On all great journeys there comes a point when you realize that you are now on the backside of the adventure and from now on the journey leads you home. It does not mean that everyday is not new and fresh, but it does mean that as you move through each day you are getting closer and closer to the point where the journey becomes a memory and therefore woven in to the fabric of your life story.
As we make our big turn back to the east I feel both melancholy and joy. Melancholy because I could travel like this forever, visiting friends and family and taking people for rides and challenging myself in new ways. Joy because I soon get to see Amy and melt into her arms; nothing could be better (except maybe to do a trip like this with Amy! Then I could have both!).
Jerry and I met this morning for breakfast and to discuss the day. Things were going well and then by the time we were walking back to the hotel for our ride we realized that we had hit a point of contention that we needed to discuss. We caught our ride and then when we got to Half Moon Bay (where the plane was located) we were able to work most of it out. I have to say that both of us are "A" type personalities and both of us are stubborn. It is not easy for either one of us to give way on our point of view but we are doing it. That is hard work. A willingness to process rather than to stuff grievances is what is getting us through and allowing us to have these incredible experiences together. Thanks Jerry for putting up with me.
We finally got into the air around 11am. There was a heavy marine layer of fog as is all to common this time of year (and every other time of year) so we had filed IFR. After sitting on the ground for over 40 min (think San Fran's airspace is busy on a foggy day? :) waiting for a clearance delivery from Air Traffic Control (ATC) we were finally release to start our climb. Now on the ground under the clouds it was damp and misty and cold. As soon as we were climbing we burst out on top of the clouds around 2,000 feet. What a sight, simply breathtaking. The sun ignited the cloud tops into a white cauldron of boiling soup. The hills of the coast range were right there fending off the blanket fog. They were shinning gold in the sun and right behind them the air was clear for 40 miles.
We made our may inland a little bit watching the fog blanket persist up the Pacific Coast. We were going to try to land at Shelter Cove, CA but with the fog layer it was looking like it might not happen today. Ok, I have to tell you something, this was a really special runway to us. Jerry had seen the picture of Shelter Cove on the cover of a book called "Flying the Western States" and basically said, "I have to land there!" This was what kicked of his idea for this trip in his plane. Well as we got closer and closer an extraordinary thing happened; the fog broke and just along that little piece of coast it was all VFR and beautiful for 20 miles in both directions.
We made the landing and glanced out at this fairy tale place from the plane. I thought we might stay a bit but soon realized that Jerry was ready to takeoff again. I thought that he wanted to takeoff and land again because as I was filming our landing on the way in the batteries died in the camera and he wanted to get the whole approach. It wasn't until we were positioned on the runway for takeoff that I realized that Jerry wanted to takeoff for good and head to our next destination, Ukiah, CA since he was worried that the fog may move in. Oh well, that was our furthest point west of the trip and marked our change in direction. It was a beautiful place; the California coast in that area is dramatic and steep as in drops into the Pacific as far as you can see and then there is this one little point of land slopes down to form a flat peninsula into the ocean. It is just big enough for the runway and a few houses that cling to it's rugged coast. The picture today is from the approach. The strange little black lines are just the way my camera on my phone makes the propeller look. I realized after we departed that it was only 10 miles or so from the small town of Whitethorn, CA. I went to Whitethorn in 2001 to help a friend build a cabin there. We went down to the beach at one point and that must have been Shelter Cove. Amazing.
We flew to Ukiah and landed. We both needed to get some food and the plane needed some fuel and oxygen. We headed across the street to get a bite and found an unusual place. There was a little Spanish market grocery store and you had to follow an interesting procedure to get some food. First I looked at the menu at the cash register and told the cashier what I wanted and paid for it. Then, he gave me my receipt and I walked outside to the building next door. It looked like a closed down retail establishment but there was a little Hispanic woman set-up under the overhang with a kind of out door cooking operation. I handed her the receipt then she turned to a broken window behind her and yelled into what looked like a big abandoned room, "Burrito Vegitariano!" Five minutes later a guy stuck his head out the broken window a called me over to pick up my order. The burrito must have weighed 3 lbs! It was damn good but the whole situation was damn weird!
The Ukiah airport is home to a small firefighting operation that has three planes. While we were there they taxied over and took off on a bombing run. One of the planes made one of the most stunning takeoffs that I have ever seen. As soon as his wheel were off the ground he retracted the landing gear. Then he flew along the runway about 5 ft off the deck. As he got to the end of the runway he broke left in this sweeping, graceful climb just clearing the tree tops as he banked towards the mountains to the east. It was incredible. I will never forget it.
Once we were all set in Ukiah we departed to the east towards Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is a geological phenomenon. It is high in the mountains of the Serria Nevada and is one of the 10 deepest lakes in the world. It is over 1600' deep and holds so much water that it would cover the entire state of California with 14 inches of water. In fact if you had a canal the size of the Panama Canal running all the way around the equator of the earth the water of Lake Tahoe would fill it and with enough left over to fill a canal the same size from New York to San Fransisco. Now that is a lot of water! The water is so clear and beautiful. It is like a little piece of the carribian in the mountains.
We landed at the South Lake Tahoe airport and Michael the owner of the FBO Mountain West Aviation could not have been nicer or more accommodating. He even set us up with a great lodging deal in town. Any of you pilots that are reading this, give Michael some business if you get a chance!
Now we are here in town and ready for our day of rest tomorrow. I love this area. I was last here in 1996 on my motorcycle trip with Jason. It is just as stunning and magical now as it was then.
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