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!