WLM | my Wyoming craving
WLM | my Wyoming craving
earth are interacting with each other , producing an unpredictable variety of outcomes .
I found myself flying in circumstances that I would consider downright crazy elsewhere . Finding a random mountain in the West with clouds swirling around it is usually a signal to head away and not closer . Being that I was in visual range to my home field , it made it possible to get very close to weather features in ways I had not done before . Generally after some weather blew through ( or during it ), clouds would form on the lee side of ridgelines , or banked against the east side of the Star Valley against the Salt River Range . Over and over I would take off in these conditions , holding a careful eye to the west to see if any new weather was coming in . More than once I was rewarded with an interaction of clouds that was nothing short of mesmerizing , a sort of spiritual transcendence , wedged between clouds and mountains , all moving gracefully , powerfully , and slowly . For those of you that think I am completely deranged , it was the fact that Alpine was so close that made all of this possible . If my personal fear occurred : the engine quit , or the weather went south , all I had to do was turn around , and I could glide back to safety .
As with all of my books , I am trying to bring something to readers that cannot be experienced easily . The totality of the Star Valley is not restricted to the valley itself , it is comprised of the mountains that surround it and the rivers that flow through it , channeling weather and moisture in ways that make life on the ground the way that it is . Due to a lack of roads in national forests , it would require many intense mountain climbing events to gather perspective available from the airplane . That , and who knew that cows make amazing patterns in the snow when viewed from above ?
Flying the Star Valley is available at Dog Eared Books & Eagle Flight Services in Afton , on Amazon . com , and from the author ’ s website at www . garrettfisher . me for $ 17 .
WLM
Garrett Fisher is the author of nine books , six of which relate to aerial photography . He is in the process of publishing a long list of aerial photography books focused on the Rockies as seen from his antique airplane . Garrett blogs regularly about his aviation adventures at www . garrettfisher . me .
38 Wyoming Lifestyle Magazine | Late Summer / Fall 2016