte River

Fall colors in front of Red Tail lake. My phone says this is a Maple. 

Prickly Pear fruit by the trail

My Simulated Flights in 2025

I've been getting virtually out and about with my PC flight simulators frequently this year, starting with some adventures around Alaska in the Douglas DC-3, and then recreating the “Island Hopper” route in the Boeing 737-800. 

Then I began some serious crisscrossing of the world in the Boeing 787-10. I consolidated some 787 checklists from the web, into a more concise one that enables me to start up the Dreamliner from cold and dark, then get through an entire flight safely, including landing, even in zero-zero conditions if necessary, then taxiing to the gate and shutting down. It’s always fun to hear that characteristic tone, when I turn off the seatbelt sign after cutting fuel to the engines. I imagine half the passengers jumping up, when the seatbelt lights turn off. 

I'm still adhering to my favorite way of doing this -- saving the flight after I land, and then picking up at the same spot on the airport where I left off, to head somewhere new, using the current real-world weather conditions. 

I got overwhelmed with doing my usual verbose descriptions of each flight over on my VirtuallyAloft blog, so I took a break from that, and for the time being, I'm logging my flights in my free account on the my.flightradar24.com website. If you click on that link, you will first see a world map, with all my recent flights overlaid on it. You can use the "Camera Controls" widget in the lower right corner to pan around, and zoom in and out on the map. You can also click here to see a tabular list of my flights.