Back Home in Tampa

We got up early this morning and did the usual routine: breakfast, checkout, drive to the airport, and load up. Although we were only 3 ½ hours from home, I wanted to try to land in Tampa before the typical afternoon thunderstorms started raging. We managed to take off shortly after 9am, which is pretty good for our group!

We had clear skies for the first half of the flight and then we started seeing more and more clouds building up around us. At 11,000 feet, we were above most of them and I was able to make minor course adjustments to avoid the rest. I was keeping an eye on the NEXRAD images showing thunderstorms further south, but it really doesn’t do you much good to worry about that until you get a little closer, because the cells move very quickly.

As we approached Tallahassee, we could see the thunderstorms looming ahead. ATC was very helpful and offered me deviations around the storms in practically any direction. Luckily for us, there was a 10 – 15 mile gap in the storms that lined up almost perfectly with our route. We were able to squeeze through with very little course change.

An hour later we were descending into Tampa. We got a nice view of Tampa International as ATC vectored us directly over the east-west runway toward downtown. We landed and shutdown…and then the real work began: completely unloading the plane. All our stuff would barely fit in our SUV!

It has been another wonderful trip! I hope you have enjoyed reading about our adventures. Check back on my website once in a while to see what we’re up to next at http://www.kyle-bailey.com/

Here are some trip stats:
29 Nights away from home
11 Hotels (+ 1 cruise ship)
12,000 Miles traveled
9,500 In the airplane, and
2,500 On the cruise ship
54 Flight Hours
2,500 Gallons of jet fuel burned
6 Rental Cars
5 Customs Stops
6 Instrument approaches in bad weather
21 Airports visited

Memphis #2

We slept in again this morning, the last full day of our trip. After “brunch” at the hotel, we jumped in the rental car and headed for Graceland. We bought the platinum tickets which included the mansion, the airplanes, the cars, and several other smaller exhibits. I found the mansion to be fascinating! Elvis was a big deal when I was very young and I can remember my grandmother Mimi talking about him frequently. She always thought I looked like Elvis and she even bought me an Elvis mirror for my room so I could comb my hair next to the King each morning.

I have never been a big Elvis fan, but I must admit that I really enjoyed the audio tour of his house. They had the living room, dining room, kitchen, TV room, game room and Jungle Room pretty much as he left them when he passed away. The décor was a riot, shag green carpeting on the ceiling in some places and his TCB lightning logo featured in many places! Next, we saw his Vernon’s (his dad) office, the trophy room, and the racquetball court / gym where he spent his last morning of his life. The tour ended near the family cemetery where he is buried.

I also enjoyed touring his two airplanes. One is a large airliner converted for his personal use. It reminded me very much of the Boeing Business jet, but of course it was decorated in late 70’s style. The other was a smaller business jet that was less extravagant, but even more garishly decorated. The kids also enjoyed one exhibit featuring his many white jumpsuits –there must have been over 100 in there! They especially liked the suits with Eagles or fire on them.

Each exhibit had its own gift shop, so it took a while to get Michele out of there. In one shop, they had a large neon Elvis signs with one of his outfits in a glass case behind a velvet rope. Michele wanted her pictures in front of this sign and I was happy to oblige. Next, Cameron wanted to get in the picture too, so he ran in there next to his mommy…and…sat on the velvet rope. The faux-marble columns holding the rope began to tip one after the other –bang, bang, bang! Then, an alarm sounded and a recorded voice said to “step away from the case”. Michele was mortified, but I found the whole thing hilarious! We took the picture after everything was put back in order, but Cameron was too embarrassed to smile and dug his head into Michele’s shoulder instead.

After Graceland, we drove back to the hotel for our last siesta of the trip. We got up later in the afternoon, had a quick dinner and then walked to the mall next door and saw “WALL-E”, which we all enjoyed. I’ve got to do a little flight planning and then turn in early. We want to get to Tampa before the typical afternoon thunderstorms start popping up.

Memphis #1

This morning, we went through our normal departure routine: Breakfast, checkout, drive to the airport, load the plane, do the preflight. Custer airport does not have a fuel truck, so I had to start up and taxi up to the pumps. They also didn’t have a ladder long enough to reach our wing tanks, but the airport manager, Ralph, was very helpful. He backed his van under the wing so we could stand on top. Ralph and Roland fueled the plane while I returned our rental car. By the time I got back, we were ready to go.

We took off and headed southeast. It was a beautiful day to fly with clear skies and a smooth ride. About 2 ½ hours later, we touched down in Lincoln, Nebraska. The FBO had our catering ready and fueled the plane quickly. We were back in the air in no time. In three more hours we were approaching Memphis, TN.

Unfortunately, we seemed to be arriving at a very busy time for FedEx. We were vectored around to the east side of the airport as FedEx heavies landed and departed to the south. Finally, they cleared us for the visual approach for 27. Being mindful of the busy airport environment, I touched down on the numbers and exited the runway at the first taxiway, making room for others to take off and land behind me. The ground controller deftly slipped me in between enormous FedEx cargo jets and we eventually taxied into the FBO.

After we shut down, we all spent a few minutes digging out our last bit of clean underwear and socks from the cargo pod and put them in smaller duffle bags for our two night stay –nothing but dirty clothes in there now! We got the airplane secured, jumped in our rental car and drove downtown to the Peabody, arriving about 5:30 local time.

After freshening up and resting for about an hour, we walked a few blocks to the famous Beale Street to find some dinner. We were a bit discouraged when the first place we tried to get in did not allow children. We finally ended up at the Blues City Café --we all had baby back ribs and they were delicious! After dinner, we walked up and down Beale Street. Like Nashville, most restaurants on this row had live music inside. There were also several bands playing outside on the street and we stopped to listen for a while at each one. We ducked into the Hard Rock Café and got the obligatory T-shirt, then crossed the street and found a band playing in a small park. We let the kids rip and run in the grass, while we enjoyed the music. Soul food and Blues –I love Memphis!

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a mall. Michele and Sandy shopped for a little while and I took the boys back to the room to get ready for bed. Tomorrow, we are planning to visit Graceland. Only two more nights, and we’ll be back in our own beds.

Custer #2

Well, it turns out there is plenty to keep us busy around here! We were all a little tired from traveling all day yesterday, so we slept in late, getting up around 9:30. After breakfast, we headed out for a day of sightseeing. The weather was great today with sunny skies and temps in the 80’s.

First, we went to the Crazy Horse Memorial. It is a work in progress –a truly gigantic mountain carving of the Indian atop his horse pointing into the distance. It is a private project and they receive no public funding, so work goes as quickly (or slowly) as the budget and weather will allow. In addition to the monument, they had a very nice museum and gift shop filled with Native American items.

Next, we headed to Mt. Rushmore. I got a kick out of finally seeing this one in person. We took pictures, had lunch, and browsed the displays at the visitor center.

After leaving Mt. Rushmore, we headed to the town of Keystone to visit the Big Thunder Gold Mine. We took a tour of the mine and learned about the two men that mined it. It was really a sad story. These two guys used to be partner in a successful mine down the road and were moderately wealthy. They decided to part ways with that mine and start their own: Big Thunder. They worked on a meager budget, camping outside at night and working all day with a hammer and chisel. They found $20 worth of gold on the first day and then nothing else for 15 years, yet they still kept at it. It’s one thing to be persistent, but that seems ridiculous! After the tour, the kids got to pan for gold. We found a few gold flakes in the gravel and got to keep them in a small vial.

We continued on toward Rapid City to the Flying T Chuck Wagon Supper & Show. It wasn’t quite as I had imagined: The food was served not outdoors from a chuck wagon, but from a buffet line in a big barn. The show was billed as comedy and music, but it was mostly just music. Still, the food was pretty good and Cameron really enjoyed dancing to the country music.

After a while, the kids started to get bored, so we left the show a bit early. Not wanting to backtrack past the monuments, we took a different route back to our hotel, cutting through the Custer Park near dusk. It was a beautiful drive and we got to see buffalo and deer along the roadside as the sun set over the hills.

Tomorrow, we will be heading to Memphis, TN with a fuel stop in Lincoln, NE. A quick check of the weather tonight shows the nice, big high pressure system still covering our entire route of flight. I predict another beautiful day for flying!

Custer #1

Before we went to bed last night, we had to answer one important question: What time to get the wake-up call this morning? I began by working backwards. The rental car place in Custer closes at 5pm, so 4pm was our target arrival time. Subtract two flights of 2 ½ hours each, an hour fuel / customs stop, an hour to drive from Lake Louise to Golden, an hour for breakfast and…holy cow, we have to wake up at 6:30am!

Much to my delight, everything went like clockwork today. We got up, had breakfast, checked out and were on the road by 8am. Traffic was light on Sunday morning, so we didn’t have any delays driving back to the airport. I dropped off the rental car, got a cab back to the airport and we were off by about 10:15, just slightly behind schedule.

Today was such a gorgeous day for flying! I don’t think I saw a cloud all day long. When we departed Golden, we followed the railroad tracks up the valley, right past our hotel at Lake Louise. The air was pretty smooth, so I stayed low and I really enjoyed sightseeing along the way. Eventually, we emerged from the Rocky Mountains near Calgary and then turned south and paralleled the range back into the good ol’ US of A.

We had to stop to clear customs at Great Falls, MT and I must say, this was the smoothest, most effortless experience I’ve ever had clearing customs in the US. We landed and taxied up to customs and an agent came out to greet us. He did a brief scan of the airplane (radiation detector?) and then ushered us inside to check our passports. Of course, I had all the paperwork in order and that helps, too. After only a few minutes, we walked back outside and someone from the FBO was waiting for us with our catering order. He took my credit card back to the FBO for processing as the fuel truck pulled up. By the time they finished fueling the plane, the guy was back with my credit card slip and we were ready to load up and go. Total time on the ground: 20 minutes!

Our next flight also went very smoothly and soon we touched down in Custer, SD just before 4pm. I caught a ride to pick up the rental car and we all went to get checked in at the Best Western Buffalo Ridge. Michele’s allergies are really acting up around here and she was miserable most of the afternoon. We got dinner at a restaurant near the hotel and then Michele and Cameron went back to the room to rest while I took Brandon and Justin to play miniature golf.

Tomorrow, we’re planning go see the main attraction, Mt. Rushmore, and do some sightseeing around the area. We’re scheduled to spend one more night here, but I sense that everyone is itching to get home. We may end up leaving tomorrow afternoon if we get done early in the day (and if the weather is good). We’ll have to wait and see how the day unfolds.

Lake Louise #2

I think the time zones are starting to catch up with us: This morning, we slept until 10:15, when Sandy called to wake us up. They only serve breakfast until 11, so we threw on some clothes and hustled downstairs for “brunch”.

After eating, we got in the rental car and drove to the Lake Louise ski resort for their scenic gondola. We only had to wait a few minutes and then we took a ski lift to the top. We were excited to see a grizzly bear on the way up! There was a little bit of snow left up there and the boys had fun throwing snowballs while we enjoyed the views, with were truly stunning. The weather was perfect with clear blue skies, temps in the upper 70’s, lots of sunshine and a light breeze. We could see Lake Louise in the distance, lots of snow capped mountains and Bow valley in between. We hiked around a little while and then took the ride back down.

Next, we jumped back in the car and drove to the Chateau at Lake Louise, which is a really large, beautiful resort right on the lake. The lake is glacier fed and has some silt in it, which makes it an odd blue-green color. It gets up to 50 degrees F in the summer –brr! We rented canoes t explore the lake. Michele, Cameron, and Roland were on one canoe, while Brandon, Justin, and I were in the other. On the way out, another canoe full of tourists coming in rammed right into Michele and Roland! I feared the worst, but they somehow managed not to tip over. I was kind of paranoid because I had my good camera with me and didn’t want to get it wet.

We worked up an appetite out on the lake and had an early dinner at the Chateau, which was terrific! After dinner, we came back to the hotel and I have been doing flight planning for our trip back in the lower 48 tomorrow while the kids watch TV. We have to clear US customs in Great Falls, Montana and then we’ll be continuing on to Custer, SD, the closest airport to Mount Rushmore. Fortunately, the weather looks great. I predict clear skies all the way there.

Lake Louise #1

Seven and a half hours after I laid my head on the pillow, my phone rang. It was time to get up and do it all again. Check out, catch a ride to the airport, load the plane, add fuel, and away we go! During the ride to the airport, I called Canadian flight service and got some good news: The weather was halfway decent at Smithers for our departure and would be improving as we got further to the southeast toward Golden. I was looking forward to going VFR, staying low and enjoying the scenery along the way.

We followed a natural river valley called the “trench” that almost all the way from Smithers to Golden. We had plenty of room under the clouds to cruise at 3,500 feet. I was really enjoying the view, but the flight was very bumpy. Michele said she was doing OK, but I knew she wouldn’t last for long. As we continued, the clouds overhead broke up and we could see blue skies above. We had to climb all the way up to 11,500 feet before the air smoothed out.

The view was still great from that altitude in the trench. We had 10,000 foot snow covered mountains on both sides as we followed the river below. A couple hours later, it was time to descend back into the bumpy air for our arrival in Golden. I felt like we were riding a bucking bronco as we approached the airport. I knew my passengers would be green around the gills soon, so I elected to land with a tailwind rather than circling around the airport. Generally, you want to land into the wind to keep your ground speed slower and shorten your ground roll, but I knew we had plenty of runway length (5,000 feet) and it was no problem.

After landing, we taxied up to the self-serve fuel pumps and shut down. They didn’t have a ladder tall enough to reach our wing tanks, but the airport manager was very helpful: He pulled his pickup truck under the wing and we put the ladder on top. After fueling, we got the plane secured and then he gave me a ride into town to pick up our rental car. I had a little trouble finding the airport again, but I finally made it back, loaded up the family, and we headed out for Lake Louise.

It took about an hour to get there and I really enjoyed the magnificent views as the road winded through the mountains. Of course, I would have enjoyed it more if we could have received a radio station. Without music, the kids were forced to sing Nickelback’s Rock-Star again and again and again…

Despite my frequent karaoke induced urges to drive us off a cliff, we finally made it safely to the Post Hotel. We are very pleased with the hotel. Michele and I have a two-bedroom suite (the kids have twin beds upstairs).

After dinner, we went for a stroll around the grounds and now the kids are taking a bath. Tomorrow…we have no plans! There is a scenic gondola ride up the mountain nearby or maybe a canoe ride on the lake.

Smithers

Whew! It was a long day in the plane today. After breakfast, we checked out and caught a ride to the airport. It was cold and raining again so we loaded up the plane and did the preflight in record time. We took off into overcast skies in a light rain and followed Resurrection Bay south toward the ocean to stay clear of the nearby mountains during our climb. We picked up our IFR clearance and climbed into the clouds as we turned southeast toward Yakutat. We got a little ice on the way up, but after we leveled off, there was no more accumulation. For the next two hours, we didn’t see anything but the inside of the clouds. We flew the ILS instrument approach at Yakutat, landed, and taxied up to the now familiar self-serve fuel pump.

Our family is becoming a well-oiled machine at these fuel stops. Michele and Sandy took the kids inside and ordered lunch while Roland and I pumped the fuel. We could only pump 80 gallons at a time, so I had to use 3 credit cards to get 200 gallons --what a pain! By the time we got inside, lunch was on the table. After lunch I snapped a few pictures this time before we got back in and blasted off.

You may recall, I was planning to fly directly from Yakutat to Smithers. However, when I called Canadian Customs to notify them of our intended arrival, they informed me that Smithers is not an International Airport and that we’d have to land somewhere else first. Prince Rupert is along the coast line just about 60 miles West of Smithers, so we decided on that.

The weather improved as we headed south and pretty soon we were cruising in the sunshine above a solid layer of clouds. About 3 hours later, we flew another ILS approach into Prince Rupert and taxied up to the terminal. Since we were not greeted by a Customs agent, I called and they said we were cleared. I have to admit, I was a little irritated that they didn’t show up this time. Couldn’t I have just called them from Smithers?

Since we were there, I decided to take on some fuel and give the kids a chance to stretch their legs. Roland and I walked into the terminal and immediately realized we had gone through a one way door into an international arrivals / departure lobby. The door locked behind us with no way to get back out onto the ramp. The only other exit had a huge line of people waiting to pass through security and neither one of us brought our passports inside. After using the restrooms, we came back to the door just as Michele was about to come in. Luckily, we were able to sneak back out when she opened it up and warn her about the one-way door.

After hunting around a while and knocking on doors, I finally found someone there to sell us some fuel. We studied the conversion charts and finally determined that I wanted 600 liters. It was nice relaxing while someone else did the fueling for a change. Afterwards, I followed him back into the office to pay. When I came out, Roland informed me that Brandon was stuck inside the one way door and that security would not allow him to open it. Brandon was being detained in Canada!

Luckily, I had tipped the fuel guy and he was happy to go inside and retrieve Brandon for us. Soon, we were back on board and ready to go again. It took about 15 minutes for me to radio in my flight plan (no cell service in Prince Rupert) and receive my clearance. Finally, we were cleared for takeoff. Smithers lay about 60 miles to the east, but I had to fly west for about 20 miles to gain enough altitude to get over the mountains. We got turned around the right way and then had to fly yet another instrument approach into Smithers, arriving about 9pm local time.

I called the hotel and they came to pick us up. We got a late dinner (10pm) and now we’ve got to get these kids settled down for bed. Tomorrow, we have about a 3 hour flight into Golden, Canada and then a 1 hour car ride up into the mountains to our hotel at Lake Louise.

Seward #2

Brr! It was a cold day here in Seward, but it seemed kind of appropriate for dog sledding. After breakfast, the tour company came to pick us up at the hotel and took us back to the airport to check in. While they issued snowsuits and boots to the kids, I made a call to Dr. Riscilie’s office and asked if they could call in something different for Justin to the local pharmacy. Soon, it was time for the first group to depart. They were using a Robinson R44 helicopter to transport us up to the glacier and could only take three of us at a time. Michele, Cameron, and I went first.

We took off in to chilly, overcast skies and started heading up to the glacier. We did a little sightseeing on the way and spotted some mountain goats jumping around on the hills. It’s amazing how they get around up there! About 15 minutes later, we touched down just outside the dog sledding camp.

As we walked away from the chopper, we say hello/goodbye to the folks waiting for a ride back down and then met our guides. They introduced us to the dogs and Cameron was very excited. He ran right over to pet one. The dog was excited, too, and jumped up on him, hitting him in the cheek with its snout and almost knocking him down. We finally got Cameron settled back down and the guides picked a more calm dog to bring over to him. Cameron was happy again in no time.

Next, we received a few tips on mushing and then it was time to climb onboard for a ride around the glacier. Michele and Cameron sat up front with the guide behind them. I was standing on my own sled tethered behind the first sled. I thought maybe I’d have to get off and help them get things going, but, boy, was I wrong! When he told them to go, they took off dragging us smartly away from camp. By then it was raining and we were going into the wind. My face was SO cold!

We did a big loop around the area, stopping to rest the dogs several times. Finally, we made the turn back toward camp. The wind was at our backs and we were headed downhill, so we picked up some real speed. This was more fun than I expected! At our next break, I traded places with Michele for the rest of the trip. Soon, we could see the helicopter coming in with Sandy and Justin –they were waiting for us as we mushed back into camp.

We waited while the pilot make a quick flight back down to pick up Roland and Brandon. After they arrived, we took a few group pictures and then it was time for Michele, Cameron and I to fly back to the airiport. We chatted with the staff and other tourists for a while as we waited for the rest of our family to finish up on the glacier and join us.

After we were all reunited, they gave us a ride to the pharmacy to pick up Justin’s new antibiotic and then dropped us of in town. We had lunch and then went to see the Alaska Sea Life Center (aquarium), which was very nice. Then, we did some shopping and Roland finally found the good luck charm he has been searching for (Bilikin).

We caught the shuttle back to the hotel and I some flight planning for tomorrow. My plan was to take on about 70 gallons of fuel here in Seward before departing, but some folks at the airport cautioned me about their jet fuel. He said it has been sitting in the tank unused for at least a year and he was worried that it might contain water or other contaminants. No way I’m putting that in my tank!

So, I had to rethink the plan based on how much fuel we already have in our tanks (about 180 gallons, enough for 2 ½ hours + 1 hour reserve). Originally, we were planning to cross the mountains northeast of Anchorage and take the inland route down to Smithers, but because of our present fuel state, we would have needed two fuel stops. After looking at the charts, I decided instead to fly back down the coast to Yakutat (again), refuel, continue down the coast to Ketchikan, then head East and cross the mountains into Smithers.

We’re planning to spend just one night in Smithers and then we’ll continue on to Lake Louise, where we’ll spend two nights. After that, we’ll be back in the lower 48 and getting closer to home. I’m happy to report that both Cameron and Justin are feeling lots better. Brandon is stuffed up, but so far it’s nothing serious. Will any of us make it back without a visit to the doctor?!?

Seward #1

Since we only had a 30 minute flight today, we all agreed last night that we’d sleep in a bit and not rush things this morning. We woke up around 9am and ordered rooms service breakfast. I also called the laundry service. Yesterday, we had some clothes cleaned while we were out. Inexplicably, the “do not disturb” sign was on our door when we returned and the clean clothes had not been returned. They said they’d bring it right up.

Meanwhile, I took a shower, got dressed and started packing my things. A short time later, the laundry arrived followed closely by breakfast. We woke the boys up and Justin was really not feeling well. For the past couple days, he has been complaining of a sore throat and has had a fever off and on. This morning, he was crying because of the pain when he swallowed and would not eat. He didn’t eat dinner last night either. Michele and I thought he should see the doctor soon.

After breakfast, we called the concierge and they found a doctor’s office that would squeeze Justin in between appointments around lunchtime. We went back to packing our things and soon discovered that our pants were missing –they had not been returned with the rest of the clean clothes. We called the laundry service several times, but they were unable to find them. There wasn’t much we could do about it. We finished packing up our things and went downstairs to load up the van.

Luckily for us, Sandy had one more card up her sleeve: She told the concierge about our missing pants and he had an idea of where they might be hiding. Low and behold, Sandy came out with the pants, we jumped in the van and headed for the doctor’s office. It took about an hour, but the doctor saw Justin and gave him a prescription for antibiotics. We grabbed a quick lunch while the prescription was filled and then it was off to the airport.

The weather in Anchorage today was beautiful: Clear blue skies, sunshine, and mild temperatures. The reported weather in Seward was not quite as nice, but not the worst: Overcast at 4,000 feet. I decided to use a route Howard had recommended and follow the railroad tracks from Anchorage to Seward at about 2,500 feet to get in a little sightseeing. The flight was a bit bumpy and we got some light rain on the way down, but we were rewarded with beautiful views of the mountains, glaciers, and river. Much better than the inside of a cloud!

As advertised, the railroad tracks brought us within a couple miles of the airport. We landed, taxied in, shut down, and called the hotel for a ride. Brr –it was much colder when we got out in Seward than it was in Anchorage. We had to wait about 30 minutes for the hotel shuttle, so after getting the luggage out and the airplane secured, we climbed back in to keep warm.

We finally got into the hotel just in time to freshen up and head to the dining room for our 6:30 dinner reservations. The Halibut was delicious! I am a bit worried about Justin tonight. He is not able to keep his antibiotics down. As soon as he swallows it, he immediately vomits it back up. He has done this twice so far and the doctor only gave us five doses. Maybe we’ll try to call Dr. Riscilie tomorrow and see if she can call in a prescription for us here in Seward. I’m really not sure what to do at this point. At least he can keep the Motrin down, which helps his fever.
Well, that’s it for now. Tomorrow, we are scheduled to fly up to a glacier in helicopters and do some dog sledding. This is our last scheduled tour for a while and I think Michele is glad. I think she and the kids are starting to get homesick.

Anchorage #2

Wow, another AMAZING day here in Alaska! After breakfast at the hotel, we got in the rental van and drove to the Native Alaskan Hospital. Roland has been looking for a certain type of Eskimo good luck charm and someone told him they have a good selection of native crafts and artwork at the hospital gift shop. Appearantly, word has gotten out, because Michele and Roland said it was packed when they went in to have a look. I waited in the van outside while they shopped for a little while.

We had to cut the shopping short, because it was time to drive to the Lake Hood Seaplane BAsin and check in for our bear viewing tour. We arrived at Rust’s Flying Service, checked in for our flight and were pleased to learn that we’d be flying over in a Cessna Caravan on floats. We had about 30 minutes to kill, so we walked next door to check out some of the outdoor displays at the air museum –including a retired Alaskan Airlines 737.

Pretty soon, the Caravan pulled up to the docks and we waited while they turned it around and fueled up. Finally, we climbed in and took off for Redoubt Bay. Upon arrival, we taxied up to the Lodge and went in lunch –the Halibut was delicious!
After we ate, it was time to get in a small pontoon boat and go looking for bears. We began with a slow cruise around the shoreline where we saw bald eagles and a beaver lodge. Next, we idled into an area where a waterfall tumbled over a rocky beach into the bay. There were quite a few boats anchored here, about half of which were actively fishing for salmon. We anchored about 50 feet off the shoreline and we could see salmon splashing around in the waterfall and on the rocks trying to get upstream. The fishermen were pulling them in left and right. There were eagles circling in the sky and lots of seagulls on the beach, but no bears…

Thank goodness we brought our big coats, because it got cold sitting out there waiting and watching. The boys were starting to get a little restless. Finally, we spotted a black bear! It lumbered out of the woods into the waterfall, scooped up a salmon, and began eating. Our guide said sometimes they only eat the fattiest parts (head & skin) and leave the rest. That would explain all the gulls. The bear ate for about 10 minutes, then got up, caught one more fish for the road, and wandered back off into the woods. It wasn’t long before we saw another bear approaching from a different direction. We must have seen 4 or 5 bears in all. It was GREAT!

Finally, it was time to motor back to the lodge for a hot cup of coffee and much need bathroom break! One of the staff told us our plane was running about 20 minutes late to pick us up, so we make ourselves comfortable and chatted with some of the overnight guests. The lodge had great food, but I think it is a little too rustic for us –they had outhouses for bathrooms! 45 minutes later, our plan still hadn’t arrived and we were getting a little worried. We hoped that our pilot hadn’t had some type of emergency. Finally, he touched down and taxied up to the dock. It turns out, he had gone to the wrong place first by mistake! He had to add some fuel and then we were back in the air for the short flight back to Anchorage.

We were all tired and hungry, so we stopped by Wendy’s on the way back to the hotel. Tomorrow, we are scheduled to leave Anchorage and fly about 30 minutes to Seward. I hope the weather is continues to improve –I’d like to see something more than clouds on the way down.

Anchorage #1

We woke up to a cold, breezy, cloudy, day in Talkeetna. We were scheduled to fly to Anchorage today and I was hoping to fly VFR (visual flight rules) and stay low to do some sightseeing, but that was not meant to be.

After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and caught a ride to the airport. It started raining as we got there, which made loading the luggage and doing the preflight a bit unpleasant. Once the plane was loaded up and ready to go, I stepped inside to check the weather again. The lobby was filled with disappointed folks waiting to go on a Denali sightseeing flight. We were very fortunate to have great weather for our tour last night!

A quick call to flight service confirmed that the rain extended all the way to our destination about 60 miles to the south. Because of my instrument rating, rain and clouds are really no big deal to us. I was more concerned about icing, which can be very dangerous. There were no reports of icing in the area and the freezing level was at 7,000 feet (the air gets colder as you get higher). Our route of flight would lead us down a valley all the way to Anchorage, so we’d be able to stay in the warmer air below at 4,000 feet without bumping into any mountains. Weather at our departure and destination were both above approach minimums. While not a great sightseeing flight, I felt confident we could complete the flight safely. Still, I could feel the eyes on my back from the folks stuck inside while I loaded my most precious cargo in the plane for departure. I could almost hear them thinking, “He’s going to take off in this?!?”

As I started the engine and got the cockpit organized, a plane landed and taxied in to the ramp. A quick chat on the radio confirmed the weather was good enough to get back into Talkeetna, if necessary. One more radio call to flight service brought us some good news: The weather at Anchorage was improving. I was much heartened by these two pieces of information as we began our takeoff roll. At 1,500 feet, we climbed into the clouds and at 4,000 feet, we were in between clouds layers. We had a smooth ride in light rain all the way to Anchorage (about 30 minutes), where we executed a GPS instrument approach and landed safely.

The FBO’s (fixed base operators, like gas stations at the airport) are much different here in Alaska than in the lower 48. Usually when I taxi up to an FBO in a decent sized city, there are usually two guys out on the ramp to meet me, marshal me into position, chock the tires, help with the luggage, fuelthe plane, clean the windows, etc. Inside, there are usually several friendly gals at the counter asking how long I’ll be staying, do I need transportation, catering, ice, newspapers. When I pulled up in Anchorage, there was nobody around. I guessed at where to park the plane and then went inside to find someone. There was one kindly old gentleman that informed me that I parked in the wrong spot. They didn’t have a tug to move it for me, so I had to start up and taxi to the new position. And I noticed that the fuel is self-serve only, so Roland and I will have a little work to do before we depart on Tuesday.

We decided to get a rental car for our visit to Anchorage thinking that we may want to explore the area a bit. Our first stop was Wendy’s for lunch and then we headed into Wal*Mart to pick up a few supplies. Cameron has been fighting with his brother lately over their Nintendo DS’s. At first, I thought he was just mashing buttons and didn’t really know how to play it. Then, I watched over his shoulder as he deftly maneuvered his racecar around the track. So, we got him his own DS at Wal*Mart and he was thrilled.

Next we checked into the Captain Cook Hotel (finest in town) and went downstairs for a quick swim. Later, we had dinner and then went out to see the new Mike Meyers movie, The Love Guru. Brandon and I enjoyed it, but Michele thought it was so-so.

Tomorrow, we are hoping to see some bears eating salmon at Redoubt Bay. I hope the weather is better than it was today!

Talkeetna #3

After breakfast this morning, we caught the hotel shuttle downtown to look around. Talkeetna is a neat little town and we enjoyed walking around and looking in the many varied shops. One had a small museum in the back that was quite interesting. The kids favorite shop was full of homemade jams and jellies. The owner was very nice and let them sample all the different flavors. There were all made with local wild berries and they were indeed delicious!

Meanwhile, Roland caught a ride to see the doctor. He has been suffering from a cold the past few days and his ear has been clogged up and bothering him. He now has a prescription and some OTC meds to help get him cleared up and feeling better.
We hurried back to the hotel to get ready for our Denali sightseeing flight, but the weather was deteriorating quickly. As we got back, it was raining and overcast. The tour company called and we rescheduled our flight for later.

Suddenly, we found ourselves sitting around with nothing to do –which doesn’t happen very often on our trips! We took the kids back to the room for a quick nap, while I caught up on some e-mail, bills, and blogging. Finally, I laid down for a little while, too.
When we woke up, the skies were clear and sunny, which shows you how quickly the weather can change here. We ate an early dinner at the hotel and then the tour company picked us up for our 7:15pm flight.

We had the plane (DeHaviland Beaver) all to ourselves, which was nice. I sat up front, of course, and there was plenty of room for everyone in the cabin. We took off turned toward Denali / Mt. McKinley about 60 miles away and began a steady climb. By the time we reached the first peaks, we were climbing through 9,000 feet. The weather was perfect and the scenery was absolutely stunning! We made our way through mountain passes and continued climbing to 12,000 feet as we circled around to the North side of Denali. We saw the base camp on the glacier where most climbing expeditions start and a higher camp where climbers stay before attempting the summit complete with footprints heading up.

We began a descent between the jagged peaks and began to circle over a glacier where we saw a small cabin and some airplanes parked in the snow. Pretty soon, we came in for a landing (on skis) and were parked there beside them. I can’t really describe how georgous the scenery was…it was so beautiful, it seemed surreal, almost fake. I could hardly believe what I was seeing with my own two eyes. It was mostly quiet, but we could hear water running all around us and some cracking noises every once in a while. The boys had fun playing in the snow while I just walked around and took pictures. I could have stayed there all day, but we were soon back in the air and following the glacier downhill back to Talkeetna. What a wonderful way to spend the evening!

Tomorrow, we’ll be leaving making the short flight down to Anchorage, where we’ll spend two nights.

Talkeetna #2

Another fun day today! We all had trouble getting to sleep last night with the midnight sun and we slept in a bit this morning. After breakfast, we took a hike around the hotel property. It was a beautiful morning and Denali / Mt. McKinley was in full view. It took us about 45 minutes to hike the loop and we enjoyed the walk –until the last ten minutes. Somehow, the mosquitos found us toward the end and followed us back to the hotel. Those little suckers can be quite annoying!

When we got back to the hotel, the tour van was waiting to give us a ride to our train / river rafting adventure. After grabbing some bug spray, we jumped in the van and headed out. The van took us through “downtown” Talkeetna (don’t blink, or you might miss it!) to the train station where we signed the usual waivers and received our life jackets and rubber boots. After a short wait, we got on board and pulled out of the station for the short ride to our drop off point.

When the train stopped, we got out…in the middle of nowhere. The guides unloaded the rafts, coolers, and other gear and the train pulled away, leaving us standing around beside the tracks. The guides humped all the gear about 100 yards down to the river’s edge and inflated the rafts while we milled around near the tracks (they said we’d be safer from the mosquitos up there).

Finally, they called us down to get in. I’m glad they gave us the boots because the water was about 40 degrees –brrr! We were able to step into the rafts without getting wet and we were off. Our guide was a nice guy and was really great with the kids. He listened patiently and laughed while Brandon and Justin exhausted their repertoire of jokes and stories. The sun went in behind the clouds for a while and the wind picked up, so we were a bit chilly for a while.

After about an hour, we stopped for lunch. Our guide paddled us over to a rocky sandbar in the river and we pulled the raft up onto the beach. We enjoyed a great lunch and stunning views there in the middle of the river. After lunch, we rafted for another hour or so and ended up back near the train station in Talkeetna.

After a short van ride, we were back at the hotel with just enough time to shower and change before our “guests” arrived. You may recall we met some folks during our tour through Central American in April 2007 that lived in Alaska: Howard & Ann Nugent. They live in Wasilla, which is just about 20 minutes (by small plane) South of Talkeetna. They flew in to have dinner with us at the lodge. It was great to see them both again!

After dinner, we walked out to the back lawn behind the hotel, found a spot in the shade, and enjoyed the view of Denali while the kids played on the grassy hill. Brandon would run really fast and slide down the whole hill on his belly superman-style. His white shirt is mostly green with grass-stains now, but they had a good time.Tomorrow, we are scheduled to take a sightseeing flight around Denali, including a glacier landing (on skis). I hope the weather is nice.