MauleBros in Montana
Getting a late start we decide to go high for a change and take advantage of some winds aloft
That's lake Parde and New Hogan
and to try out some new gadgets
I have no clue who these two dorks are - their identities have been concealed to protect their public image
Desolation wilderness west of Lake Tahoe as we pass through 12,500 ft
We're not generally used to being so high and seeing such itty bitty houses
But the wind up here is right on our tail at about 25 knots. Later we actually saw a GS of 185!
Truckee and Lake Tahoe from the north end
After you cross the Sierra there's very little green to be seen for a long, long ways
Those winds were playing havoc as well as we alternated between full power, best rate of climb and going down 1.000 fpm
to halfway into the yellow arc in a nose dive going up 1,000 fpm
After crossing over the Black Rock Desert in Nevada you have to cross the Owyhee desert in Southeastern Oregon
You'd have to be blind to miss the huge slash in the Earth that the Owyhee river has carved across it
On the other side, in Southwestern Idaho there's a rather abrupt end to the desolation
This guy has the junk bus market cornered
We stopped in Caldwell Idaho and got some gas. The restaraunt was already closed because we got a late start and
completely forgot about losing an hour due to the change to Mountain time
LA? Nope - Boise
Then, just as abruptly as it began, civilization ends at the hill line
Due to weather and incredibly hostile terrain we opt not to do a direct so head East towards Idaho Falls
The southern end of the mountains in Idaho aren't quite as tortuously rugged as the central and northern sections
But only if you stay to the extreme southern end. I think Sun Valley and some extremely expensive Idahoan real estate lies up that road
Once again we pass over Craters of the Moon
Back over green valleys of (I assume potatos) near Idaho Falls
It's getting late so we opt for a room at a hotel across from a Chili's and an Applebees
The food was crummy, as expected, but the frozen Margaritas hit the spot and I slept like a rock
A good early start and we make the biggest mistake of the trip
Those are the Tetons over there and we opted not to take the time thinking we could hit them on the way back
We missed a golden opportunity
There's some really nice rolling hill and mountain country north of Idaho Falls and the morning air was smooth as silk
Lots of interesting back roads up here too with serene valleys and wooded slopes
as well as quite a few potential landing spots for a Cub or a Maule
There was still a bit of weather as we headed north but for the most part it had all blown through yesterday
We found out later that we had made a wise decision as most of the folks that had arrived and camped Friday
had spent most of the night trying to keep their tents from blowing away as we slept snuggly in our hotel
Continuing northward into Montana
There's no gas at our destination so we stopped at Chotoeu after scratching our heads for a good ten minutes
trying to figure out how to pronounce it. Right or wrong, we called it Show-Tow
Nice new fueling facility and 100LL was only $3.85 a gallon
In came another Maule from Texas sporting those $2500 per pop Alaskan Bushwheels. Nice color though eh?
Finally our destination - Valier Montana - So how do you pronounce that? Valley-ur, Va-leer or Val-yay?
We were told it's Va-leer but I'm not convinced since there was a Pa-vill-yon on the field
Here's the campsite. We had to tie triangulated flying buttresses to the tent to keep it up in the 20 kt wind
We headed 'downtown' for a burger and to get some ice for the expensive California beer that we had hauled up here
If only we had known you can get an 18 pack for $10.75 at the Panther Cafe! Pre-chilled and everything
We also took the metro tour of Valier along the mile and a half scenic drive. Here's the town's communications center
The south side of the tracks
The town center where there was actually a Stop sign
The Municipal Water District
The wind eventually died down and okay...I'm bored
So we decided to skip dinner and do a late afternoon tour of some of the local sights
About 50 miles northwest is Glacier National Park
And it looks like it's gonna be worth the trip after all
Lighting was not ideal for pictures so some of these are not the best but there's no way they could completely capture
what we were about to witness anyway
This is the western entrance to the park
One of the reasons I wanted to come up here was because I have a mural in my office that is a picture that was taken from this road
It's the most photographed spot in the park according to the brochure
We were wary of turbulence this time in the afternoon but it turned out to be pretty smooth with just a few bumps
These are some BIG mountains up here in Big Sky Country
But, as we witnessed in the Sierra, there's an incredible lack of snow this year all over
The pictures do not capture the enormity and grandeur of this
The map SAYS that there's a way through around this corner but the pucker factor is building none the less
E-Gads man, that's a big rock!
A glimpse of the road below gives some sense of scale
Not to mention that these ranges just keep going on and on as you head west
Imagine having to get through this on foot like Lewis and Clark
I'd say that Glacier National Park is deserving of a raod trip one of these days
This is called the 'Going to the Sun' road through the park and it looks like a spectacular drive
and it's an incredible achievement
Or perhaps an example of how feeble our marks on nature actually are
Another large lake begins to come into view on the other side
The views below are beyond description
Coming up to the pass
Crossing over the pass
Beautiful
Wow
Looking back the way we came through
A huge lake trapped up top, one that no one can see from any road
We're inspired and awed
It's just incredible
A lone boater on a pristine glacier fed mountain lake
I feel compelled to make a coment but there's really nothing for me to say
So maybe I should just shut up for awhile
Another pair of hidden lakes that can be seen only from the air
and a lovely alpine valley
A stereoscopic camera would be neat for this kind of stuff - as it is the pictures come out kind of flat
Spotted Bear USFS strip
We considered doing a landing but realized that in our haste to off-load the aiplane we had, like idiots, taken off
without jackets or long pants. Any sort of mishap on landing could have resulted in a long and uncomfortable overnight stay
So we decided to turn back and head out over the southern pass
Crossing the ridge and heading east
The detail below is stunning as it passes by
Again, for scale - that's about a 5 mile long train down there
Back out to the flat lands again
We decide to stop at Cutbank for fuel but soon realize that although the 28 kt wind is right down the runway
it's down the runway that is closed for construction. We tried a landing on the crosswind runway but it was impossible
so we ended up landing on the grass in between and taking off on the taxiway
The second biggest mistake of the trip - if you buy fuel at Cutbank they will let you borrow their special bowling ball
which you can then attempt to drop on an old car parked out in the middle of the field as you leave
We decided to decline - should have done it cause we probably will never be back here again
Sun Dog over Valier
and so begins the long Montana sunset
that just seems to go on forever
as the colors slowly intesify
All the Maulers head back to camp from the Pavillion. The wind is dead calm now
The Valier nightlife is about to wake up
Only in America
as the Maulers share in the spirits to celebrate just how lucky we are to be able to do something as extrordinary as this
The day finally ends as I crawl into the tent after ensuring that we won't have to haul any booze back to California tomorrow
Unlike the serene Montana sunsets, the Montana sunrises are brutal and sudden
What happened to those plans of having everything packed up and ready to go the night before?
And what is that gawd-awful noise that sounds like a runaway chainsaw?
Ah...Some clown having fun terrorizing us from 30 feet in a powered parachute at 7 am
But soon the daunting tasks of folding and packing the gear are behind us and we are on our way. We've got about 750 miles to go
The still morning air makes for a pleasant flight over the mountains as we cross the front range headed due southwest for Caldwell
Lots and lots of rugged terrain and big mountains out here
with lovely populated green valleys sprinkled in between
followed by more of the same again
Back at the northern end of the Black Rock Desert there are a couple of famous playas that you can land on
They're as smooth as a billiard table but again don't do such a thing on your own because the slightest mishap on landing
could leave you stranded in a most formidably hostile place
Unlike our trip north, we are now seeing about 80 kts GS on the way home and it's taking forever to get anywhere
There are also long bouts of sinking air and I can see that in a lesser airplane it would be easy to miscalculate and run out of gas out here
A fire up by Placerville
With no snow in the mountains and extremely dry conditions it seems that fires are sprouting up all over
Until next time - fly safe and enjoy
and Happy 4th of July