moving to spokane

But, I'll bet if I wandered over to Iowa City, I'd find your tax money
going to some projects I think are pretty silly too.

If not, you wouldn't have to go far. Can you say "rain forest"?

Yeah, they're STILL planning to build that absurd temple to pork-barrel
politics.

Imagine: A RAIN FOREST in Iowa!

Only the U.S. Congress could make *that* sound like a winner...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On Sat, 28 May 2005 01:41:03 GMT, George Patterson
wrote:

Peter Duniho wrote:

But, I'll bet if I wandered over to Iowa City, I'd find your tax money going
to some projects I think are pretty silly too.

If not, you wouldn't have to go far. Can you say "rain forest"?

Aw c'mon. They wanted to do a zoo, but zoos are non-PC animal jails.
(cf. "Madagascar" this weekend.) Now a big corn maze would be the
epitome of Iowa culture, but there are liability problems. People from
North Dakota would get lost in one and you'd only find their skeletons
years later. A butterfly habitat would be terrific, but Iowans
wouldn't know what to eat them with. So a rainforest was the answer.
I mean, you couldn't have one near Seattle. They already have a real
rainforest somewhere betwen Humptulips and Forks, (are they ever going
to have a casino at La Push, or are the Indians concentrating them all
along 99 in Tukwila?) which Seattlites can find if they're a) smart
enough to find the right carpool lane to get to the Fauntleroy Ferry,
and b) not smart enough to get off at Vashon.

Don

("Jay Honeck" wrote)
Imagine: A RAIN FOREST in Iowa!

Only the U.S. Congress could make *that* sound like a winner...


WARNING:
(Read on *only* if you enjoy government boondoggles)


Wonder if they hired the same PR team that sold Duluth on the idea of a
fresh-water Aquarium?

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200007/28_kelleherb_aqua-m/
(2000) Duluth fresh-water aquarium is opening - and they all cheered.

http://wcco.com/localnews/local_story_066104731.html
(2005) Duluth's (35 million dollar) fresh-water aquarium is closing - and
they all cheered.


Montblack

in article , Peter Duniho at
wrote on 5/26/05 11:33 PM:


But I've traveled all over the US, and have yet to find a place with the
combination of big city benefits alongside geographical, topographical,
ecological beauty that Seattle has. And that's *including* Iowa. As far as
I'm concerned, your criticism of Seattle is just plain sour grapes.

I recall reading somewhere that Washington is the only state to contain
every known type of climate/topography within its borders--desert,
rainforest, alpine, steppe, etc. Do you happen to know if this is true?

"Philip S." wrote in message
...
I recall reading somewhere that Washington is the only state to contain
every known type of climate/topography within its borders--desert,
rainforest, alpine, steppe, etc. Do you happen to know if this is true?

I suppose that depends on how you define the various climates. We do have a
rainforest, for example. But it's hardly tropical, and as a result is quite
different from what most people think of as a rainforest. I think there are
probably other examples of climates that are similar to, or related to,
climates and/or topography in Washington State, but which really aren't the
same.

So, sure...if you define your terms broadly enough, we've got a little bit
of everything. But I think a biologist, geologist, or other -ologist
would take issue with any claim that, for any climate, ecology, topography,
etc. found elsewhere in the world, one can find an exact replica in
Washington.

Pete

Peter Duniho wrote:
"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:nzFle.10731$PS3.8357@attbi_s22...
Precisely. I certainly didn't mean to limit my observation to your
beloved Seattle -- they *all* suck.

Fortunately, most people disagree.

It's a nice idea -- as are all these types of government-sponsored
things -- that flies in the face of human nature. People *like* to drive
their own cars -- that's "the American Way" -- and no special highway
lanes are going to change that fact.

The facts show otherwise. Carpool lanes DO get drivers to change their
habits.

Frankly, as far as I'm concerned, the more congestion, the better. It's a
waste to have one person in each car, and to have everyone in cars in the
first place. The more painful it is to drive alone, or to drive at all, the
more people will use more efficient transportation.

Your assertion that carpool lanes are useless is ignorant, failing to take
into account the numerous demonstrations that they do exactly what they are
intended to do. I even provided some documentation of that for you, but
apparently you have no interest in actually learning new information,
especially when it conflicts with your own uninformed opinion.

Which pretty much confirms my suspicions. For those of us who actually
fly, there is no "backwater" -- anywhere.

Baloney. You live in one. It's right there, and you are in it. Flying is
great, but it's no panacea.

A pilot can live in a nice area, with a great lifestyle, no crime, little
traffic, and safe schools, while still being "close" (time-wise) to the
big cities. I can be in Kansas City, St. Louis or Chicago within the
hour (although I seldom feel the need, thanks to our University) -- which
is about what it takes you to drive from one side of town to the other.

I can drive into Seattle in 15 minutes. 20 during rush hour (because of the
carpool lanes). And that's total travel time. You fly an hour to a "large
city", and you still need to arrange for transportation there, dealing with
all of the same issues you criticize large cities for.

Because of the urban nature of the area, most of the time I don't even have
to go into Seattle. A wide range of services -- cultural, dining,
recreation, etc. -- are just minutes away from me.

I love flying, and it DOES get me a lot closer to other areas of the world.
But to claim that because you fly, even when you practically live at the
airport, you have the same access to urban benefits as someone who actually
lives in or near a large city, well...that's just idiotic.

Any pilot -- hell, any person -- who knowingly chooses to live in an area
with 8 lanes of slow-moving traffic between home and work -- every day of
their lives -- is a friggin' moron.

Well, I think you're a ****ing moron too. As do the thousands of pilots who
also live around here, I'm sure.

The fact that you think your plane provides the same benefits as actually
living in an urban area simply proves your moronic status.

Iowa City has very strict zoning laws to prevent this kind of blight.
Unfortunately, these laws have virtually killed commercial development in
Iowa City -- but they *do* result in a very nice looking community.

Well, goody for you. However, in your moronic state you obviously missed
the fact that my statement wasn't limited to Iowa City.

It rained all four days we were there, off and on -- and it was dark half
the time. I'm told Mt. Rainier (well named!) is beautiful, although I
never actually saw it.

Ahh, back to the weather again. Well, you've had it explained to you plenty
of times already. I'm not wasting time doing it again.

By the way, the name "Rainier" has nothing to do with rain.

I love the mountains, and I'm sure it's a beautiful area, once you escape
the city.

There is beauty right here in Seattle, once you open your eyes. True, that
means you'll never see it. But it's here.

Hardly. It's just another big city that has ruined an otherwise beautiful
setting.

I didn't expect you to admit it's sour grapes for you. People calling the
grapes sour never want to admit that they aren't. That doesn't change the
fact that that's exactly what you're doing.

Which, of course, is why the Seattle suburbs are booming, covering
virtually every empty lot of land that we saw during our visit.

Population growth in the suburbs has nothing to do with whether Seattle is
"another big city that has ruined an otherwise beautiful setting".

It's nothing specific against Seattle, Pete.

The fact that you feel it needs to be "against" any city is simply proof of
your close-mindedness. Not that we needed any more proof of that anyway.

Big cities are all alike -- it doesn't matter if they're on the shores of
the Great Lakes, or on the shores of Puget Sound. If you like McDonalds
and Starbucks, you'll LOVE them. If you enjoy home-made pie, non-chain
hotels, restaurants that are owned by your neighbors, and leaving the top
down on your convertible when you're eating dinner, you'll escape them.

Everything in that last sentence exists right here, in ample quantity. The
fact that you didn't see it further provides proof of your close-mindedness.

On the bright side, at least someone wrote a song about you and your ilk.
"Iowa Stubborn", from "The Music Man", fits you to a tee.

Pete

WARNING:
(Read on *only* if you enjoy government boondoggles)

Hey -- they're not closing the aquarium yet! You've still got tens of
thousands of dollars to spend before you reach that point!

And that's the "good news"???
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

pablo wrote:
I'm considering moving to Spokane in a year. Any comments on
Mead airport, Deer Park, or Felts field???

I'm a new pilot and I'm wondering about the weather situation
there. I live in San Joaquin Valley in California. Sunny
most of the time, except in winter (fog!!!).

Thanks


Pablo:

I hadn't been monitoring the group for awhile and noticed this thread.
Since only one reply came from a person who lives in Spokane, (Hi
Philip), I guess it's time to weigh in.

I live in Spokane, learned to fly here, and have a Cessna 172 in a
partnership based at Felts Field (KSFF). We fly VFR all year 'round.
Yes, there can be fog in Spokane in the Winter, but suprisingly KSEA has
more foggy days. I flew a lot last February. Seattle is a 2 hour flight
to the west in our Cessna. with 30 minutes of that over the Cascade
Range. Until you reach the mountains, the route is over desert,
irrigated farmland, and the Columbia River. To the north are mountains
up to around 7,000 msl, with river valleys leading into Canada. To the
east are mountains, mountains, and mountains for about 300 miles. First
the Bitterroots, then the Rockies. To the south area the rolling hills
of the Palouse with farmland, the Snake River, then Hells Canyon.

Most GA ops are from Felts Field. It's a towered airport with parallel
runways. It can get busy on the weekend with touch and go traffic. A
full-service FBO with Cessna 172 rentals at $82/hobbs/wet. 100LL is
about $3.30 the last time I checked (we buy from a co-op).

Spokane International (KGEG) has some GA with Spokane Airways and
University of North Dakota (yes, in Spokane) training, however there are
no individual hangers, just community hangers. Plus, the airline and
cargo planes can sometimes mean a wait to get on the runway. GEG is
Class C. There is also a lot of military traffic with the adjacent
Fairchild Air Force Base.

Our Approach/Departure controllers are very friendly and we use VFR
flight following almost all the time. In fact, they encourage it.

Mead Airport has a short runway and a few open hangers. There is no
winter snow removal. The owner recently passed away.

Deer Park is a nice training airport with some hangers and fuel.

Coeur d'Alene (KCOE) is also a nice airport about 30 miles to the east.

There you go. Let me know if you have more questions.