It took two long
days to get everything put back together. My plan was to
leave early Friday so that I would get home Saturday or Sunday.
After working until 11 PM, I collapsed into bed ready for the
trek back home to begin.
John wanted to get some
air-to-air shots of the airplane as I was leaving so we left the airport as
a flight of two. Here we are ready to depart Eugene.
Me flying east over the pine
forests.
Another shot of me following the
river up to Sisters, OR.
The weather was great so it was
easy to see my landmark ahead, the Three Sisters.
Passing just north of the
Sisters.
As is becoming the norm, I got a
late start out of Eugene. It was Noon before we had all the little
details cleared up and I was ready to leave. As a result, I decided to
fly only one leg to Boise, ID this day. It was 3 PM by the time I got
to Boise so I landed at the Nampa airport, borrowed the crew car, and headed
to a hotel.
The next morning I awoke at 4 AM
to take off at first light. It's best to fly in the mountains early in
the day to avoid the winds and turbulence. Here, the sun is just
getting up east of downtown Boise.
I flew across Idaho on my way to
Pocatello. There, I would need to weave my way through the mountains
to get to central Wyoming. Here is a shot of me turning south just
outside Pocatello. That's Wyoming on the left.
Screen shot of me following the
Interstate highway through the mountains.
I landed in Kemmerer, WY.
for fuel and then flew to Laramie, WY. for fuel as well. There, I
assessed my weather options. There was a huge low pressure system
sitting in Colorado that had most of the central plains in marginal VFR
ceilings. The only place VFR was South Dakota. It was a little
out of my way, but that was better than sitting in Wyoming for three to four
days waiting out the weather.
I flew directly from Laramie to
Pierre, SD. and found a hotel room for the night. It was clear in
Pierre but they were forecast to get rain the next day.
I left Pierre about 9 AM,
just before the rain moved in. I was trying to time a weather window
as the weather back in Indy was IFR, but scheduled to clear up by 2 PM.
In this picture, you see a lot of this in the upper Midwest, roads that go
on forever it seems. This is the Interstate over to Minneapolis.
I landed in Fort Dodge, IA
and Marshall county, IL for fuel and began my last flight leg home.
The clouds were breaking up and the weather was cooperating as forecast.
That doesn't happen very often.
I flew over my home airport
around 4 PM Sunday to waiting family and friends. It was a wonderful
homecoming after being gone for three weeks.
I
tucked the airplane back into the hangar.
The trip was over. I felt a combination of relief and
satisfaction. It had been a wonderful time. I
traveled over 5,000 statue miles. flew for 43 hours, used 216
gallons of fuel, and averaged almost 24 MPG.
I'm not sure what's next. Oshkosh is coming up in two
months but beyond that, I haven't given it much thought.
Thank you for following along with me on my big adventure.
Blue skies and so long for now. |
