Up to the North Slope

June 25 (Dead Horse, AK)

We did some computer work, Roger did some flight planning and figuring things out, and we left the hotel at noon and headed to the airport to fly on to Dead Horse today.  We were going to go to Barrow, but since there were no direct roads there, we decided to follow roads instead of deadheading out over the mountains and tundra and end up at Dead Horse.  It was quite an interesting ride!  We flew a couple hours and stopped for fuel in Bettles which was kind of an amazing little place.  Very small, but had two places with fuel, a little café where we could get hoagies, WIFI, and lodging.  We had a sandwich there and then took off.  We were following the road through some pretty high mountains and got to a pass where the clouds were closing in, and we couldn’t get through the pass.  Thankfully there was a little airstrip right before the pass at Chandalar Shelf, so we landed there to wait it out.  If that airstrip wouldn’t have been there we could have gone further back to another airstrip cause there were several along the route, but then we may have needed to return to Bettles for more fuel.  We built a little fire (it was cold and the mosquitoes were bad), and thought we’d just wait to see what was going to happen.  Across the road was a road maintenance facility and a guy from there came over to see what was up, and drove us up over the pass so we could see what the weather was like on the other side.  We went back to the plane and waited a bit more and the sky seemed to be getting lighter and clouds thinning out, so Roger thought if he could circle up high enough we could get above the clouds and get over, which is what we did then.  I was just a tad freaked out, but tried to keep my cool!  The highest peak was 8100, and we were up to 9500, so we knew we weren’t going to hit any mountains!  This IPad we bought for the trip has saved the day and paid for itself many times over on this trip.  It shows exactly where we are in relation to a road, shows exactly where the peaks are, how high, etc, etc.   Roger picked his way through the clouds and was talking to FSS giving pilot reports etc.  

We got to Dead Horse about 10 – 10:30 pm, not knowing where we were going to pitch up for the night.  It was pretty cold (high 30’s), and windy, so were hoping for a bed instead of a tent, but weren’t sure.  We knew there was a hotel here, and Roger had talked to someone about it, but they didn’t have the number for him to call to check it out.   Anyway, there was a semi-trailer we parked next to with the back door open we thought we could sleep in if it came to that!  J  Thankfully, there was ONE room left at the hotel, and it was ours.  $220/night for both of us, but all food included and laundry facilities etc. and everything one needed. JOLENE

After a Long Flight

After a Very Long Flight

I Guess It's Good We Woke Up!

  

A Phone Booth in Bettles?

Fueling At Bettles, AK - the Last Chance on the Way to North Slope

Heading Up To The Pass

The Pass We Could Not Get Through

Sitting By The Fire Waiting For The Pass To Open

Arriving at Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope

On To Fairbanks

JUNE 24 (Fairbanks, AK)

We flew into Dawson City for fuel, and we thought we might go into town, but since the taxi was going to cost $64 round trip, we decided to skip that and just keep going on to Fairbanks instead.  It was close to 90 degrees there, and the plane had a hard time climbing.  We hit quite a long down draft from the mountain nearby soon after take-off and Roger later said he was a bit worried for a bit.  We followed the road to Fairbanks, where we got our first hotel.   Some of these flights take a long longer than if we would go direct, but Roger usually wants to stay over the only highway available when there is not good place to make an emergency landing in case of an engine failure.  A taxi picked us up from the airport and took us to the hotel.  This past week was the summer solstice, so they were having celebrations and the street the hotel was on, and two others were blocked off and it was like a street fair with food booths, people selling things, games, etc.  So we walked around there and ate (we hadn’t really eaten since breakfast except a couple snacks and were hungry!)  JOLENE

Miles and Miles of Old Gold Dredge Mounds in Dawson City

Old Gold Dredge Hills in Dawson City

Dawson City, Yukon

Following the Road To Fairbanks

Arriving at Fairbanks International

Parked With Hundreds of Bush Planes on The Field At Fairbanks International

A Real Homestead!

June 23 (McQuesten, YT)

Things were a bit more laid back today and we only are flying about two hours.  We ate breakfast at the ‘Airport Chalet’ across the road from the airport, and since they had wi-fi we did some computer work and charged up our phones, etc.  The waitress wasn’t too happy about us doing that I don’t think, and then when we shared a breakfast and didn’t each get our own, she was quite unfriendly!  Maybe she was just having a bad day.  Anyway, we were going to walk into town, but weren’t sure how far away it was, and there was a hotel bus in front of the terminal so we asked about getting a ride into town, and he was very kind and gave us a ride, dropped us off in town where we wanted to be and told us where to meet him a few hours later and he would give us a ride back again.  Now we are on the way to McQuesten which is just about two hours north of White Horse, to see Buerge’s - relatives of my niece Emily Hershberger’s husband, Isaac Hooley!  We met them at Emily & Isaac’s wedding last summer and Roger talked to them about possibly doing this trip, and they were happy for us to stop in.  

Mike Buerge had told us to buzz the farm when we got there, and then land and he would come pick us up.  We weren’t sure how we were going to know which farm to buzz, thinking they were at a small town.  Turns out, they were the ONLY farm, so it wasn’t too hard to figure out!  There was no town at all.  Mike’s parents – Del & Virginia – had moved to the area in 1986 and ‘homesteaded’ there with their five children.  It was a just bush and they had to get rid of trees, etc, and start totally from scratch.  They had a generator, but only six years ago got hooked up to the grid for electricity.  It’s quite a story they tell, and the various things they have tried over the years.  Del & Virginia’s two boys have stayed there also – both are married, four children each – but the 3 girls have gone elsewhere.  Roger can write more about the projects they’ve done over the years trying to make a living.  

They basically live off the land – have large gardens, a green house, raise their own animals for meat, milk a cow and have chickens for eggs.  The nearest town they go to for things is four hours away (White Horse), and of course they homeschool their kids.  They’ve built beautiful houses and seem quite happy there.  The view they have is amazing, and they see moose and bear pretty regularly.  We saw a  porcupine when we went for a walk.  

Basically they felt ‘called’ to this place and that is why they settled there.  They are part of a fellowship called ‘The Move’ for short – meaning the move of the Spirit.  We stayed for their service on Sunday.  It was the families that lived there and two other older couples that live in the area (no idea how far they had to come).  It was interesting, with lively singing, whoever felt ‘called’ to say something spoke, and then over an hour long ‘sermon’.  They were going to have a meal together after the service, but we got a ride back to the airplane and took off.

It’s hard to go to bed when it never gets dark, and we’re missing a lot of sleep because of it – at least I am.  Roger never needs much sleep, but I’m feeling the effects of not enough sleep! JOLENE

Inside the Buerge Home They Built

Horse/Cattle Barn

Mike and Clara's First Home

Garden With Greenhouse in Back

Vegetable Garden

Green House for "Hot Plants"

 

Sunday Morning Church Service

Amazing Scenery Today in the Alaskan Intercoastal Waterways

Flying Down the Canyon Into Skagway, Alaska

The Airstrip at Skagway Comes Into View

Fueling At Skagway

Departing Skagway for Haines, Alaska

Flying the Intercoastal Waterways from Skagway and Haines, AK

Airport Tug at Whitehorse

SVS on the IPAD

June 22 (Whitehorse)

Got up this morning and took off for Watson Lake, following the highway again.  We fueled there and Roger did some flight planning.  We are so glad we got this IPad – it’s amazing and does wonders for navigation and planning.  We weren’t there long, and took off for Skagway, Alaska, just as a bit of a side trip.  Wow, the scenery was amazing in the mountains, and coming into the airstrip was a bit scary for me, but Roger loved it.  You come down this canyon, straight onto the airstrip at the bottom at sea level.  It’s a seacoast town, and there was a cruise ship parked there and the people were in town for the day.  We had to clear customs which went pretty smoothly.  We got fuel there too, and that was an experience.  They didn’t have a truck or anything to come do it, but you told them how many gallons you thought you needed and they brought it out in a barrel on a skid loader and hand pumped it into the tanks.  Roger didn’t think too much of that system!  It took quite some time, because they couldn’t prime the hand pump and it didn’t work very well.

We had just snacked so far today, so finally about 4 pm we had a real meal at a restaurant along the water.  We walked around town a bit, then took off again, this time for Haines and followed another road back to the Alaskan Highway where we caught it again at Haines Junction, and then back to Whitehorse, the capitol of the Yukon.  Amazing scenery again – lots of snow-capped mountains on both sides of us, just peak upon peak.  

When we landed in Whitehorse we had to clear customs again, but CanPass did it over the phone again.  At Whitehorse they also had a camping area – this one had high grass and only a porta-potty, but it also had a shelter place with picnic tables, and firewood if you wanted to make a fire (we didn’t).  This, at an international airport!  We went into the terminal restrooms and did a bit of a wash-up shower.  We only arrived there about 9:30, so didn’t go into town tonight anymore.  Hit the sack about 11 (sun still pretty bright) and even Roger went to bed and slept pretty good!  JOLENE

June 21 (con't)

Starting up the Alaskan Highway

June 21 (con’t)

Yesterday we did stop in with David & Starla in Grand Prairie and their two children.  Starla picked us up at the airport and we met Dave at a restaurant close by where he works and had lunch.  Then we went to their house to see where they live and then back to the airport and we were on our way again.   We started following the Alaskan Highway after we hit Port St. John’s.  We finally hit the mountains and at some points they were higher than we were on both sides of us.  We’re keeping the road in sight as a place to land if the need would arise.  We arrived in Fort Nelson about 6:30 pm.   The town was about 7 miles away, so we got a ride from the fueler guy who was going off work and went into town to eat and walk around a bit.  We then took a taxi back to the airport, and had our first night of camping.  There was a trailer there they kept open for us that had a bathroom (a shower, but not hot water unfortunately), and couches, a TV, and even a coffee pot for the morning.  We set the tent up and about 10:30 I went to bed, but Roger never did get to the tent.  He spent a long time doing computer stuff (they had WIFI) and I guess slept a bit on the couch.  I was amazed how well our air mattresses did – I slept very well.  It never did get totally dark all night.  The mosquitoes were quite awful, and gnats, and we couldn’t find our mosquito repellent, so I got a few bites .  People are having a fit here about how bad the mosquitoes are this year – apparently they’ve had a lot of rain, but since we’ve been here it’s nothing but blue skies and is much warmer than we thought it would be.  It does cool down pretty good at night, but days have been in the 80’s.  JOLENE 

Finally in The Hills!

Beginning to See A Change of Scenery

Up Up and Away

Chocks

When I Grow up I Want to Be a Fire Bomber.

June 21 (Fort Nelson, BC)

We’re tooling along here at 3500 feet (altitude is 3000 ft) in the air, going 95 knots (about 110 mph), flying from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to Grand Prairie, Alberta.   

Yesterday flying, the terrain was very, very flat, with lots of huge farms, and lots of marshy, wet places – looked like they had had a lot of rain.  We were also in & out of clouds and it was quite beautiful of course.  The further north we are going today, the more trees there are (less farmland), and later today we should probably start seeing more mountains.  We are stopping in for a couple of hours with David & Starla Moyer who had gone to our church in PA, but have moved up here where Starla grew up.  We will just have lunch together and keep going.  We’re not sure where we’ll end up for the night, but it’s the first night we won’t be with friends.  We have camping equipment along (a VERY small tent!), that we probably should try out.  We bought inflatable mattresses that pack up really small, so we’ll see how good these old bodies sleep tonight!  We’ve had to really watch the weight for the plane, so have taken the bare minimum of clothes, etc.  We even bought special underwear that dry out very quickly so we can wash them every night so we don’t need so many! 

Yesterday was Roger & my 31^st wedding anniversary.  Such a good bonding experience this is!  J  It has been really fun so far, and in some ways it feels like now, since we’ll soon be in more remote areas, like the trip is just really starting.  JOLENE

Today we started flying the Alaska Highway and started getting into some more mountainous areas.  It was absolutely beautiful. I am sitting here and it’s getting close to 2:00 AM, and it’s still dusk outside.  I need to hit the sack, but it’s hard to go to bed when it is so light out.  Jolene usually does the blogging while I fly, and since I can’t talk her into switching roles, I guess she will have to do most of the entries .  I had to do the computer work and add some photos.  ROGER

Going to our Third House on the Lake

On the Boat - Watching the Sunset.

Taking a Boat Ride with the Verrmeers.

Jolene and Karla

June 20 (Edmonton, AB)

Today was a long day – the first leg was 5 – 5 ½ hours, when we stopped  because we needed fuel, and the 2^nd leg was about another four hours into Edmonton, Alberta, where we stayed with Garritt & Karla Vermeer, who were also staying at their lake house.  So we got to stay with three people along lakes!  We landed on a grass strip right beside the paved one (this plane does better landing on grass), and the tower guy was really friendly and nice.  The Canadians have so far lived up to the reputation of being really helpful. We fueled the airplane at the self serve pump and then parked on the grass next to the tower. Almost all the airstrips we land at now (even the very large ones) have grass areas along the sides of all the runways that one can use instead of the pavement, which is nice. 

Garritt’s brother was there also, helping him work on their garage roof, and their very small dog Riley.  They have a pontoon boat, so we took a sunset ride out on the lake.  It was a beautiful evening, and the sun still wasn’t entirely set when we went to bed about 11 pm.  Today is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.  The sun was also up by about 4 am, but we weren’t up to see it!  JOLENE

Canada - Here We Come Ready or Not!

Getting Ready for the Kayak Race

June 19 (Winnipeg, MB)

Jon took us to the little airport and we took off for Winnipeg, Manitoba, where we were going to stay with Don & Kathleen Rempel-Boschman.  There was only about 3 ½ hours of flying, but it  took a lot longer than that because we made three stops – once to wait out some weather going through, once to pick up a package that Roger had sent to an airport, and once to go through customs right at the U.S./Canada border.  The first stop at Staples, MN we got self-serve fuel (which we’ve done every time so far) and then waited about 90 minutes or so until a cell moved passed and we could continue.  Roger had to fly around some storms but we got into Park Rapids, MN and went to the office where Roger had arranged to have an engine instrument on warranty overnighted to so he could install it before we entered Canada and had to deal with customs etc.  The package was there and Roger spent about 30 minutes or so installing it and testing it, and we were on our way again.  We landed at an interesting airport to clear customs.  It is built across the US/Canada border and is jointly owned by the two countries.  The northern ½ of the runway is in Canada and the southern portion is in the US.  One can clear customs in either country by going to a different part of the ramp.  There was a self-serve fuel pump on the US side, so Roger filled up and then called Canada Customs and they cleared us in over the phone.  There was also a road border crossing right next to the airport. 

We had never met Kathleen since they weren’t married when we knew Don in Botswana.  Unfortunately, Don had a church meeting that evening and got home pretty late, but Kathleen was very gracious and took good care of us!  We saw the church where Don is pastor, and took a walk in the neighborhood.   In the morning we went out for breakfast with Don before he took us back to the airport for our longest day of flying yet.  JOLENE

On the Road Again - After Waiting on Weather

I'm lonely out here waiting for the storms to pass.

Finally "On the Road Again"

June 18 (Long Lake, WI)

This morning we left shortly after noon, and made it to Manistique, MI where we needed to fuel.  As we were getting close to the airport, there were storms approaching the area and we just got down in time to tie the airplane up before the storm arrived.  And now, at 5:30, we are STILL at that airport waiting for the weather to clear before heading on to Rice Lake, WI, where we were planning to spend the night with Jon & Alysa Bell.  We’ve been watching the radar all afternoon, and storms just keep popping up and here we sit waiting!  There was one little window where we could have left, but then waited too long and missed the opportunity, which Roger hasn’t been too happy about.  It’s pouring down rain again but after this is through we might be able to leave this evening yet.  If not, there is a motel right across the road, OR we could stretch out right here in the airport on the couches for the night.  (which do you think I would prefer??  J ) 

It’s just a very small airport and when we got here there was a guy that left at 2 pm and has left the place to us.  We needed fuel, so he had told Roger that if it’s after 2 (when it quits raining and we could fuel), he just should fill up, then call back the next day and tell them and they’ll get a credit card number.  Everything is unlocked, including the fuel pumps and the office.  There aren’t many places like that around anymore!  The whole thing is unlocked, and when we leave we should just shut the front door, but keep the airside door open in case someone else lands and wants fuel or the use of the facilities.  We hadn’t had any lunch, so we ordered a pizza to be delivered and now are catching up on phone calls, emails, and getting this started.  We did get out after the storms finally rolled through and landed at Shell Lake where Jon Bell came to pick us up.  Jon and Alsya are staying at her parent’s lake house on Long Lake, WI, and we sat on the deck after she put the kids to bed and talked.  It was a beautiful evening.  .  In the morning before we left Alysa & I took the kayak’s out on the lake – something I had never done before.   We also met their two sweet boys that we hadn’t seen before.  Jon & Alysa were in Botswana this last time when we had gone back in 2009, so were up on more recent news from there than the other folks we’ve been seeing!  JOLENE

On the Shores of Lake Superior

June 17 (Grand Marais, MI)

After spending the night with Randy and Roxie we went to church and then Roxie dropped us off at the airport and we were on our way to Grand Marais, MI (in the Upper Peninsula) where Jay & Cynthia Aeschliman live.  We landed on a small grass airstrip today.  Jay and Cynthia had been in Botswana with Flying Mission, and left a year before we arrived, but we had met them in Bluffton, OH at their home before we had gone over.  Then it was through Jay that Roger got the job he currently has.  They live right along the northern border of Michigan, on the shore of Lake Superior.  It’s a beautiful setting, and they showed us around different places.  Of course there were lots of airplane/work/pilot stories from the guys!  We ate supper around the fire, and saw a beautiful sunset.  JOLENE  

One Day Down - A Bunch More to Go

Jolene and the Aeschliman's

Sitting in the Aeschliman's back yard.

June 16 (Marcellus, MI)

So after months of planning and getting ready, we are finally on our way.  We left today around 10:30 am after having breakfast with Mom, Dad and Lisa.  They came to see us off and Nicole stopped in as well for the send-off. We had to cut some things out because of our weight limitations, and after weighing everything and doing some caclulations we ended up removing some things and packing what we could take.  After we finalized what we could take we finally headed to Three Rivers, MI, where we stopped in with Randy & Roxie Ewert.  It was close to 5 ½ hrs of flying, and that should be about the longest we ever go without stopping for fuel.   We saw their farm where they grow lots of vegetables they sell at a couple of markets, and raise sheep.  It was fun to again see their farm and catch up on old times.  JOLENE