Reno is an odd town. Within the city you can find patches of rural. Such is the case of the property directly across the street from where I work. I have photographed their property before, but I didn’t realize that these people also owned cattle. Who knew?
I’ve been wanting to share this gallery for a couple of days. Last Friday night Sweetie and I headed out to Stead airport for the Reno Air Races Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. We’d not been back since the crash of September 16th and it’s been a rough nine months for those of us who were there. Still, being there, seeing our friends and sharing how we’d all been dealing with the “after,” was really nice. Really. But there was more to this evening than just food and friends.
When we all checked in at this table each volunteer received a raffle ticket.
People lined up for food . . .
And then the first and best prize was announced: A ride in a T-6. And not just any ride, but a fly-over the Reno Rodeo. That night. Right then. And guess who won? My husband! That he won this ride, this night, after all that he’d been through made it all the more sweet.
When they called the winning number I thought everyone at our table was going to lose their mind when we realized it was one of our own. Much screaming ensued. Sweetie had to head right out to the T-6 hangar for preflight prep, so I grabbed my camera and went with him. What follows are just a few of my photos, but I have a full gallery over at SmugMug. Check it out for a more coherent narrative.
First there was the “I promise I won’t sue if we crash” agreement.
There were four T-6s involved in the flyover. Each plane carried a passenger, but only one carried an Air Races volunteer.
Brad walked out to the plane with Michael, the pilot.
Sweetie tried to act nonchalant, but I know he could hardly contain himself.
Parachute – dorky looking, but necessary!
There are many more shots between the one above that the ones below, so please check out the gallery.
Sweetie looking very suave.
The planes taxied out to the runway and took off.
They then got into a diamond formation that they maintained all the way to the rodeo. Sweetie has some awesome photos from the air.
When they returned the guys put on a little show for us.
Awesome!
This is my favorite shot. Sweetie was in the plane with the smoke.
Seriously, check out the gallery to see all of the photos.
I took a little walk around the grounds late this afternoon. Everything was a bit damp from yesterday’s rain.
Until the recession kicked the city and the business community’s collective hind end, the City of Reno held an annual Corporate Challenge. My company competed every year; the organizers doing their best to recruit participants for every event from Pictionary to darts to Track and Field to softball to swimming and even tug-of-war. I competed in 2009 and 2010 (the last year the event was held). In 2009 I competed in swimming (backstroke and breaststroke) and managed to pull off a silver medal in each event. In 2010, I bested myself and won a gold medal in breaststroke, a silver in freestyle and shock of all shocks, a silver in the long jump. Go figure. I wasn’t in shape at all, but the company needed women in my age bracket to compete, if for no other reason than to help boost our overall score. So I showed up. I swam. I jumped. I even tossed a shot put and a softball. And I had fun.
These medals hang on my office bulletin board as a daily reminder: Show up. Participate.
I caught this hawk soaring in the sunbeams on my way out to my car yesterday.* Hope you like it.
*I couldn’t post it last night as our internet went out at home.
We got up bright and early and participated in Moms On the Run, a local organization that helps women with cancer to meet their living expenses while undergoing treatment. My co-worker, Rachel (a young mother of two boys), was diagnosed with breast cancer last December and is currently undergoing treatment. While our insurance is good, she is out for several months and at the time she was beginning treatment, her husband had been unemployed. For her, Moms on the Run was a just the help she needed at a very challenging time.
Rachel’s Pirates for the Cureibbean were out in force today.
All the pictures of the day can be found at my SmugMug Mother’s Day gallery (I’m sounding like Disperser!), but here are a few from the day.
This next shot was supposed to be a shot of the crowd. I held my camera up and thought I was shooting straight out. Instead I got these two women. I like the composition with just them and everyone else’s legs and feet.
We did the 5K walk through the neighborhood around Reno High and then through Idlewild Park along the Truckee River. It was a gorgeous day and a beautiful setting.
After the walk, we headed across the river to the Pneumatic Diner, a tiny restaurant that seats maybe 30 people at tiny tables and specializes in vegetarian and vegan fare. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as busy as it usually is on Sunday mornings.
Sweetie had a vegan pecan waffle and eggs.In the picture above you can see a person putting their own fixings on their waffle. Yep, that’s how they roll at Pneumatic. Daughter and I each had the Vegan Bubba with Slab (grilled tofu).
I think we may have found a new Mother’s Day tradition!
I’ve been watching this nest for a while. Today I saw Mama perched in her nest. I pulled over and grabbed my camera. She stayed in the nest for a bit and then jumped out and gave me a show.
Facing west. Taken at 5:01 p.m. The clouds were so gorgeous as the sun was setting.
© Carissa Snedeker
Facing east. The moon was so large, and the setting sun can still be seen on the sun-kissed peak. Taken at 5:13 p.m.
© Carissa Snedeker
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Carissa Snedeker Photography 