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"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."
Maxim Gorky

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Where the big one lives...

When it's 34 degrees celcius (about 100 degrees fahrenheit)
and you have a big black dog, 
you want to find somewhere cool, shady and preferably with a body of water somewhere near by...
Past the town of Port Alberni is Sproat lake.
Home to the Mars water bomber.
An incredible forest fire fighting machine.
Where else would you keep a water bomber?
Built in 1935, this monster was used as a transport aircraft by the U.S Army...
I've seen this thing in the air. It's like a bumble bee. You wonder how it even gets up in the air because it's so huge and it seems to fly very slow.
FYI...
It's one of the largest active propeller driven water bombers in the world and is based right here on Sproat Lake. This thing can carry 7,200 US gallons of water, taking only 25 seconds to pick it up from a lake and can make a drop every 15 minutes. It can be in the air within 10 minutes of a call.
Check out this video of its capabilities.
It's really spectacular!

Another marvel on Sproat Lake.
The Tom-o-matic.
He can be at the dinner table within 10 seconds of a call.
Can consume enormous amounts of food,
 still be able to float,
And does the dishes!
Here's his trusty side kick Griffin, who will search out and find any body of water within a 100 miles
as well as sniffing out food anywhere within 50 feet!
Dog cookies are his specialty.
Marvels of the world.





1 comment:

Tatersmama said...

What great photos! It's amazing, isn't it, what something that big can do!
We have "Elvis" here on loan from the US, and it's breathtaking watching them in action!