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Links Section
Alaska Adventure
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Katahdin Wings member Mary Build and her husband Jim enjoyed a very long cross-country in their 172XP in May of 2004. Their Destination: Alaska! She agreed to share her experiences via a daily diary.
Thursday, May 6, 2004
Today’s the day to start on our trip to Alaska. Jim and I are packed with all our gear, food and emergency equipment. Getting a briefing I find that we may have IFR weather arriving in Ottawa, so I’m going to file, just in case. There is a broken layer at 3,500’ and we need to go above that anyway due to the mountains. There is quite a bit of turbulence this morning, but not too much to deter us. Our destination today is for Sault St. Marie, Canada, but there may be some weather along the way.
The arrival in Ottawa is VFR and after fueling and talking to a briefer, we decide to stay here. The thunderstorms are hopefully going to pass 10 miles south of us, but we don’t want to take any chances. We can see the tops that have been reported to be at 47,000’ with golf-ball size hail. Getting a cab into town is easy and finding a Thai restaurant is not too difficult either. There is one restaurant after another on Charles St. The shopping is very good in a multi-level mall.
Friday, May 7:
As we pass over the Arnprior Airport that Jim and I have been to before, we see the seaplane base has not opened, yet. We also pass over Constance Lake where Jim landed twice before in a 206 on straight floats on his way to Alaska 6 or 7 years ago. Our average speed is 98 to 100 kts. , today, with moderate turbulance. The landscape is as flat as a pancake with lots of lakes, but few roads and very little population. Airports are also few and far between. One hour NW of Ottawa there are no roads, homes or airports within 25 miles of our location. We are also out of radar contact and on our own.
Lake Huron is massive looking as we pass North of it and South of Sudbury. Stopping at Elliot Lake Airport we get fuel and have lunch. There is a Super Cub here loaded with seeds for reforesting. There is also the biggest collection of model airplanes I have ever seen here that have been donated along with a wonderful collection of aviation posters.
Customs wanted us to stop in Sanderson, Michigan, right next to Sault St. Marie, since it was going to be close to 5 PM when we arrived in the States. From Sanderson we will travel along the Southern shore of Lake Superior. It looks just like the ocean…not able to see the other shore at 4,500’. There are miles and miles of sandy beaches without a road or house, just an occasional town here and there. About 130 nm East of Duluth some occasional farms are starting to pop up. Shy Harbor is the next stop in Duluth, Minnesota. We can’t find it until we are right on top of it. Trees hid it and I never expected a runway on a long skinny island. There it is and down we go. There are seaplanes parked everywhere of all shapes and sizes. The FBO manager insists on making sure we have a hotel before we leave and gives us the keys to he truck. Everything is within 5 miles which is a relief because we are tired tonight after 7 hours of flying plus the fuel stops.
Saturday, May 8:
This morning we spend a good deal of time with flight service due to inclement weather along our route. He assures us we will be North of the weather, but may need to land prior to Cutbank, Montana. The plan right now is to stop in Rugby. North Dakota, Glasgow, Montana, then on to Cut Bank, weather permitting. Basically we plan on 3 hours of flying time. We find that is enough time to spend sitting and we need a break.
Orville, the FBO manager in Sky Harbor, suggests we take a look at the 2 Beech 18s on floats he has in a hanger before we leave. They are the most beautiful 18s I have ever seen. Climbing up into the plane makes me think about what it would be like to fly one.
Today the winds have died down to 10-14 kts. at 4,500’ with no turbulence, but the visibility is very hazy. The topography is as flat as a pancake with lots of water and seaplane bases along the way. While my head is down and I'm busy with something, I miss seeing what I believe is the beginning of the Mississippi River. There are more farms in this part of the country, but they are still brown. I’m really surprised at how much water there is here in North Dakota. We’ve stopped in Rugby, but no one is here today, so we are flying to Minot for fuel and then to talk to flight service again to get an update on the weather. It’s now 1:30 PM and I’m really glad we brought food along because I’m much more comfortable having had lunch.
We’re taking off now from Minot and we intend to go to Glasgow and check again on the weather. There is a sigmet out for thunderstorms that is supposed to pass south of us, but moving NE is a possibility.
The topography is starting to change now with a combination of patchwork pattern and rolling hills. There are many airports along our route now and we’ve agreed that each one is our destination. If the weather conditions are still good, we will continue to the next. The elevation of the ground is 2,000’ and the Missouri River is running along beside us. Oilrigs are also popping up along the way.
Checking with flight service in the air, the weather is going to cross our path so we are landing in Sloutin, (ISN) North Dakota, to batten down the hatches and spend the night. We are behind schedule, but there is nothing we can do about it. We are, however, 15 miles from Montana! We’ll get there.
The only hotel is not too spiffy, the food is worse, but it beats trying to set up a tent in a thunderstorm or sleeping in a 172!
Mother’s Day, May 9, 2004
Planning on ISN to CTB, Cut Bank, Montana which is 346 miles and another time zone away. We will then file a flight plan, call Customs and head as far North as we can go comfortably. Using Duats flight planning we expect a ground speed of 104 kts, but we are getting 85 instead at 6,500’. We used about 200 feet of runway in winds that were 270 at 25 with gusts to 30 on Runway 29. Again we have options of airports 1 to 2 hours apart.
As soon as we cross into Montana, we will be in another time zone. This one is Mountain time. We’re flying along the Missouri River, which is also the Lewis and Clark Trail. I’m guessing it must be beautiful on the river due to the steep banks all along the way. There are plenty of sand bars for camping, too. The Yellowstone River is leaving the Missouri now and heading South. We’ve left oil fields and are flying over farm country again.
Winds at 6,500’ are 260 at 40 kts. They were forcasted to be 300@10. Since the wind is right down the runway, we are going to land at Glasgow to refuel. The winds there are 28 gusting to 38. Should be interesting. The elevation is continuing to change and now it is up to 2,290 at Glasgow. It has taken us 2.5 hours to get here. According to the gps, it will take us another 3.5 hours to get to Cut Bank, so we will plan on stopping before that in Harve, Montana, if we need to.
Jim has just made the most beautiful landing in 38 knot winds!!
Leaving Glasgow, Montana, it is more turbulent since we are over rougher terrain. We now have he first sign of some scattered mountains ahead. We expect this leg to take 2.5 hours if the winds don’t change again. Distance is 216 nm. I’m tightening my seat best again. It’s great to se so many wild buffalos. They’re so big, you can’t miss them. Well, plans have changed again. The restaurant owner just called and they have a table for us. The same very nice young man that picked us up at the airport is bussing tables at the restaurant and we have a wonderful meal in plenty of time to get to bed at a reasonable hour. Wish we could fly on.
Monday May 10, 2004….Cut Bank, Montana to Lethbridge, B.C. CTB to YQL
My flight:
We’ve filed a flight plan and called Customs. The weather has lifted to 2,000 AGL. Flying along at 1,200’ AGL @ 145 kts. Ground speed. We can hardly keep up with the scenery with this wonderful tail wind for a change. I tried to take a picture of the Lethbridge Airport, but the camera was too cold and didn’t work. We’re 36 miles SE of Red Deer, B.C., just North of Calgary and there is fresh snow on the ground.
Stopping in Red Deer for lunch, fuel and FSS it starts to snow. There are, however, 2 PBYs and several B26s converted to water bombers here.
We were advised of the snow showers and that they were to last for about the first 10 minutes on our way to Fort St. John. We are now 90 miles NW and just able to climb to 45 which is 1,500 AGL. Jim carefully checked the minimum safe altitudes to make sure we would be safe. We were advised it would be clear VFR from here. The total distance between Red Deer and Ft. St. John is 351 nm. There are mammoth beaver dams along the way and a lovely combination of green fields and forest with several lakes. Now, approaching Whitcourt, we can see forever. GS is now down to 125kts as opposed to 135 this morning. It’s now 3 PM Mountain Time. Highway 43 is running along with us now for a short time from Whitecourt to Grand Prairie. Arriving in Grand Prairie @ 4:15…crystal clear…we can see forever. Scattered several thousand feet above, but we were advised to stay low to take advantage of the winds (or lack or winds!). 22 Miles from Ft. St. John there is a beautiful grand canyon looking river called Peace River. It’s such a beautiful evening; we decide to go on to Fort Nelson. It’s 5:45 PM and the distance is 167 nm which should take us @ 1:45 min. However, the winds are more than anticipated, so it may take longer. We have VFR flight plans all along our route, which is mandatory, but also comforting. Along with the ELT we have on board, we have a personal ELT which we would have to activate should the need arise. The mountains off to the west are covered with snow and the land below us is a tree-covered mound with snow covering the ground. There is not a road, house or airport in sight. There are, however, dirt roads for people to tend to the oil or gas wells. Arriving in Ft. Nelson @ 7:30 PM we find it is now 6:30 PM…another time zone. This is the beginning of mud season here and it looks like being in the windshield replacement business would be lucrative.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004…. Ft. Nelson to Northway, AK
My flight:
Prior to leaving Ft. Nelson at 8 AM we are advised that there is a front coming into Whitehorse in about 7 hours. We anticipate the first leg to take us 2 hours, 45 minutes for fueling and another 2 hours to Whitehorse. However, there are snow squalls to the ground 3 to 5 miles sw of our route and there are no weather reporting stations in that direction. After 40 miles, they start to let up. You can’t imagine the beauty of these mountains along with the deep canyons with ice flows sliding down the river. More snow showers ahead. Now more SW, snow and frozen lakes. No radio contact 100 miles from either airport. We have to go up to 65 to get over the mountains. Crystal clear over the snow covered mountains to our left and snow north and to our right, but clear ahead.
We can now see the Alaskan Highway running along beside the Laird River on its way to Watson Lake.
After fueling and getting an updated briefing in Watson Lake, we are on our way to Whitehorse. Sorry, no pictures…yet! For now, still in the Yukon Territory, we can stay at 4,500’, but must go to 65 o get over the mountains. We’re also crossing the Alaskan Highway.
We’re now at 8,500’ giving us some space above the razor sharp peaks surrounding us for as far as we can see. I’m very grateful to not have moderate turbulence again today. It would be unsettling in these mountains.
Today I’m flying for the 2nd day in a row. That’s just about how it has been going. I flew the first 2 days, then Jim flew 2 days and now I’m on my second. He’ll be ready to fly into our destination or Merrill Field in Anchorage tomorrow. I will also be willing to sit right seat for a change. I can’t imagine anything more spectacular than this trip.
We check in at Tesslin as a reporting point. Since Tesslin looks so small and isolated and the woman I reported in to seemed so willing to chat, I asked about services if we should stop in there on the way home. It’s right on a huge lake, nestled into a protective cove. She said their population was 436 including dogs and cats. The industry is the government, mostly and also the Indians also have some employees. The ice she reported is too mushy for ice fishing and too solid for boating. They expect the season (fishing) to open in another month.
After having the camera battery in my pocket during the leg to Whitehorse, it is finally working. We’re flying up the Burwash Pass with mountains up to 10,000’ on the south side to our left and 10,000’ to the north. The mountain ridge straight ahead is 20,000’. Fortunately, we will be going to the right, NW, up ahead following the pass. It is 10 degrees F up here at 8,500’. Pictures start going to AK in Whitehorse.
Burwash Pass
Crossed over into Alaska at 3:55 PM. Jim saw a moose 21 miles east of Northway and we’re running into un-forecasted rain showers.
I’d like to make a little note of interest here that when Jim and I get out of the plane we promptly put on our coats. However, all the people on the ramp fueling are in short sleeves! They think it is worm…40 f and windy!
Heading for dinner at Fast Eddy’s and a warm bed in the motel in TOK Junction. The visibility is great when taking off from Northway where we’ve cleared customs again. There are 4 airports to choose from and we haven’t been able to put any Alaska airports in the GPS, yet. In the States we use the letter “K” first and in Canada “C”. It’s starting to rain again and the ceiling is dropping, too. We only have to go the last famous 50 miles and Jim looses his flight plan on his GPS. I’m using the VOR bearing from Northway, but end up with the several airports to choose from in one small area. So, back to basics. Look for the airport that has the restaurant across the street. It’s not at the gravel strip. Turn toward the next choice and end up on a nice 45 entry for a left downwind to 25 at the right airport. LUCK! I’ve flown today for 7.5 hours, but with the fuel stops and lunch it turns into a 10-hour day. I’m tired, but very excited to be in Alaska. To give you an idea of how far away we are, here are some details. We are 4 hours earlier than Eastern Daylight Time. The coordinates are N63 19.77 W142 57.22.
Dinner at Fast Eddy’s is on the main road from Fairbanks, so it is busy and the food is good. The halibut is sweet and tender. My decision to have apple pie and ice cream for desert turns out to keep me awake with sugar I’m not used to eating. However, it may also have something to do with the fact that it is light almost all night and we are finally in Alaska!
Wednesday May 12, 2003
This morning we’re taking our time going over the details for the Merrill Field arrival in Anchorage. The field is between the Anchorage International Airport, Lake Hood Seaplane base and the Elmendorf AFB with restricted areas, too. We’re using the literature that the FSS gave us in Northway last night. We have to put in some user waypoints in the GPS for the VFR reporting points since we are unfamiliar with the area. This is Jim’s day for flying and I’m sitting right seat. Using the VFR chart we have to weave our way through the mountain passes because the tops of the mountains along this pass are obscured at 5,000’. Rivers and roads for landmarks make it a little easier since the razor sharp peaks look all the same and they are towing on either side and in front of us.
Mantassa Pass
We’re dealing with some light rain showers, but they are fortunately not interfering with our visibility. Now, out of the passes we can see further and we can get closer to our GPS course. We’re skirting the Wrangell Mountains and the glaciers are becoming more evident on them. We’re looking for black bears on the gravel banks along the Copper River. Because we were so prepared and had also spoken with another experienced pilot in this area, our arrival into Merrill Field was easy. We were cleared to land and then the Tomahawk in front of us didn’t do the touch and go they were supposed to, so we were told to go around. However, the other plane took off right below and in front of us. We landed without incident and the tower thanked us for helping out. We landed at 2:40 PM our time and 6:40 PM your time.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Jim won’t let another day go by until I tell you a little story. First, I have to give you some background. Ever since I’ve known Jim I’ve been telling him the importance of using a backpack that is easy to carry and one that is not damaging to his back….one that actually supports straight posture, etc., etc. Of course I always travel with one. He now has a good one that he loves.
Well, when I was packing I was thinking about an emergency situation and what would be the easiest thing to grab out of the plane that would have everything I need to stay warm and dry with a bright yellow waterproof bag with a tent, sleeping bag, food, etc. That left me with a new small rolling suitcase for everyday. It all sounded very sensible until I was trying to roll (it was more like drag) my suitcase across a ramp and sidewalk to another parking lot in TOK that had 2- inch stone for the surface. That was after the 10 hours of traveling and it was raining! I tugged; it bounced, tipped and bounced some more. So much for efficiency! I WILL repack for the trip home so I can just put on my backpack with the overnight essentials and go!
Today we’re taking a trip down to Homer. We’ve been to Palmer, Wasilla, Seward and Whittier, so Homer is the destination for today. The ceiling is down to 1,500’ with 5 miles in mist so we don’t need to fly in that in order to get to Fairbanks. Tomorrow the front should pass and we will then fly. There is a man in Fairbanks that specializes in Cessna 175s and uses a tail wheel conversion. We saw one at the Airmen’s Show on floats and liked the looks of his work and would like to talk to him some more.
The drive is spectacular along the Turnagan Arm and I’ll attach some pictures.
Left: Mt. McKinley; Right: Turnagan Arm
We didn’t make it to Homer due to a late start.
I’ve enjoyed the hotel we are staying in. It is the Millennium Hotel and right on Lake Hood overlooking all the seaplanes. However, if you don’t like planes, this would not be the place to stay. Due to the excessive amount of daylight hours, planes start departing at 5 AM right beneath our window. In addition to the general aviation planes, the numerous 747s departing the International Airport start at 3 A.M. Fortunately, when the wind blows away from us, the noise of the larger traffic is not noticeable.
Millennium Hotel resident
As we walk into the hotel we are greeted with the atmosphere of a huge hunting lodge. There is a full size polar bear, brown bear, musk ox and mountain goat in various locations. Every other animal and fish that lives in Alaska along with enormous fly rods and fire arms are all around the walls. In addition to the wildlife there are photographs of old seaplane pilots, bush pilots with ski planes off in the backcountry and many Eskimo pictures. It’s really very tastefully decorated with plush leather furniture and the fireplace has a fire in it 24 hours a day. In addition to the refrigerator and coffee maker in our room there is a nice basket full of assorted coffees and teas.
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
We’re leaving this morning from Anchorage and flying to Fairbanks. On the way we will detour to look at some property for a friend and take some pictures of it. When we were in Palmer the other day we went to the Borough,s Office of Records (Registry of Deeds) to look up the location. We found it is located southwest of Telkeetna on a lake that has yet to be named. We wrote down the latitude and longitude and put it into Jim’s GPS. We need to find out if it is big enough to take off and land on and what the surrounding area looks like. The GPS took us right to it and it sure is big enough and the lot is on top of a hill with lake frontage with a direct view of Mount McKinley! However, there are no roads in sight. If anything is to be built, it will have to be brought in by plane.
Now, we have to weave our way through the passes to get to Fairbanks. One pass is VERY narrow and we are dealing with some showers again. I’m glad we took some pictures of Mt. McKinley when we did because it is now completely in the clouds. Arrived in Fairbanks after a 2 and 1/2 hour flight. I must say I feel very, very far away from everything! I’ll have to find out tomorrow what brings people to Fairbanks. After coming through the steep mountains of 8 to 10 thousand feet with Mt. McKinley reaching 20,230 feet, it seems almost impossible to have the topography flatten out so quickly. In one of the passes we flew right over Denali National Park.
Windy Pass
I forgot to mention about our departure from Anchorage. To make a long story short: we took off on runway 24 and we were supposed to fly to the creek, follow that to the right, stay in class D airspace, climb to 2,200 feet to stay out of class B and stay in a little narrow path to stay out of the restricted airspace of Elmendorf AFB. That was a little nerve racking, but we made it without busting any airspace.
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Fairbanks
We haven’t even gone to the airport to browse, yet, and it’s 8 o’clock at night. I might add the sun is as high as it is at home at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Still having trouble sleeping.
It occurred to me today that I have forgotten to tell you about Lake Hood in Anchorage. It is such a famous seaplane base with seaplanes wing-tip to wing-tip around the edges. I’ll show you some pictures of the equipment that is used to change from floats to wheels/skis and then back to floats.
Lake Hood
Equipment used to change from floats to wheels/skis and back to floats
Today we made arrangements for a rental car and then we went on a 3.5 tour on a paddle boat on the Chena River. We saw the team of dogs and the breeding farm of Susan Butcher who has won the Ididarod Race three years in a row. The family that owns the boat answered many questions I’ve had about Alaskan sled dogs. We also stopped at an Athabasca Indian village to show how the they live today since being modernized from our influence and how they survived 10,000 years ago on their own. Honestly, we learned so much that if I tell you all about it, I won’t have time to TRY to settle down for bed!
Friday, May 21, 2004
I was too tired last night to go on much about Fairbanks, but we really had a very nice day playing tourists for a change. In addition to the information about Fairbanks I told you about yesterday, we found out about what makes the economy tick. The University of Fairbanks with 5,000 or so students is in town, but the main source of income is tourists. The Air Force Base near the International field also purchases substantial amounts of fuel for their use and there is considerable mining going on in the area. Fairbanks is 1,200 miles from the Bering Sea on the Tanana River and salmon swim by here on their way to spawn in July. The Athabasca Indians still use the same method of catching the salmon with a wheel sort of set-up with two very large baskets on it with a trough going from the baskets into a reservoir for collection as they did thousands of years ago. Sometimes they catch so many fish they have to shut down the process so they have a chance to catch up with the filleting and hanging.
Now I can fill you in on the real estate market. It costs $125 per square foot to build a house and the property, on the water, is $50,000 to $60,000 an acre. Insulation in the roof is 30” thick and 16” in the walls. All the houses along the bank were year-round because it is too dangerous to leave them unattended. It is very high maintenance to keep the incoming water and the outgoing waste from freezing.
Today we had a great flight in a Cessna 175 on Bowman 2550 floats. We departed in the seaplane lane in-between the two runways at the International Airport. We flew at 1,000’ msl and over to a spot to view moose and swans. We saw 9 moose including a cow with her calf and a pair of swans. During the flight the pilot told us he had built a cabin in a remote lake and had the kit airlifted in for $500 back in 1986. He also offered it to us to use, but duty calls at home.
We are now flying from Fairbanks to Northway, which is east about 200 nm. The Tanana River looks like a braid and it amazes me the salmon can find their way. I’ve noticed the braided pattern on the charts and didn’t understand what they were depicting, but now I do. We’re passing over farmland again with the snow-covered mountains south and to our right. There’s a large area that is burning, but we were told during the boat trip that these fires are allowed to burn. The new growth of the willows and birch provide good food for the moose.
Remember when I was telling you about our departure from Anchorage and having to stay in class D and out of class B airspace? I forgot to mention the ceiling was only 2,700’!
I checked this morning on sunrise and sunset in Fairbanks. Sunrise is 4:06 AM and sunset is 11:32 PM. It’s amazing how much energy we have when the sun is shining.
Northway (ORT) to Whitehorse (CYXY) 267 nm
We’re leaving Northway now after refueling and a quick sandwich and heading due east. It’s really remarkable how different the vegetation is here compared to 10 days ago. With so much sunlight, everything just keeps growing. The cabbages in Alaska grow to 48” in diameter.
It is much more relaxing today with crystal blue sky as apposed to the drizzle and snow with low ceilings we experienced when we came thru on the way up.
When we went into the flight service station in Northway, Jim looked to see how many planes had arrived since we signed in and there were only eight. We’re going thru the Burwash Pass again today so I’ll see if I can get some more pictures.
Sorry about the pictures. Jim decided to go direct and take advantage of the clear sky and slight tail wind at 9,500’ that is giving us a ground speed of 130 kts. Smoother here and it puts us 2,000’ above the mountains. It’s 25 degrees at this altitude, but we are very comfortable with a slight amount of cabin heat. I have on my lightweight fleece which has been all I’ve needed except on the windy days. The temperature has stayed just about 60 most of the time during our stay on the ground.
We are now in Canada and a different time zone. It’s 7:45 PM, one half hour from Whitehorse and the sun is high.
After getting a cab downtown and checking into the River View Hotel, we sat down to dinner at 9:45 PM. The restaurant was as active as it would be at home at 7:30 to 8:00 PM. Four more people were seated after we were served.
Saturday May 22, 2004
This morning we had breakfast and walked down to see the paddleboat “Klondike”. Because we are anxious to get to the airport to take advantage of the high-pressure system we are in, we didn’t go for a tour…another item to put on our list for a return trip.
Whitehorse FSS has several WAC charts taped together on their wall, so we will take a look at that and combine that information with the weather to determine which route we will take from here. From the television weather, it looks like we should travel thru Canada more to the east and pass Lake Superior on the north shore. This will make our trip a little different and allow us to stop in Thunder Bay to see the seaplane base there. The bottom line is the availability of fuel in that direction.
Talking to the briefer at Whitehorse, it appears we will be better off flying to Watson Lake (180nm) for lunch and fuel and then on to Fort Nelson for another briefing. We will then decide whether to go on to LaRonge or not. We’re traveling on a heading of 072, which feels funny. Traveling northeast seems wrong, but the variance here is 24 degrees east. There is inclement weather further south. We’re now in Pacific Time and crossing from the Yukon Territory into British Columbia today. We’re at 7,500’ because of the minimum safe altitude, but we are also enjoying a 10-knot tail wind with a very high status layer above. Yesterday, the ice was only partially out and today the lakes are all open. Do you remember my telling you about the woman in Teslin and the conditions for fishing there? Teslin Lake is now completely ice free.
Now that I’ve convinced you how much warmer it is, the further we travel inland, the more frozen lakes we see!
After leaving Watson Lake and crossing into British Columbia, we can no longer go direct, as we were able to this morning due to snow showers. They’re isolated, so we are going over to the road and go around them.
We’re past the mountains and snow showers over more level terrain and below some light puffy cumulous clouds.
Arrived in Fort Nelson at 4 PM Pacific time.
Jim is flying another day. Leaving Fort Nelson we were going to go to High Level, but there are no fuel services on the weekend without an extra fee of $50. We ran into that on the way up at another airport and chances are we wouldn’t be able to get a ride to a motel either. We’ve decided to go southeast to Fort Nelson. Just after we passed Fort St. John we entered the Province of Alberta.
We’re still dealing with scattered showers, but they are easy to go around and some are thin enough to go thru. We are still enjoying a nice tailwind of 5 to 10 kts while we are passing over lush farmland intermingled with gas wells.
The elevation of Grand Prairie is 2,195’ and we touched down at 7:20 PM. Arriving at the hotel we find we have passed into another time zone. We’re now in Mountain Time.
Sunday, May 23, 2004...Day three of our trip home.
I expected another old town when we landed in Grand Prairie, but I was pleasantly surprised. It seems the population has grown 10,000 plus in the last 10 years due to the increase in gas and oil drilling. The fires we’ve seen along the route at each site is the burning off of the deadly gas allowing the workers to work in the area. Inhaling that gas will kill them immediately. I don’t know how they separate the two gasses, but evidently they do.
Today is my day to fly and we’re dealing with much the same weather as yesterday. Unfortunately we have a 5 kt headwind that will increase to 20 kts. Leaving Grand Prairie, Alberta, our destination is Dauphin, Manitoba. We’ll be stopping in Red Deer, Alberta and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Province. Each leg is in the vicinity of 250 nm making it comfortable with no stress about our fuel consumption.
Well, here we are in Red Deer and there is not a sole tending the fuel and the restaurant is closed up tight. The air traffic controllers were nice enough to call about the fuel to keep us going. After * hour, along comes a woman saying she is usually here, but she is moving this weekend. Anyway, we were fueled and off we went. Good thing I took a slice of bread and some peanut butter this morning. Jim seems to be happy with a couple of cookies. This is flat farming country along in here and the showers are letting up. The Edmonton flight service briefer said they would subside, but the headwinds will pick up, which they have. She also said we would be able to see the terrible weather southeast of us that is giving the States such a bad time, but it is too hazy to see.
Crossing into Saskatchewan there is not anything green except for an occasional tree. The area looks as if it is suffering from a terrible drought with many of the lakes and rivers completely dry.
Arriving in Saskatoon we are just too tired to continue safely to Dauphin. Also, there was no one answering the phone in Dauphin, so no guarantee of fuel or a ride into town.
Doug, at the Esso FBO, could not have been nicer making hotel reservations at the Park Town Hotel in Saskatoon for us. He also made arrangements for us to get to the hotel. Our room overlooks a river that has a wonderful walkway along the shore that we enjoyed stretching our legs on. The lights on the other shore look more like civilization than what we’ve been exposed to in the last two weeks. It’s very pleasant and sure beats the icing in the IFR conditions ahead of us. We’ll stay here another day to wait for the weather to clear.
For a little personal update, Jim is delighted he doesn’t have to lift my suitcase in and out of the plane any longer. I now have what I need in my backpack!
Monday, May 24, 2004
Spending the day in Saskatoon today to wait for the thunderstorms and icing conditions to move further east so we can follow along behind. No VFR or IFR flying is possible. WE are spending the day watching the weather, walking, resting and watching the weather some more. While we are enjoying the warm sun, it seems impossible that there is so much bad weather in front of us. If we were to take the southern route and pass on the south side of the Great Lakes, the weather is worse. We’ll just be patient and wait. Today is a Holiday in Canada. No one seems to know what Holiday it is, but they are enjoying an extra day off or time and a half if they’re working.
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Up at 5:30 AM to check on the weather again. Not good, so we will try again at 10 AM and hope to at least get to Dauphin.
Weather at 11 AM; after a long discussion with Edmonton FSS, we’ve decided to go southeast from here into North Dakota. We would rather pass on going into Williston, but that airport is a port or entry and we have to go thru Customs again. I’ll get another briefing when we get there, but at least we are moving towards home and will stay out of another low pressure system coming in from the west of Saskatoon.
My day to fly….
We’re in the air now at 3,500 feet. There are some rain showers with a ceiling of 5,000’, but we can go around the showers easily. Some of the tops are at 22,000’, so I’m going to stay at this altitude. The more I fly this plane, the more I like it. Using the Garmin 430 that is coupled to the autopilot makes it possible to fly, watch for traffic, write and take pictures. I have to make sure I don’t get complacent about the traffic because there are so few planes flying.
When I called US Customs they said to make sure we had a squawk code before crossing the border and to make sure our timing was correct for our arrival because we will be watched from above. I didn’t ask him to specify, but I assume he meant by satellite. We go thru more trouble with customs in the US than we do with Canada, but I guess I’m glad they watch the borders so well.
During my briefing this morning they said that if we could be off the ground in Saskatoon by 1 PM, we would miss the thunderstorms that are expected to build along our route due to the water laden atmosphere and the warm lifting going on. The warmer it gets during the day, the more chance for the thunderstorms. We were off the ground at 12:25 PM
We are now passing thru the line of showers. It is very dark on both sides of us, east and west, but we have experienced very little rain on our direct route. I can’t believe how fortunate we have been. We’ve been going in between these showers for an hour and a half now with no showers in site straight ahead.
Back in the States at 2:30 PM crossing the northeast corner of Montana into North Dakota and another time zone almost immediately. We’ve landed in Williston, North Dakota at precisely 3 PM, on time, with the Customs Officer waiting for us on the ramp. We cleared customs, paid for our fuel and borrowed the airport car to go to Applebee’s for dinner. We stopped at the supermarket to pick up some more water and some nutritional snacks and scurried to the airport. Thicker clouds are coming in from the west, but looking at the weather computer we see that we can make it to Jamestown, North Dakota for fuel with no problem. We are now * hour east of Williston with clear skies ahead and a 15-knot tail wind…closer to home.
Now, Jamestown, North Dakota, to Duluth, Sky Harbor, Minnesota…8:30 PM for a 2.5 hour flight and we can make it home from there tomorrow, weather permitting. Crossing into Minnesota at 9 PM, we’re enjoying a pretty sunset up here. We have all the info we need and can expect to arrive at 10:30 PM. There’s a Hampton Inn about 5 miles away from the airport and we’ll try to contact them for a shuttle. It’s getting very hazy, but still VFR. There is no flight following out here and no reporting stations. We spoke with Flight Service after becoming airborne and they gave the weather expected at Sky Harbor... 3,500’ broken, winds 270 at 15 kts. Their runways are 14/32, so it should be interesting again. We are now enjoying a 141 kt ground speed. Arriving at Sky Harbor at 9:40 PM, the airport looks like it is the only thing there is between Lake Superior and the River. During the day there is more to this peninsular, but at night the illusion creates a funny feeling. Five miles out when I turned on the landing lights, I lost the nav and com radios. I shut off the lights, and pushed up the avionics master that had shut down. The radios still didn’t work, but I found the audio panel had also shut down. I turned that back on, and then I put on just the landing light without the taxi light. I had lost the navigation on the Garmin 430, but I had the airport in sight, so I continued on my way.
After safely landing, we call the Hampton Inn for a room and they in turn call a taxi for us. Crackers and water were not enough to sustain us for the night, so we walk to some restaurants to finally find one open and serving pizza or appetizers till midnight. The walk to and from the hotel feels good after a long day of flying.
We haven’t set an alarm on this trip, so we won’t again tonight. We’re tired, but we also know we will only be able to fly one or possible 2 legs tomorrow due to the weather.
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Duluth, Sky Harbor to Sault St. Marie, Canada
Sky Harbor is in Duluth, Minnesota, CDT. Taking off we cross into Wisconsin. In * hour we cross into Michigan and into EDT. All of this is a little confusing when I’m trying to tell you where we are and when, but also for flight planning and customs. Flight Service works with Zulu time and Customs uses military time. I can keep the Zulu time straight, but I take the time when talking to Customs to make sure we are both talking about the same time for our arrival. Both Flight Service and Customs like the fact that we have a cell phone with us just in case we forget to cancel our flight plan to save them from sending out search and rescue. When we arrive after business hours at an airport, there is no one for them to call to find out our whereabouts.
Our en route forecast was for a scattered layer at 3,500’, but it is much higher allowing us to cruise at 5,500’ at 135 to 140 kts. Arriving early does not make Customs happy, but it is lovely on the pocketbook. We’ll try to call ahead and let them know so they won’t be upset. Unfortunately, the message never seems to get from Flight Service to Customs, but we will try.
We’re passing over the shores of Lake Superior again and it really is beautiful. There is no flight following here nor are we under radar coverage. If we needed to navigate on our own without the GPS it would be much easier here than over the mid states and Saskatchewan Province. Those areas are so flat there would be no way to tell if we were off course or not. I can’t imagine being low on fuel and trying to find an airport when it wasn’t where I expected it to be.
6 PM Departure from Sault St. Marie
After clearing customs and getting a quick bite to eat, we are at 5,500’ and there isn’t a cloud in the sky in front of us. The flight briefer mentioned clouds would be at 3,200’ when we arrive in North Bay, so we will have to fly lower sooner or later. We hate to leave this nice tail wind giving us 140 kt ground speed.
We’re talking about where to stop for the night. Will we stay in North Bay, Ontario or continue on to Messina. It’s only 211 nm and a flight of one hour and forty-five minutes to North Bay and another 200 nm to Messina. Jim is flying today and has decided to see what the weather is in Messina when we stop in North Bay and then make the decision. I think we’ll be able to make it, too, if the weather holds out. We are still in somebody else’s time zone, so we feel fresh. We just don’t know which one! If we’re still in Alaska’s time, then it is only 2:50 PM. Ordinarily we stop for the night at a more reasonable hour.
We’re out of civilization again between Sault St. Marie and North Bay. The earth below looks like a carpet of small mounds of moss with hundreds of ponds and just an occasional dirt road.
As we’re approaching the North Bay airport, we’re flying along Lake Nippising and the whole area is beautiful in this early evening sun. This is my favorite time of day to fly. I enjoy the softer light and long shadows.
We have 211 nm to go in one hour and forty-seven minutes. We have to make it in time to get fuel before the FBO closes. We call for a cab and then try to find a room, but it is not easy. There are only 1,000 hotel rooms in the city and it is heavily traveled due to its location in between Ottawa and Sault St. Marie. After three hotels we find the only room in the Inn on The Bay is a suite with a bathroom the size of some of the motel rooms we’ve stayed in on our journey. Since our only other option is a smoking room, I’m going to enjoy this luxury on our last night out.
Thursday, May 27, 2004
It is just three weeks today that we set out on our trip to Alaska and we wake up at 5 AM anxious to get home. We have four hours more to go before arriving in Auburn, Maine and I must call Flight Service for the weather, file a flight plan and then notify Customs for out ETA of 11 AM in Messina, New York. Jim is flying again today and the flight is so smooth that it feels like sitting in a comfortable chair with just a slight…very slight feeling of floating. It sure is different from the weather that we’ve been through. Yesterday and the day before we had to make sure our seat belts were snug because of the turbulence.
Most of the time in the plane we have heard only an occasional voice between airports and now the chatter of Ottawa is almost constant. After we get closer, about 20 nm, we’ll get a transponder code in order to pass thru their airspace and cross into the States. There are so many trade offs with communication, but I’ve enjoyed all the changes.
When we departed Auburn the tach read 1141.1. It is now 1200.0
Customs wanted more information from us than they normally do because of the recent terrorist threats, but if that’s the price we have to pay for our freedom, any inconvenience is worth it. They asked for the plane registration papers, our licenses and medicals.
After refueling we are now on our final leg. We’re climbing to 7,500’ at 11:50 AM. This altitude will put us above the clouds and White Mountains and it is perfectly smooth. We’ve been so close to the ground for so long it feels strange up here. We expect this leg to take us one hour and forty-five minutes. I think I’ll have some crackers and dried apricots to hold me over till we have lunch at the airport restaurant.
We’re now at 9,500’ to stay at a legal altitude above the scattered to broken layer below. The tops are all fairly even except for where Mount Washington is. Those clouds are about 1,000 feet higher. Flying back into civilization now with more roads and buildings. What is a very welcome sight are the trees and crystal clear lakes. Having passed through Vermont after leaving Messina we are entering New Hampshire at 1 PM. Now 1:20 PM and crossing into Maine. Arriving in Auburn (LEW) at 1:35 PM safe and sound.
Now that we’re home there are many things to catch up on, but one is straightening out my journal. I need to make sure that I had the towns in the right Provinces and States. WE traveled only an average of 120 knots, but sometimes I missed crossing a State or time zone. Writing it all down really was beneficial to realize what an adventure this trip was.
The most difficult thing on the trip may surprise you. It wasn’t dealing with the weather, the flight planning or flying the plane. The confusion and frustration was trying to send out my journal using the Internet. It was something I had not anticipated having a problem with. The problem started with the phone lines in Alaska. Since the hotel didn’t have an appropriate set-up to use, I had to go to the computer store and get some msn software. Then, I had to go thru the learning curve with new software that didn’t work. After several attempts with very little success, msn responded to my plea for help. By then I was on the way home and didn’t have time to change everything around. The real frustration was that I couldn’t let you know what I was experiencing in a timely manor. I did, however, write and type my journal almost everyday. Thank you so much for your interest in reading it!
We flew a total of 61.4 hours round trip. We hated to leave Alaska, we’re glad to be home and we can’t wait to go back.
