Being suspended above the ground is a strange experience. It’s even stranger when two thin pieces of metal are all that’s holding you there. I got to fly a plane for the first time this last week. I’ve flown in passenger jets before, but having control of a little tin can of a plane is very odd.

A friend from Vancouver flew into town last week right in front of all the forest fire smoke. He has his own little Cessna 150 which was built in the ’60s. It’s a tiny little two seater – the smallest plane Cessna makes. We took a little trip out to Cooking Lake and tried some stalls and spins over the lake (which were pretty scary), and of course I took a few photos (which was pretty fun).

These first two are of Cooking Lake from the air (or maybe more accurately – Cooking Mud Flats).

We filled in gas in Cooking Lake.

It was pretty smoky around Edmonton from the forest fires in BC.