Lunch in Parker, Arizona

Met up with some dear Canadian friends in Parker for lunch at the Roadside Floating Bar on the Colorado River with a warm sunny 80 degree day.

Maurice and Avis owned a "pub" in England for many years before immigrating to Canada. I can sit and listen for hours to the stories Maurice tells about pub life in England. We met last year camping on the Colorado River and hope to some day visit them at their Canadian home. When you look up "snowbird" in a dictionary, you'll most likely see their photo...:-)

While we were enjoying our "burger N beer", in comes this beautiful float plane. Maurice immediately identified it as a mid-1930's model. I searched for info and found out he is correct.

This is a Beech 18, that was first built in 1937 and had over 30 years of production that ended in 1970 and still holds the record for longest production of a piston driven aircraft. It's huge radial engine horsepower was increased to 450 hp during WWII from each of the Pratt & Whitney R-985's. 

  
        What a wonderful sound the two Pratt & Whitney engines made at takeoff.  

This is the Beech 18 idling onto the shore.

While I may of missed video taping the plane taking off, when this boat turns around to run down the river, it sounds very much like the plane getting airborne.