Respect the bear

Alaskan female brown bear. Approximately 700 lbs.  We found her about 150 miles north of Anchorage fishing for salmon.  The brown bears are much larger than the Grizzlys and very aggressive. We viewed her from the safety of a boat.

07/26/12 Fairbanks to Homer

Meet up!

Kai arrived last night about 11:30pm in Anchorage. The sun was just setting. We are planning several days of sight seeing including a drive to the Matanuska Glacier about 50 miles away. She will leave for home on United Wednesday night. James and I leave for Ketchikan Wednesday morning.

07/24/12 Whitehorse to Fairbanks

07/27/12 Homer Alaska

At the Salty Dawg Saloon for some hot dogs and beer.



A cool and unique pub.  The interior was covered with dollar bills each with its own story to tell.

Homer's local brewed beer.  Light easy going taste with an extremely hoppie flavor.

Homer Airport, Alaska, July 26, 2012

Denali Mountains

Plane crash!

A near tragedy today when one of the planes in our group crashed on take-off from Fairbanks.  Both escaped serious injury but were hospitalized.  James and I waited in Fairbanks until we were sure everyone was OK then left for Homer on an IFR flight plan.  The flight took us 3 hours.  Good weather until we reached Homer which was under a low cloud cover.  Started an instrument approach but broke out on final.  

Mt. McKinley and IFR flights

Flying by Mt. McKinley today which is the highest Mountain in North America.  It is very unusual for the top to be visible because of clouds.  We were at 11,000 on an IFR flight plan.


IFR, or Instrument Flight Rules (as opposed to Visual Flight Rules, VFR), are rules governing the procedures for conducting instrument flight.  IFR flying governs flights under conditions in which flight by outside visual reference is not safe. We fly by reference to instruments in the flight deck, and navigation is accomplished by reference to electronic signals. It is also a term used by pilots and controllers to indicate the type of flight plan an aircraft is flying, such as an IFR or VFR flight plan.

James after our flight to Homer.  And IFR approach was required.  

Fairbanks

 

07/23/12 Prince George - Whitehorse

One of the planes in our group landing (for fun) on the Alaskan Highway.

Another amazing view south of Fairbanks

Another view along the route to Fairbanks

The Alaskan Highway headed into Fairbanks

Arrived in fairbanks

Arrived in Fairbanks after six days of travel

North of Prince George, BC, to Whitehorse in the Yukon

These pictures are all from our travels today.  About 700 miles north of Prince George, BC to Whitehorse in the Yukon.  We are traveling in a group of 13 airplanes.  Fun people.  It was a beautiful beautiful trip.

\

Monday

Today we travel from Prince George to Whitehorse BC. 639NM. The first several hundred Miles follow the TRENCH. From there we join the Alaskan highway for the last 200 miles. The weather look good. Still having problems with the transponder. Plan on having it repaired in Anchorage.

Day 4 KOLM - KBVS - YXS

The Captain navigating through mountainous terrain, stormy weather,
and bumpy winds.  What an experience.  And it was fun to see Steve
sweat a little.



Steve Harris:  "I'm not used to seeing all that red and yellow"



You don't get views like this in Kansas.



At YXS (Prince George Airport, British Columbia.



The streets of Prince George on a Sunday at 5pm.
I didn't see one single soul on the way to the hotel.

Day 4

Brief for KOLM to YXS Prince George, British Colombia. Gears up at 1500 Zulu. Soooo excited.

We leave this morning at 9am for Prince George, BC. About 3 hours of flying. We will be flying with a group of 13 airplanes carrying 34 people. One flight plan filed for the group with the FAA. Lots of interesting people. Airline pilot, Austrialian business man. Construction company owner from St. Louis etc. we are scheduled to land about 3pm.

It;s been a beautiful day in Olympia.

The host drives a Bentley

Alaska Trip Day 2 Olympia, Washington

Hanging out at Lets Fly Alaska hanger hosted by Dale Hemman

Dale has an awesome hanger.  I WANT ONE!!!!

Dinner at Hearthfire Grill

Beautiful view to go with dinner

At the airport

Olympia, Washington Fly Around 07/20/12

Our new transponder, installed when we arrived in Olumpia has failed again. This allows air traffic control to see the airplane. No way to repair it until Monday. Since we are flying with a group we will plan on repairing or replacing the transponder in Anchorage later in the week.

We leave tomorrow morning for Prince George Canada which is about 4 hours of flying. We will be traveling with a group of 13 airplanes carrying a total of 29 people. Met a few of the folks yesterday. One is a captain with Southwest Airlines from Phoenix. Another a construction company owner from St. Louis. We all meet for dinner tonight. More later.

We are in Olympia Washington until Sunday morning making final preparations for the long flight north to Deadhorse on the Arctic ocean. The picture is from my room in Olympia.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Alaska Trip Day 2 KSLC - KOLM

After 35 years of service the transponder decides to take a crap.



Mount Rainier



Mount Saint Helens