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1. 10:55 PM - Home again, without our planes (TheWanderingWench)
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| Subject: | Home again, without our planes |
=0A=0AHello all,=0A=0AIf you were following my SPOT, you know that we were
marooned in Baker =0ACity, Oregon for 3.5 days. It felt like a week. On Tue
sday and Wednesday we =0Amight have been able to fly around the Baker valle
y - but there was bad =0Aweather that had settled right over our route east
- the Elkhorn =0Amountains, Ontario, Caldwell, Nampa, Boise - and it just
wouldn't move. =0AWe kept checking the radar pictures, but no luck. So we s
tayed put. =0A=0A=0AThe FBO folks were great. We read, (happily, both Bob a
nd I are avid =0Areaders;) we had full use of the courtesy car to go into B
aker City =0A(which happily has a good bookstore;) we spent an afternoon at
the =0AOregon Trail Historical Interpretive Center (which is absolutely
=0Awonderful;) we checked our e-mail on the FBO computer; we read some =0Am
ore...and more...and more. =0A=0A=0AThursday =0Athe ceiling lifted and the
storm over our route was dissipating - but =0ABaker City was pummeled by st
rong gusting winds. As we watched the trees bending and twisting, we agreed
that flying out was not an option. We =0Aalso agreed to bag our flight to
Monument Valley. I have to be back at work on =0AMonday, Oct. 7, and there
just wasn't time left. The forecast =0Alooked good to get home on Friday, a
nd we agreed to be out at =0Adawn...6:45 a.m.=0A=0A=0AOn Friday at 6:45 a.m
. it was beautiful flying weather - some stratus =0Aclouds in a beautiful b
lue sky. No wind. We were packed and ready to =0Afly. But...it was 30=B0 an
d our planes were covered in a thin sheet of ice. And of course, in the air
=0Athe temps would drop and there was the wind chill factor. (For me - not
=0Afor Bob, who's in a fully enclosed cockpit.)=0A=0ASo we scraped off the
ice and waited for the sun to warm the temps up to a whole 39=B0 before we
took off! I was in my Pillsbury Doughboy outfit and was surprisingly comfo
rtable even in the cold air.=0A=0A=0AThe flying was great to LaGrande and t
hen over the Blue Mountains. Ceiling =0Awas about 6000', more than enough f
or safety. The strong tailwind we'd =0Ahad getting to Baker City had lessen
ed, so although we had a headwind it wasn't terrible. And it was steady - n
o gusting - which is always great when you're flying over mountains.=0A=0AA
s we passed Pendleton, the sky ahead seemed to be getting hazier and =0Ahaz
ier. Still over 10 miles of visibility, but it was hard to see if it =0Awou
ld last. And the headwind really picked up - so much that when I =0Atried t
o taxi out of Hermiston after refueling, I was spinning in circles for a
=0Aminute or two. That's a taildragger for you! The flight from The Dalles
=0Ato Hermiston had taken just a little over an hour - it took almost two
=0Ahours for me to fly from Hermiston back to The Dalles. Air speed =0Aindi
cated 85-90 mph; speed over the ground was 48-52 mph. I cheered =0Aevery ti
me I got up to 55 mph! We flew for about ten minutes through =0Alight rain
as we flew along the Columbia River. =0A=0A=0AAfter refueling in The Dalles
, we decided to try and make it home - a flight =0Aof about 60 miles throug
h the Columbia River Gorge. We passed Hood River without a problem although
the =0Aclouds looked ominous up ahead. But we still had over 10 miles visi
bility and a ceiling of =0Aabout 3000'. Bob was, as usual, weather dummy, s
ince he flies faster =0Athan I. I was about five miles behind him as I flew
past Cascade Locks - only 30 miles from home! But we were getting into lig
ht mist and =0Alooking downriver we saw a bank of low clouds. Bob radio'd t
hat he was =0Aturning around and I promptly agreed. =0A=0A=0AWe landed at H
ood River and tied the planes down and called Norm to come =0Aget us. It wa
s pouring by the time he arrived - our decision to stop was a really good o
ne. So now I'm home listening to the rain's steady =0Adrumbeat.Supposedly t
he weather is going to be better on Tuesday - so we'll take the first good
opportunity to get our planes and head home.=0A=0ANorm thought I'd be reall
y bummed about not making it to Monument Valley. =0ABut it's all part of fl
ying a "fat ultralight turned LSA" and I'm still =0Aglad we went. There's a
lways next year!=0AArty=0A-=0Awww.LessonsFromTheEdge.com/uladventure2009.
htm=0A=0A=0A"Life's a daring adventure or nothing"=0AHelen Keller=0A=0A=0A"
I refuse to tip toe through life just to arrive safely at death."
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