We got to Lethbridge and cleared customs.  The weather was still moving out further to the north so we decided to spend the night.  A $20 cab ride took us to the hotel and a hot shower.  We had spent the last 3 nights either on a couch or in a pilots lounge so the shower was good thing!!

The next morning we were up checking weather and off toward Calgary.  About 60 miles north we ran into clouds that we couldn’t get under them or around them, so back to Lethbridge.  As long as we had some time to kill, we worked on take-offs and landings.  It was time well spent but still frustrating.  We had great weather above us, but nasty to the north.

Mid-afternoon, we saw improvement and headed to the east of Calgary and up to Red Deer.

At Red Deer we ran into a guy who was ferrying a C172 to Anchorage.  He told us about a place called Rocky Mt. House that had a pilot lounge we could stay in and a courtesy car to go to town if we needed to.  It was along our planned route and would get us another 40 miles that day.  So off we went.  When we got there, the tie-downs were under snow and the wind was blowing (a common theme so far).  We kicked around in the snow and found a tie-down.  Jason started looking for something to push snow with, and I went exploring.  The terminal building was unlocked and it had a shovel!  We spent the next 40 min. shoveling a path for the tires putting tarps over the wings for covers.

It was COLD and with the wind, not much fun at the time.  The airport manager came by and made us feel real welcome.  He ran down an extension cord so we could pre-heat in the morning and got us squared away on the computer in the terminal so we could check weather in the morning.  That night we saw northern lights and listened to the coyotes howl.  This was a great spot with friendly people!

The next morning I woke up about 6:30 to a pretty sunrise.  We got out and pushed the plane down to where we could reach it with the cord, plugged in and took time for some oatmeal prepared by Chef Jason!

The airport manager stopped in to check on us and see if we needed anything, then went out to check braking action on the runway.  We pre-heated, packed up and headed off for Grande Prairie.  This leg had some issues with weather, but that will be the topic of the next post.

Posted on May 8th, 2008 by whbjr
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On Saturday we finally got started.  We had some mechanical issues on Friday.  As we started the journey, we flew over Brainerd on our way to North Dakota and then on to Montana.  The picture of Brainerd shows where Bill and Erin live.

We made stops that day at Park Rapids, MN; Devils Lake, ND; and then on to Glasgow, MT.  As we got further west, we found more wind and the report of a storm moving our way.  The next morning, we woke up to strong gusty winds and by late afternoon the snow was blowing and we were glad to be on the ground.  Here’s a couple of shots from the terminal.

So we spent some time planning the next legs of the flight.  Here Jason is getting into the maps and planning.

The next day, (Monday) we woke up to some reasonable weather, but with a storm on the way.  So, off we went to Havre, MT and then up to Lethbridge, AB to clear customs.

I’ll continue the journey in the next post.

Posted on May 8th, 2008 by whbjr
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As promised, here is the “rest of the story”. On Tuesday, Sept. 4, I headed north to Fairbanks. Bill H. had offered the use of his welder so I could build a trailer to pull behind the 6-wheeler. He had one that Don S. had built for him that I could use as a pattern. I spent Wed. measuring and then a trip to town to buy the parts and pieces. My wheels, while the same description, were a larger diameter, which in turn required some changes in dimensions. I had not welded in 20-25 years and had never used a wire-feed welder. Bill handed me the book, a video and some scrap metal. I cut my materials to the proper dimensions and used some of the ends to practice. By Thursday, I was ready to take on the frame. Unfortunately, I had left my camera at home so you missed the progression as the project took shape.

Bill and Brenda invited some mutual friends over on Thursday evening and we had a great visit while chowing down on pizza. Friday and Saturday were a flurry trying to get done so I could head for home. I got out Saturday about 5 pm and home by about 2 am. Sunday was a bit of catch up on rest time and cut out the plywood. The pictures in the last post start at that point. So, since then, I have painted the plywood panels and added a coat of black paint over the white prime on the metal frame. I rigged a way to hang the frame to get at all sides.

. . . Painted frame with the wheels back on.

. . .

The panels were painted in the downstairs family room. While waiting for them to dry, I looked out and saw the steam rising from the deck. We had between 3 and 4 inches of rain the past two days and then the sun came out. With the sun, came the steam and dried out the deck.

Here’s a photo of the axle detail.

And, finally a photo of the (almost) finished product. I still have to add the rope hooks for tie-downs. The back panel is taller and has some square stock on it so I can lay it across the back and use it as a cook table.  The next big question is. . . will it fit on the back of trailer with the six-wheeler??

All for tonight. We’ll see how it goes loading up tomorrow.

Posted on September 11th, 2007 by whbjr
Filed under: Valdez | 2 Comments »

This is a quick post to try and relearn the process.  More details  to follow.  Here is the frame hooked to the 6-wheeler.  The wheelbase is the same so it should track well.

So far I have put a primer on.  The next step for the frame is to paint it and attach the plywood.

The back panel will be taller.  I intend to lay it across the trailer to act as a table.  More pictures and details to follow as the paint dries and assembly continues.

Posted on September 10th, 2007 by whbjr
Filed under: Valdez | 1 Comment »

8 Feb 2007 — I spent the last couple of days shoveling off the roof of Dan’s hanger. I thought I would post some shots of what that project involves. You cut the blocks loose then move them off with a big snow scoop. I was initially using a square nose shovel for the cutting. That was a real chore! I worked about 3 hours to get about 8 feet off the front of the roof. Then my arms were shot for the day. When I went back out yesterday, a guy was shoveling another hanger and he had this sign with a handle to cut the blocks. When he left, he let me borrow the sign. Boy did that speed things up. Still a lot of work and plenty of snow to move, but the sign made making the blocks much easier.

Cut in to blocks, then push it over the edge.

You can see the man door hiding behind the pile. Three blisters and plenty of sore muscles later, it was a good job to have done. The hot bath felt great!

9 Feb 2007 — I went flying with Paul S. today and got a few shots of the local area. This is looking out toward the narrows from about 5000 feet.

Through the narrows we went past Sawmill Bay.

Then we went out by Columbia Bay. You can see where the fresh water is forming a skim of ice up to the underwater terminal moraine. You can also see how far back the glacier has retreated.

This last shot is flying back into Valdez. We were doing practice instrument approaches. This is the airport coming down the Localizer at about 5000 feet.

The small boat harbor is in the bottom left. Dead ahead is the container terminal and beyond that is the runway.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Posted on February 9th, 2007 by whbjr
Filed under: Valdez | 1 Comment »

After a busy day of snow removal yesterday, last night it decides to rain.  The good news is that I had got the shed roof cleaned off and had done some touch-up around the garage and house.  Now it will be really heavy and sticky.  The roof of the house had shed already which also filled the front walkway.  I got that scooped out.  With the roof shed off, the snow is up to the middle of the second floor windows.  So actually, if the rain had been snow, it would have been time to shovel the upstairs windows so we could see outside and to prevent breakage.  I’ll try to borrow Barb’s camera and get a picture before the snow settles.

All for now.

Posted on January 30th, 2007 by whbjr
Filed under: Valdez | 1 Comment »

Some photos from our first ride on the Polaris. We went up a trail and had a picnic.

We had the hint of rain, so we set up the tent. Rudy had a great time. He was OK riding when he got tired. We were about 8 miles up a mountain, so when we got back he was a tired dog.

So much for posting photos. I’ll stop and check it out.

Posted on January 29th, 2007 by whbjr
Filed under: Valdez | 1 Comment »

I’m under pressure to produce. This is a test and OJT to making a post.

Posted on January 29th, 2007 by whbjr
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Finally I’m giving a go again.  It’s been busy week at school.  I’m still catching up from being gone and we are winding into our last two weeks of the semester.  Classes are done May 1, finals are May2-6 and graduation is May 12.  Lots to do with very little time left to do it.  Next weekend is the “May Day Fly-in”.  The long term forcast says partly cloudy, which I hope means at least partly sunny!  This is the 3rd year of the event and so far we’ve had reasonalble weather.  Last year was wonderful with lots of airplanes able to attend.  I’m chomping at the bit to get back to flying.  My CAP annual check ride is due and we are having trouble coordinating a check pilot to make it happen.  We tried through the month of March but weather did not cooperate.  Then I went outside to spend time with Mom and Dad and the check pilot was able to make it over.  The good news was that 4 other pilots were able to get their check rides completed.  So now we have a good number of pilots checked out and should be able to be more responsive to our SAR and HLS missions.  For the past year we only had 2-3 mission pilots available and getting time off work to volunteer was sometimes difficult.

It’s snowing today.  At times, big fluffy flakes.  It turns to slush when it hits the ground and won’t last, but I think most of us are ready for sunshine and spring.  We still have about 2 feet of snow in the back yard, but it’s melted away from the house and the crocus are blooming.  The daffodils and tulips have poked up as well and we look forward to seeing them.

All for now.

Posted on April 22nd, 2006 by whbjr
Filed under: Valdez | 1 Comment »

Well I finally got started with this blog thing. Today is Dec. 6, 2005. It snowed about a foot today, which means when the roof sheds the deck has about 3 feet on it. The joys of a deck under the eaves. We had a week of beautiful clear cold days. It would get down to about 7 F, which is cold for here, but it was nice seeing the stars at night. Now it’s up to 25-32 F and snowing. The bad news is when it turns to rain or sleet. While I was shoveling the driveway tonight, I made snowballs and threw them in the yard for the dog. It’s a hoot watching an eager golden retriever trying to find a snowball in 3 feet of soft snow!

All for now, but I’ll try to do better.

Posted on April 17th, 2006 by whbjr
Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »