Our Celebration

We found ourselves back in river country to celebrate our Anniversary...

The Saylorville Dam park system is a favorite spot for almost any special occasion in our book. They have some really nice shelters that provide grills on the inside,  put a fire in the Barbecue for ambiance on a cool day, or if you like the outdoor grilling experience you can find that too.

Eyes to the Sky were key words for the after barbecue festivities.We kept our eyes scanning all sides of the river and the airspace around us...
 

Blue Herons - Photo by Corey Butcher

Blue Heron - Photo by Dianna Butcher

Blue Heron - Photo by Dianna Butcher

 

If it isn't one kind of bird it's another! Photo by Dianna Butcher

 We found ourselves  beginning to have some competition with strong breezes and developing clouds. It was a surprise to see this little Cirrus circling Ankeny airspace in the pattern it had chosen.

Photo by Dianna Butcher

If you've reached some years of  life experiences,do you ever go back to see your first home? Whether it be where you lived as a child growing up, or maybe after the schooling and onto the becoming Man and Wife part of life.

You've heard the word "We" used multiple times in this post; of course that was the subject for the day.

We decided to check-out our humble beginning.

As a young married couple we lived south of  Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary. We didn't attend but had the opportunity to meet some fine individuals that were apart of the Music Ministry studies at the time. I was invited to play their piano that occupied a great deal of space within their apartment. My knowledge of the keyboard wasn't as great as theirs but was told my sight reading ability was good. I smiled and said "Thank you"...

Well, it's time to close this little post and wish everyone a "Have a Great Day!"

We Celebrate Today

What a Wonderful day the Lord gave us to become Man and Wife! On June 28,1975, at Noble Center United Methodist Church, we stood before God,our officiating Pastor ,friends and family.

We shared our vows 42 years ago with the people that were/are important to us in our lives. Our paths with some haven't been crossed since that time. However, the memories still remain.

Our family is grown now...We have just experienced the High School Graduation of our oldest Grandchild. All of our life events continue to add to our relationship.

I'm honored to share with you and to still call him my Husband and Helpmate given to me by God...Corey Butcher.

Let's Celebrate

Life keeps moving on...

Corey has completed his work on the Replica Fighter Association's 2017 Pre-Oshkosh Airventure magazine. Now that it has been finished, and we've celebrated our oldest Grandson's Graduation, more time will be focused on working on our Voisin 3\5 rebuild.


Sunday evening we brought the fuselage up the drive to get the rigging started for the wings...

We did a little maneuvering to move the fuselage into the shop, removing both sliding glass doors and taking off the radiator made everything workout as planned.

Next step after that will be fabric application. We keep moving bit by bit closer to the goal of getting the Voisin 3\5 air bound.

Corey gave me a smile before he got back to rigging the bottom right wing this evening.

Corey was making everything look real easy as I watched him thread the steel cable into his modified strut attachments.

Please forgive me if I don't have the proper name for the thingy-ma-jigs. All I know at the moment is that Everything is looking GooD!

Corey shared that his goal for this evening was to get the center section attached so he could lift the top wing into place and get that rigged as well.

Before I left the shop I wanted to get a view from the fuselage, and the length of the new wing.

I can only imagine how it will allow for faster travels and maybe a little more stability in winds up to 20 mph. Corey has always been a safe flyer and due to his experiences knows the limits of his craft. 

We've shared this picture below before on the Voisin 3/5 website...I snapped the picture of The Last Flight of 2007 from our grass strip in November. The weather was getting to cold for the Voisin 3/5 open cockpit flights so after it's return, things were prepped for winter storage.

It is our hope that Corey will be able to get some aerial photographs yet this year.

Voisin 35 Parts Cleaning Moving Forward

On March 29,2017, I began more refined fabric and tape removal from a wing section Corey brought up from the Hangar.

 I proceeded onto the tail section on April 3,2017, to remove fabric;  providing time support. My efforts  will allow Corey to focus on wing modifications.

I found a weakness to pierce the fabric as I followed along the hollow just under the frame.

As you can see I was able to loosen the tail covering in it's entirety - to

preserve for Corey's personal archives the N# flown by his initial proto-type...renewing it for modification number two.

A cleaned frame ready for a fresh application of fabric.

Time to get this tail in order.

Each section became a little easier to clean, because I developed a method of my own.

I didn't need to strip it in a bunch of tiny pieces, but managed to pull off entire sections with well placed cuts and a bit of opposing power.

Next came the upper and lower left ailerons ,with both the upper and lower right ailerons to follow at a later date.

Due to my skill level I've pretty much accomplished all I'll be able to do alone for now.




 Corey has ordered some stainless steel cable, 3M Fastbond Contact Adhesive 30NF Green Glue and Aircraft Spruce has come through with some smaller parts  for the Voisin 35 at the present time.

We will be getting the order in for fabric and looking for a re-drive to to get the Geo Engine placed back in position to power-up.

Next post will show a few pictures of Corey's reworking of the wings...

Until then Have a Great Day!

The New Windsock Takes Air

Saturday morning it was time to take the Windsock frame off the hangar to get Corey's new one strapped into place.

Having the Windsock keeps an eye to the sky attitude...Good for a Pilot's altitude.

Almost all tied up!

As our luck would have it we needed to wait until the next day to get the windsock back on top of the Hangar due to a windspeed increase. The stability of trying to lift the frame pole against the drag of the wind would be impossible.

Success!

The Sunday afternoon winds were almost nothing coming over the warming ground of the bean fields.

We...I use the term loosely since I was the camera woman in command of documentation, got the Windsock up and filled with air.

Now, we can watch wind speed and direction, instead of an empty frame, that had become a perch to a few different species of birds.

Oh, and may I add? It adds color to the landscape in contrast to the soon to be rising  crops.

Beautiful!

Pella Tulip Time in Retrospect

Looking back in retrospect at my pictures of Pella Tulip Time 2015 and 2017...I gave a glimpse of what you can experience if you choose to participate.

Our visit in 2015 was on the Saturday morning of the Festival. They had a display of antique work horses (OH! And Yes! Standing beside the orange tractor is a Favorite Individual,Subject , my husband Corey) and a Flea Market where we found some bottled home brewed Root Beer from Missouri. I bought an Heirloom Brandywine tomato plant from a young woman who showed me her interest in horticulture and some potholders from a vendor who made nothing else but varied fabric patterned potholders. There were artists providing their interpretations of different media of expression.

I could understand the process of the Flea Market vendor because I myself,CDGardens, spent the summer of 2001 growing and hauling what I had planted,cultivated,harvested,cleaned and packaged from my garden on my own. It was a learning experience that I didn't repeat because of the other things I was responsible to accomplish. I wouldn't change the experience.

Digressing back to Pella Tulip Time,I would highly recommend the ambience of the Dutch Village...

Have a Great Day!

Taking a Look at Pembina Gorge

Easter Sunday afternoon rolled around. Lunch was done,leftovers put away and dishes were attended to.

Kyli became tour guide...Have to know the territory if you plan on visiting often, or when it's mentioned in conversation. So,Corey and I  were about to begin our indoctrination .

We headed for Evergreens and Birch trees as we climbed some hills to get to our destination.

Along the road we came across what people familiar with the area know as the "Frost Fire Ski Resort", located at Wallhalla,ND.

The weather was chilly for the day but we lucked out overall, since the locals had been treated to 40+ inches of snow this winter and almost all had melted before our arrival. Actually, the snow wasn't finished for the season as we were getting a few flurries as we explored the area.

The Pembina River had receded back into it's banks after overflowing from the abundant snow melt.

Descending into the valley to get over the river before climbing the hill on the other-side.

Alerts remained for possible water level rises once again.

Up a few hills on the other-side, then around another few curves...we eventually came to the sign to show us just how much longer we would need to be searching for our destination.


      PEMBINA GORGE




 


The gates were still closed to keep the ATV's off the  muddy terrain on the day of our visit.

This cold and wet day was great for our fact finding mission.

Conveniently located just to the left of the gate you see above, was a map outlining the Gorge's 24 miles of  drive-able ATV and Dirt Bike trails.

The empty ATV Trail getting dried out ,across the valley from where we parked to take in the view..

We saw evidence of how the soil layers have become filled with moisture and slid, or washed out of place.

Searching for information about the soil profile I went here.

Fossils have been uncovered in the strata of the valley.

The discussion of the stated age of what man has perceived the earth to be and where the remains of the dinosaurs were found ensued among us as we continued on our way.

We continue to believe what God has stated in his Creation of Earth,Time and Space...I've found some Answers for the Biblical vs. Science theories we all are faced with when making our 
own decisions. Take a look for yourself!

I know in time that all the rearranging slides will fill in with topsoil and vegetation but the time frame won't be immediate. It gives me an idea of the fragility of the geographical terrain.

Being able to have some recreational trails to enjoy while observing nature is a benefit for both Men and Women powered 2-wheelers...or maybe one of those  little canopy covered ATV's that blows mud into your face.

All I'm saying is Explore the Great Outdoors!

Until next time...Have a Great Day!










 

Memorable Twist to Good Friday

Yesterday was a one week celebration of sorts. I will share the experience with you from my point of view.

Our Easter Road Trip was moving along smoothly on Good Friday afternoon,or so we thought...That is until we reached a bridge with a big bump north of Fargo. The edge of the bridge can be seen at the far right of the picture. Time wouldn't allow for a second chance to get another shot.  Unexplainable things began to happen after we hit the bump, the car pulled hard to the right. Well, it didn't take long to decipher that we had just lost a very important part to keep everything working to power the Voisinmobile. The Serpentine Belt had successfully decided to make a split....one of those eternal vacations.

Today's Smartphones sure are a Blessing when you need to go looking for help. We called here and there in Grand Forks to try to locate the right belt. Tried the little town of Hillsboro not far to our south, but they had nothing that would match. Kyli checked in Langdon before coming to help.

We spent four and a half hours keeping this bridge company until our daughter Kyli arrived to chariot us away, back to Fargo, to pick-up a Serpentine Belt.

On our return from Fargo we attempted to fix the difficulty with the tools Kyli had gathered from the home arsenal.The method we chose brought close results,almost fixed in other words, so many times ,but after fighting a long day, getting hungry and temperatures dropping after sunset in a wind cooled location we gave into the "We'll finish it tomorrow" mode. The next morning we gathered more tools and used another method thanks to Youtube to get the job done.

If you happened to see this guy running around in the Fargo, Grand Forks...etc...areas , I wasn't far away.

I have to smile really big. The Mazda came around Christmastime. So, I thought some vanity plates to complement the little Voisinmobile were in order.                                This is the view that kept us entertained while we waited. I spent time musing about what people were thinking as they passed by. It gave me a laugh to keep my anxiety at bay.

It was time to draw on our resources in God. This event was not one you wish on anyone...especially on a holiday weekend.

The State Trooper that stopped to see what he could do to lend aid, offered information that we might find it difficult to find stores open to get a replacement part.We had anticipated some issues with holiday and time of day. However, we were pleasantly surprised to discover the process wasn't as hard as we originally thought.

We had already started the rescue process with confidence that one way or another EVERYTHING was going to workout. 

Thanks be to God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ for everything we experienced...

We made great time getting across Minnesota, arriving in Fargo just in time for lunch. Our first call was to Kyli to get her suggestions for the "Best" places to eat after we had driven down some streets packed with delectable dining establishments.

Corey and I made a lucky choice on a side street. As we talked to Kyli we pulled up in front of what appeared to be a Hometown 1950's style Restaurant called

Kroll's which happens to serve German/American Cuisine

Kyli was quick to share that one of Kroll's specialties was Knoephla Soup . A staple of the North Dakotans hearty meals. 

We had the opportunity to give the Knoephla Soup a try last year when we visited a Devil's Lake establishment during the Easter weekend. 

Speaking honestly, Corey and I, weren't used to the flavor and probably won't be fixing it on our  own as a staple to our diet.  

Upon asking our waitress for some suggestions, we decided to try their Clam Chowder ,after discovering it was the creamy style... what even turned out better was that it came as apart of  our meal.

We both ordered a bowl of the hot soup but I think I would have been very satisfied with just a cup.

Being of German descent I wanted to try one of the specialties Kroll's had listed on their menu.

It was something called Fleischkuechle, a deep fried meat pie. You could order the Fleischkuechle with or without sauerkraut. So, Corey tried the one without and I ordered one with.

I was already full when the order arrived but gave it the good  German try anyway...I liked it because the sauerkraut was subtle in it's flavor,  blending in with the meat and cheese for an almost melt in your mouth consistency. Corey even gave it a try and said he preferred the sauerkraut meat pie over his own plain one.

All in all we found our dining experience to be pleasurable and the atmosphere congenial. Thanks to our waitress who made our visit a good one to the Fargo Kroll's location!

Good Friday Morning

Please forgive the picture quality...I'm making excuses for myself this evening, just have to complain once in awhile.😇 The weather was gloomy, the car windows were speckled and my cellphone camera couldn't take the bumps in the road! Well, now that's over we can get on with the rest of the post!

Good Friday morning Corey and I set off for the far North of North Dakota.

This was our first trip to visit Kyli our daughter and her husband Justin at the United Methodist Church he now pastors in Langdon.

The rising light of the morning brought us to our favorite Truck Stop not far from Albert Lea, MN., Trail's TA Travel Center.

I love catching these three jets as we pass the Owatonna Airport just as we arrive next to one of my favorite  shopping venues.

Yes, we decided to take this familiar route again along I-35  to save some time.

Again, I say..."I'd take a ride  around the patch today,Please!"It certainly would get us to where we needed to go a little faster.

Whoops! Did I just show my impatience?

                                                                                                                                                                     

I'm glad to travel by car in all actuality. It gives me some wonderful opportunities to use my camera and now my cellphone gets a workout to capture whatever I think worthy of remembrance.

I not only saw this Cabela's at Owatonna, but we sped past the one at Rogers, on the otherside of Minneapolis. Ahhh,I learned about another store over in Grand Forks,ND as we passed one of those great advertising tools, "THE Roadside Billboard."

I'm always intrigued by our abilities to convey messages ....Some like this barn that spells it out without a doubt and others that take a few minutes to catch the meaning. I saw some cute mind entertainers along our way too but of course the camera was shut-off and the brain just wanted to enjoy the moment.

I too "Thank You Farmers!"

We depend on the Ag Products to cover so many aspects in our day-to day existence.

We hit the 494 off  I-35 on our way to Interstate 94 to get us to our Western destinations.

One of my favorite building decorations is at the BMW Headquarters as we come up the ramp to join the morning traffic.

Watching for interesting driving patterns came right away when a lady decided it was alright to stop to let us in to the chagrin of those behind her...Thank you for your kindness Lady.
These towers are welcome reminders for me to let me know I'm headed in the right direction. I'm one of those individuals that looks for markers to show me where I'm located. 

They were important to me a couple years ago when I decided to try a new experience, drive through the cities on my own. I got off on a side path where I didn't want to be...keeping these twins in sight allowed me to get back on the right road.

They almost became an afterthought when I tried to hurry-up and get my cellphone turned behind the driver's seat this trip. Helps to sharpen the reflexes!

Come back and I'll share some more of our Easter weekend adventures with you! Until then have a Great Evening!