We were to go to HI for vacafion this year, but decided instead to fly around to different parts of the state. The reason we never got to HI was because we are having a few things done to our house (deck, sidewalk, etc.) and, of course, this was the only time the contractors could finally get around to it. So, instead we took a few short trips around in our recently acquired Cessna 182. Not a bad second choice.
Our first short trip was over to Girdwood. It was a severe clear day and absolutely no wind. Quite a feat for the Turnagain Arm. Potter Marsh was so pretty from our vantage, and the tide was in. Even though we could see from the charts that it was a long enough runway,. I was concerned whether we had enough turnaround room in the valley, but we did not need it as we flew straight in. I called the Double Musky (sp?) from the ground and we hiked over. I had never been to the DM, and I heard so many good things about it on the forum. It was fantastic and worth every penny. Well, we had to sort of rush at the end, because the runway had no lights, so we flew out of there in time. Don%26#39;t worry. We had a backup B%26amp;B if it didn%26#39;t work out.
Two days later we flew up to Chena Hot Springs via Talkeetna and DNP. Again, it was a severe clear day, and the mountain was all in it%26#39;s glory. I got great pictures. The flight to Chena was short from Wasilla in only 2 hours. We had the charts of course for the private airport there, and I did call ahead. But, it was sort of funny going through the Chena Valley to the gravel airport, which just popped out at the end of the road. We both looked at each other like, are you kidding, this is the airport? There was room for only one plane in that valley. Good thing we called and announced our presence in the valley. The colors at Chena were beautiful and the stars were out. We did use the springs, ahhhh!. Our cabin was basic with no running water, but the clean outhouse was right out the door. The cabin itself was warm and clean. They could probably use some new mattresses soon as they were swaying in the middle. The food at the restaurant was very good and reasonable. I remarked how inexpensive the food was considering the cost to get it there. We did not get into the ice house, and I regret it a bit because it would have been fun to have a martini out of an ice glass. Also, no northern lights this time! Next time.
From there, we went to Fairbanks to get gas, but ended up having to stay as many pilot reports were posting people returning from the Fairbanks side of Talkeetna with very high winds and severe turbulance. It was already getting around to late afternoon, so we headed over to the Pump House. Love that restaurant! They have the absolute best seafood chowder I%26#39;ve ever had. From there, we drove over to North Pole for some Christmas letters for nieces and nephews. It was a lot of fun, and I got a few gifts. Mainly, we just drove around because it was so warm and so beautiful with the trees all at peak.
The next day we did fly out on our way back to Wasilla with a much improved, but not perfect forecast. We hit the clouds around 10000%26#39;, and we needed to stay around there for radar purposes, but started taking on ice, so we had to drop down and continue to give radio calls of our position to other pilots. We had good visability most of the way. Once we hit Hatcher Pass, we could see some sun breaking out, but couldn%26#39;t see whether there was wind, so we called out for info, and a Big Lake pilot said it was rough under 2000%26#39;. We made our final to Wasilla, and started getting bounced severely. I hurled. After all that way too! We diverted to Willow, borrowed a truck from a friend, and stopped at Cadillac Cafe on The Parks for dinner. Excellent taco salad and pizza. I far preferred that Cadillac Cafe instead of the one at Settler%26#39;s Bay.
Two days later, the real highlight, and so close to our house. We flew over to Eklutna SP in the Chugach. OMG! It could not have been more beautiful. There were people out kayaking on the perfectly calm lake which was so beautiful blue. The colors were vibrant everywhere. I wish I could share a picture with you, but I took it at a large size 850K, and plus, I don%26#39;t know how to post pics for the forum! Darn! Anyway, this runway was a bit shorter and we actually circled in the valley to check it out and saw a Super Cub waiting to taxi. We wanted to hike to the glacier which was only another 3 miles or so, but the winds were turning, and we needed to come in the same way as we went out. We used nearly every bit of runway, but our plane has a lot of power, so no worries. We plan to go back with a sleeping bag very soon and our telescope! I hope the weather will cooperate soon.
I almost forgot to mention that we went to Seward, and took a sailing excursion from tickets we bought in the spring at the Sportsmans%26#39;s show. It was dead calm on the water, but they put up the sales anyway. It was fun and the crew was great. I think it was called Sailing, Inc.
Well, we have only a week to go. If anyone has any suggestions for another little excursion, it would be great. We are sort of leaning at going out to the west as we have never been to any of the villages. Any thoughts on that?
It has been a great summer. We have also been to Kodiak and Valdez this year both hiking and fishing. Next year we want to continue to enjoy our beautiful state by road and plane. It has been fun writing on the forum and reading everyone%26#39;s trip reports. The leaves are falling fast and furious here in Wasilla, and the termination dust keeps reappearing on The Chugach. I hope we all have a wonderful fall, and to those who have visited our state, thank you and hope to see you again very soon.
Karen and Dave
Trip report around AK so far..
What a wonderful report Karen and Dave...and from residents no less. I am so thrilled that you ahd the opportunity to explore some unknown venues in your beautiful State...and admittedly envious that you have the perfect transportation to do so.
Keep us posted to more adventures. (and best of luck with the deck and sidewalk : - )
-Yvonne
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