Idaho 2004 (Second Trip):
On The Way To Van's Homecoming
by Doug Reeves
Day One
Danny King and I departed Dallas, TX (T67) for the Northwest on September 2,
2004 in our RVs. The plan was to fly to Johnson Creek, ID (webcam) and camp for two
nights then fly over to Aurora, OR for the
Van's gathering (staying in a
Holiday Inn two more nights before heading home).
Once again I was not taking a passenger, instead using the space for
survival gear, camping gear, suitcases, an oxygen bottle and my acoustic
guitar. We were wheels up at 0645 local and a few hours later we stopped for
fuel in Trinidad, CO. The autopilot was on, the air was silky smooth and the
leg was no sweat.
The good folks at
Control Vision loaned me one of their Anywhere Wx systems
and a satellite phone to try on the trip. You have to admit it's pretty cool
(and reassuring) to be able to push a button and get the latest NEXRAD
images laid on top of your moving map. We could see that we might have to go
around some showers later in the day in southern Idaho, but knowing that there wasn't anything
BEHIND the thin line of showers makes for one happy pilot.
Danny had never taken his RV-8 further west than Las Cruces so this trip was
especially fun for him. He has flown over the Rockies countless times up
front in a Boeing, but never at an altitude that would allow him to enjoy
the view so much.
Our second stop was in Vernal, UT where we stopped for more fuel and
(hopefully) lunch. I landed first and while taxiing up I keyed the mic
asking for directions to the pump. I noticed a moving golf cart on one side
of the ramp with 'Follow Me' written in large letters on the back and on the
other side of the ramp was a young woman with two flags motioning for me to
come towards her side. So, like I said, I keyed the mic asking which to
follow. Someone announced back, "Follow the girl." It turns out it was a
crew member from a twin rotor forest fire helicopter that was starting up on
the ramp near where we stopped. Funny stuff. There are two FBOs on the field
and they apparently compete aggressively for business. We followed the girl
as ordered.
The helicopter started up (very, very loud), taxied out and took off. A
really neat thing to see. Man, was that one big helicopter. We got fuel and
asked for the courtesy car. There was a nice country type restaurant about
two miles from the airport where we had the day's special: meat loaf open faced
sandwich, mashed potatoes, green beans, tea and a slice of pie for about $5.00. Outstanding.
About forty minutes later we were back in the air and headed for our next
stop: McCall, ID. Pushing the button so the satellite phone would do its
magic again showed that we did have some small, isolated showers to contend
with around the Bear Lake region, but nothing to get worked up about. A
really nice treat was the lighting that the clouds provided for some picture
taking. The water looked almost tropical, so I left the plane on autopilot
and maneuvered Danny over the radio for some shots.
I'd been on
supplemental oxygen (Aerox
http://www.aerox.com/) since Vernal so I would not get that 'travel
headache' that us pilots get sometimes (hypoxia). Danny dared me to take a picture with the
cannula in my nose. Dare accepted. Note the Koger shade above my head - you can pull it out
a bit if the sun is over on one side. Also note the stylish McCall
Mountain/Canyon Flying Seminars baseball cap (www.mountaincanyonflying.com),
crooked sunglass and security pillow from home. I must admit...I
travel in style. The rain we did encounter was very
light, leaving the planes nice and clean.
Over the top of Sun Valley ski resort and the Sawtooth range for some more
spectacular scenery and lots of 'Wows' from Danny found us in McCall, ID
around 4pm local. It had taken us eight hours and five minutes (engine run
time) to travel from Dallas, TX to McCall, ID (1,132n.m.) We ate at the
little Mexican cafe next door and waited for the winds to die down enough
for the final, 13 minute push over to Johnson Creek.
Danny followed me (because I had one landing at Johnson Creek under my belt
and was the 'expert') through the valley for an uneventful landing with
about an hour of daylight to spare. We set up camp and got a big fire going.
Danny couldn't believe how incredible the scenery was. Since there is no
cell coverage I took out the satellite phone and called home on it for a
couple of minutes (thanks again folks at
Control Vision for letting me play with
this!!!).
In bed by around 11pm local thirty feet from a large stream and lots of
gurgling water white noise. Tonight is a REM 4 type night for sure!
When we wake up it will be 19 degrees F. My sleeping bag is rated down to 20
degrees F. Close enough.
On to part two...
Doug
