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CO T H . CO M | S E P T E M B E R /O C T O B E R 2 0 2 0    79 W I T H L I F E B E T W E E N T H E E A R S Seeing The World Contributors to the "Life Between The Ears" social media accounts transport us to the world's most interesting and beautiful places—all viewed from the saddle. Here we share a few of their images. u ALGARVE, PORTUGAL Erin Recke is accustomed to spectacular views. Her job as a pilot has taken her to many beautiful corners of the world, including the spot where she snapped this photo in October 2019. Recke and her wife, Shanna Leeland, took a 17-mile trek with Horses In The Sun through part of the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park in Algarve, Portugal. "We picked Portugal right then for a few reasons," says Recke, Bellingham, Washington. "We often travel with a small group of buddies from the airline. Some of them were going over to Portugal for the epic surfing, so we planned to fly over together and then split up for a few days while they surfed and we rode. Then we reconvened for things like a cooking class and a boat tour up the Douro River Valley to various port wineries." The trail took Recke through forests of cork oak and umbrella pine, across sand dunes and finally out onto the beach. "This mare's name was Flecha, and she was very well behaved but also had some get-up-and-go left to gallop the last half-mile home!" says Recke. After graduating from Western Washington University with a degree in Spanish, Recke moved to Maryland to work at the Potomac Horse Center for Grand Prix rider Becky Langwost-Barlow. Then Recke returned to Bellingham and worked as an autotransfusionist at two local hospitals for five years while she saved money for the career that really intrigued her: flying. "In college I'd joined a co-ed local pickleball league, and one of the women who played had airplane pins all over her coat," she says. "I asked her about it, not expecting she'd tell me she owned her own little plane! A few weeks later she offered to take me flying, and as we launched into the sky, I thought to myself, 'If she can do this, I can too!' I never intended to fly professionally, but on my first lesson I was totally hooked and not half bad." Recke has lived all over the United States and flown for various airlines since she learned to fly in 2002. She's currently a first officer with Alaska Airlines. "I love the freedom and the fact that every flight is different," she says. "I love meeting new crews on every trip, exploring new cities. The international travel benefits are awesome, and my wife and I take advantage as often as we can. There have been some tough times in the industry since I got started, but I've always just kept my focus on what I wanted and worked hard, found mentors and got lucky." ERIN RECKE PHOTO

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