Bear and Fox explore

Hello.  Little Fox and Sandy Bear checking in from Oregon.  We got tickets to the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.  On top of getting tickets they were free too.

Let's go!

Some of the first planes we got to see today were the famed Blue Angels of the US Navy Fame. 

Here's a cool movie of the Blue Angels.  It gets interesting around the 4th minute of the movie.

Sandy wanted his picture in front of this plane, it's a model of the Sopwith Camel.  You might know of the Sopwith Camel from the famous Red Baron of Germany (and Snoopy Fame). Sandy really wanted a picture here because the pilot that took down the Red Baron was a Canadian Pil

ot.

A  life size  version of the Sopwith Camel.

This is a replica of the first air mail plane in the USA.  The pilot really wanted to deliver the mail by air.  The conditions were terrible that day but he went up anyway.  Earle Ovington, the first air mail pilot in the USA flew was flying at 500 feet above the destination and threw the bag of mail out to fall the ground.  The mailbag crashed and all the mail spilled out.  

No history for this plane but LF really liked the color.

The museum is home to the Spruce Goose.  Howard Hughes huge airplane from the mid 1940s.

How did the museum in Oregon get this awesome plane?  Well, to sum it up the museum put a bid in when Disney didn't want the plane anymore and won the bid.  It's a pretty cool plane and the showcase of the museum. 

Here's the back of the plane.  Looks big doesn't it? 

At that time the fire alarm went off and it's not good to be in a wooden plane during a fire.  LF and I headed over the space museum. 

A spy plane that can travel from LA to New York in about 70 minutes.

Lot's of controls to make these plane fly.  Go figure.

A few helicopters to round out the collection.

The final plane we got to see was a VIP plane for US officials.  Vice Presidents, First Ladies, and Secrebeary of States have flown on this plane.

Legroom and table space for lots of snacks.

The plane is in good shape from the inside and it looks like it's in good shape from the outside too.

Little Fox informed me it's time for lunch.  He says he knows a place with amazing grilled cheese sandwiches so we are off.  

Prepparing for special guests.

Baxter here (with my pal Reindeer).  Well, if you figured it out my special guests are Little Fox and Sandy.  They are coming back from a long flight on Canadian Goose Airlines.  I want to have some snacks ready for their arrival.

My pal Reindeer is going to help out today.  He's got great knife skills and can slice a pineapple with the best of them.  Chef Ramsey you might have some competition.

See how fast Reindeer took care of that pineapple.  I think Little Fox and Sandy will be happy to have a healthy snack option.  Now, I think I should have something not as healthy as a special treat.  JellO was on sale so I figured I would try and make homemade pudding pops.

Prepping the pudding requires lots of stirring. 

 Making homemade popsicles or pudding pops in this case takes lots of patience.  Patience is a trait that all bears possess.

Filling up the Popsicle trays is a beary messy business.  Us stuffies leave that up to the humans as chocolate pudding in ones fur does not bode well.

4 short hours later the pudding pops are settled.  Time to wait for my guests to arrive.

A few moments later I heard the unique honk of Canadian Goose Airlines flight 23.  Service from London to Portland.

Sandy and LF were famished.  They ate most the pineapple. 

Wow, where did it all go. 

Both stuffies appreciated the thought of fresh pineapple but couldn't resist their own pudding pop as a welcome to Oregon treat.

By the smile on Sandy's face I think the pudding pops were a hit.  

Bear in charge blog # unknown

Ugh.  Sekrebeary issues.  The numbering on the blogs is all messed up.  Sorry about that blog gang, you know humans......

Back to the scheduled blog:  Today  I got an urgent message from Canadian Geese Airlines today.

Meet CG.  CG is a very important goose in the airline organization.  He is in charge of the  Canadian Goose Airline public relations department.  CG has announced the new routes for this year and it looks like the airline has added some year round destinations including stopovers in Oregon.  

Being a astute bear I made the connection that I might have more travelers arriving soon.  Perhaps a fox and a bear.  I don't know much about foxes or bears but I do know they will be hungry. 

I took a quick trip to the store and found these cookies.  Anyone have an idea of what I will be making today? 

For my recipe today I will need some coffee.  Any ideas yet?

Organization is key in this recipe.  

Time to supervise the filling preparation.  Marscapone cheese, heavy cream, and a slight hint of rum.

Layer it all up in a casserole dish.  As Tom Petty says the waiting is the hardest part.

Hey.  What happened to half of the tiramisu?

Initially I was going to wait till a certain bear and fox arrived to share this but apparently the humans got into the dessert.  Looks like I will have to make another dessert for the fox and the bear.  I might as well take a little nibble of this dessert.

Typical stuffies.  Once the dessert starts getting cut all the stuffies come out of the woodwork.  Kermit the Frog and Drunk Fox decided to get in on the feast.  Note:  This version does not have the rum (as I had a wild guess that Drunk Fox might want some).

Looks like the whole gang arrived.  We all decided to eat this and make something else for our soon to be arriving travelers.

Bear in charge blog #11 or is it 10? Wildflowers in the Columbia River Gorge (oh yeah and wind)

There is a short hike around the wildflower meadows of Moiser.  The cool thing about this hike is that I get to visit a beary old pioneer cemetery.

This cool bridge was originally built in 1920.  Part of the Columbia River Gorge scenic highway. 

I made it to the pioneer cemetery.  This cemetery has graves of Oregon Trail Pioneers, real pioneers who were on the trail.  Pretty cool 

Some nice flowers on the way to the top of the plateau. 

Holy cow.  The balsam root is really out today. 

So is the wind.

There is a little river in a canyon.  The canyon really protects us from the wind.  More on that later....

Springtime in the gorge. 

 A nice little waterfall. 

A nice little purple flower. 

Some lupine and balsam root blooming together. 

The land used to be part of a ranch.  This must be the location of the old home.

The old foundation - I think it was the garage years ago.

Tulips.  Probably from years ago.  I doubt that they are native plants. 

The gorge sure puts on a show. 

The sun was amazing today.  Of course it was a little windy.  Let's see if this movie gives my blog pals an idea of the windyness today.