Know Your Islanders Talk

Aerial photo by Darryl Swenson

Know Your Islanders Talk – Monday. November 2, 2015

Darryl Swenson – Contributed photo

Darryl Swenson, local pilot, aerial photographer and adventurer will speak on Monday evening, November 2nd, at 7:00 pm at the San Juan Library. Swenson recently returned from his seventh journey in the skies over the Desert Southwest, and has some amazing views of Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley and other red-rock splendors to share. The Trails Committee’s theme for the Know Your Islanders Talks this season is Journeys on Land, Air, Sea and Space, exploring our world via the experiences of our fellow Islanders.

About the Speaker:
Darryl Swenson and his wife, Carol, are longtime Seattle residents who moved to Friday Harbor in February 2014. Darryl is a private pilot and amateur aerial photographer who has flown his Flight Design CTLS, a two-seat single engine airplane, 75,000 miles across North America. He typically flies low with his camera lens pointed out through a hole in his side window. He keeps his airplane in a hangar at the Friday Harbor Airport.

Darryl, his airplane, and camera have traversed Canada and The United States three times in the last three years. His easternmost destination was over the lighthouse at the eastern tip of Prince Edward Island in the Canadian Maritime Provinces. He has flown small airplanes over the Australian Outback and around the North Island of New Zealand. Darryl especially seeks out the Four Corners region — Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico — for his amateur aerial photography.

Darryl is a native of San Jose, California, and graduated from San Jose State University. He is a retired investment advisor, and is a board member of Water1st International, a nonprofit organization based in Seattle that builds clean water and sanitation systems for impoverished residents in India, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Honduras. Darryl is president of the San Juan Pilots Association, a group of men and women who are pilots or who are just interested in aviation.

About the Trails Committee:
The San Juan Island Trails Committee was created in 1999 by the San Juan Island Park & Recreation District (Island Rec). We are currently a sub-committee of Island Rec, which has been our primary source of financial resources and support since our inception. Members of the Trails Committee are volunteers who facilitate discussion and cooperation with public officials and private citizens who share our goals. We also assist with trail building, maintenance, and stewardship. Meetings are held at Heritage Bank beginning at 12 noon on the first Tuesday of every month, and all interested persons are welcome to attend.

You can support the San Juan Update by doing business with our loyal advertisers, and by making a one-time contribution or a recurring donation.