Alaska Day 2

 July 24th, Day Two of our Alaska Adventure 2017, had us flying north from Colorado, over Wyoming, and into Montana for the night. Ken is recovering a little more each day, but still pretty washed out. We learn first hand how our planes handle high density altitude at max gross weight!  Due to the high temperatures in the area we launch early and quit flying by early afternoon. Beautiful country!

Two things stick out in my mind from the flight. One is the massive size of the coal mines we flew over in Wyoming! Doug explained to me, and I later read, that Wyoming produces more coal than any other state, and 39% of the total US production. All the coal trains we see coming through Van Buren originate right below our flight path along the Powder River. There were  also lots of high desert land  and small, oasis type farms in valleys along streams. And I will say Montana is more mountainous and more beautiful than I expected.

The friendly folks at the Lewistown MT airport, helped us find a room for the night, and gave us keys to a loaner car. After we fueled and tied down our planes, we headed into town. Dreams of Alaska seem to be nearer and nearer... we're off on our adventure, day two, and our dreams seem to be more and more real. :)

Click here for photos.
Click here for YouTube video of Day 2.

Beginnings Revisited

Two airplanes and four USAF pilot friends for almost forty years teamed up for an epic friendship, flying adventure to spend a month together flight-seeing in Canada & Alaska, enjoying creation's majesty and each other's company.

Sounds like a dream and it was, with more than two years in the making and planning. :) But four weeks ago today, we launched from Fort Smith to pick up our 4th squadron mate from F-4 & F-16 days at his home and airstrip in SE Kansas, before lifting off again and turning our noses west, northwest toward Alaska.

Our destination for the first night was near Boulder Colorado, the home of Ken's sister Jill and husband Walt, where we enjoyed their company and their wonderful hospitality.

Click here for our first day in pictures, and click here for a short video of Day One - North to Alaska!

We're Home!

 Those who followed our inReach tracking know we arrived home Monday about 4:40 P.M.. Once we left Watson Lake, we intentionally put our heads down and flew longer legs and days, while still enjoying the journey and musing about what we experienced individually and together.

Aside from a few ball caps and t-shirts, we all brought back thousands of internal images and memories of what we saw and experienced. In collecting my thoughts and meditating on them a bit, it occurred to me that we flew the same number of miles as if we'd flown to Frankfurt Germany, then flew back to Boston MA! :) I knew it was far, but that puts a different perspective on the magnitude of the journey we dreamed of and completed last Monday.

As I sort through the 10,000+ photo and video images I collected during the journey in the next few days, I intend to continue the blog for a time, with some reflections, thoughts, and links to the best images for the participants and any of you who are interested. :)

One summary of our epic journey might read like this. Our inReach tracking device sent it's first position from the ramp in front of our hangars in Fort Smith (35.33N 94.36W) July 23rd at 6:05 A.M.. The last position was sent from the same location upon our arrival August 14th at 4:41 P.M..

So our journey encompassed 23 days, 22 nights, 8205 miles, 83 hours in the air, and 646 gallons of fuel for each of our two aircraft and crews. That's one summary. :)

Another summary might go like this:

     Great Weather
          Great Fellowship
               Great Flying
                    Great Adventure
                         Great New Friends
                              A spiritual experience, really, on many levels...
                                   Great Worship
                                        Great Peace

All this seems to cry out for a response...? But the only appropriate response seems to be...
     Deep inner gratitude and silence...

...Worship and Thanksgiving to Him Who made all we've seen and extended the invitation to us to come experience it. :):):):)

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world....” (Psalm 19:1–4)

Watson Lake

Those of you who are following our trek real time via our inReach pages...

Track Doug & Dwayne by clicking here.
Track Ken & Jim by clicking here.

...know that I am a few days behind blogging about our experiences. Please bear with us on that. Even though the trip is very peaceful in it's own way, a way that's difficult to explain but easy to experience. :) We do keep moving, most of the time, and have some late nights and early mornings. And card games!! :)

I am trying to report on our travels and adventures for family and friends and those who enjoy seeing and hearing about it. But I also try to live by the mantra "it's better to live life than to record it." :)

So the GoPro went into the bag not to resurface a few days ago, and photo taking has slowed to a trickle (although in the interest of honest reporting, the collection to date is sizable :)). But dealing with all that will have to wait as we "sip the moments," as my friend Debbie has coined the phrase. :)

Watson Lake at mile marker 635 on the ALCAN was our home for the night. It's a beautiful airfield with WWII beginnings and lots of history. It saw many thousands of service men and women and airplanes being delivered to Russia, who was then our ally in Europe. Now it's sleepy, picturesque, and typically Canadian.

After the drive into town to our lodging for the night, we had a delicious dinner out on the deck of a nearby restaurant, and retired to our rooms for the nightly card games. :) The next morning  we skipped breakfast to get an early start on down the 1422 mile Alaska Highway toward our loved ones and home.

The beauty and peace of this place and these flights make a fitting way to transition slowly back into a more normal environment than the wild, rugged, expansive beauty we've experienced for more than two weeks now.

We're all filled with awe and gratitude at what we've been able to see and experience, north in Alaska.

Beaver Creek

The day came for us to leave Alaska, cross into Canada, clear customs, plan and contemplate the long journey home. It's sort of funny to us that typically none of us know what day it is? Or how long we were in Alaska? Or how long we've been on our journey to this special part of the world?

Obviously we've slowed, as my good friend Charles Saulsbery used to say, to "the speed of life." :)

Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory, Canada, Mile Post 1202, was going to do nothing to speed us up. It's small, quaint, charming, rustic, restful, and friendly.

We tried to get a room at Buckshot Betty's. Due to the intriguing name? For some reason Doug seemed fixated on it? :) But they were full up, so we got a humble room a hundred meters  down the road, and ate a fine dinner at Buckshot Betty's before turning in for the night and making our way homeward. :)

More good memories of gravel landing strips, friends, food, adventure, and fun were made in Beaver Creek. :)

The nightly card games were suspended due to cramped quarters, exhausted participants, and a planned early departure. :)  The next games should resume at Watson Lake.... Mile Post 635.

Oh yeah! About that wildlife photo,  it was taken on the same day by Dwayne's daughter Amanda and husband Chris in Uganda, Africa. And since we hadn't seen any large animals at that time the decision was made to use it. Ken liked it and thought it was an excellent idea! :)

But as I reported we were rewarded on our low level flight from Tok to Beaver Creek with several moose sightings, which added its own special joy to our trip and adventure. :)

Tok

Tok Alaska is on the main highway from Fairbanks to White Horse, Yukon, on the 120 miles northern-most, Alaskan stretch of the ALCAN Highway (Mile Post 1313). It's a fueling stop in a part of the world where there aren't many for light aircraft flying through Canada to Alaska.

It's also the home to Fast Eddies Restaurant. :) We stopped here coming into Alaska and now going home. Right on the ALCAN and a short walk across the highway from the Tok airport, it's a treat for it's bountiful, beautiful, and delicious fare. It's become a special place for our crew for food, fellowship, and fun. :)

And thus Tok, besides having a cool name, is like an oasis for us, in a remote and vast wilderness. A place of provision, rest, and joy.

Now that I think of it, this whole trip for us has been an oasis in our journeys ... a place of provision, rest, and joy!

 As we headed on down the highway toward Northway, Alaska and it's nearby Canadian border town of Beaver Creek, it's occurred to us that though the trip has been more than we could ask or think, we really haven't seen much wildlife, save a few squirrels and eagles? So the decision was made to fly low on this leg and really look over the marshes, streams, meadows and forests to see if we might spot a moose or bear? And we were rewarded with our first large game sighting.

Time to sign off. Big travel day tomorrow. I'll report back from Canada as we begin the 2500 mile journey back to our homes and families.

Fairbanks

Well we made it to the top of the world! Or at least as far north as our budget of time and money allows on this adventure. :)

Fairbanks, AK, (64.82 N) is extremely far north, less than 120 miles from the Arctic Circle. It is roughly on the same parallel as the northern Swedish city of Skellefteå and Finnish city of Oulu. Apart from those cities, this parallel is sparsely populated due to its cold climate.

It's the largest city in the interior of Alaska (32,469 city and  100,605 metro area), second only to Anchorage as the largest city in Alaska. It doesn't feel big to me. But adequate and homey. :)

The airport was fascinating to us with many, many backcountry airplanes sporting big tires lining the ramp. The airport also has a float plane lake and there are many float planes on the ramp as well. When we landed and pulled up to the self-service gas pumps we waited on and admired an immaculate orange Cessna 185 on floats. It is a jaw dropping view to a pilot or aviation enthusiast. :)

Doug found our restaurant for the evening meal and since we just snacked at Denali National Park we were good and hungry after a day of flying. The meal was an authentic Alaska Salmon Bake, with the main course of Silver Salmon (grilled right in front of us), deep fried Alaskan Cod, and prime rib, plus all the trimmings served in an outdoor setting beneath a grove of Aspen trees. An amazing and pleasing dining experience. :)

Besides being the farthest north we would go, Fairbanks was the apex of our trip in another way. From here tomorrow we start our last day in Alaska, then join the ALCAN Highway for the long flight home across Canada and the Western United States. It's bitter sweet, but we couldn't be happier! We've seen everything we set out to see and more, with "ridiculous (great) weather," as one of our pilot friends who also flew to Alaska this summer remarked. :)

We're grateful and humbled by all we've been able to see, and the good fortune and good people we've met and enjoyed along the way.

Tomorrow the journey continues, and the adventure continues, to the Southeast, towards home. :)

Did I Mention It's My 42nd Anniversary Today!
I Love You, Elizabeth! Thanks for the clandestine cards and bear!
And for being a most excellent wife!!! :)