Preamble

After the flying/roadtrip last year, I sold the aircraft and trailer, thinking I was finished with that adventure.....
See that story at http://jgwalkaboutusa.blogspot.com.au/

But I had the photos from that trip running as the screen saver on my home computer, so they made me really long for more.  Then out of curiosity, I had a quick look at Barnstormers (where aircraft are advertised for sale), and spotted an aircraft and trailer combo for sale.....  Turned out that I had met the owner and the aircraft in California last year, so knew it was a good rig.  The temptation was way too much and I bought it right away!

So now I was committed to another adventure, and all that goes along with that.....  Found a camper van advertised in Phoenix, and made another deal.

Then early August found myself sitting in a 777 airliner high over the Pacific Ocean, with the combination of excitement and trepidation that comes with starting out on an adventure like this.....

Arrived in Phoenix and stepped out into the blast oven that it's like there that time of year.  Picked up the van and headed to Hesperia, California to pick up the aircraft.  Then hit the road, via Flagstaff and Albuquerque, to Golden Colorado.



View 2013 Flying/Roadtrip in a larger map

Finally ready.....

Been here in Golden, Colorado for a week and a half now.  Have real good friends here, and stopped for only a short visit, but got into a lot of aircraft work.  Tony flies a Savannah here, and has a hangar at Erie airfield, where I parked the trailer.  

The cockpit is fully enclosed, so I had to open an area for clear photography, can't shoot through the plastic for clear photos.  So cut away part of it.  And was very pleased to find that the cutaway didn't give any more draft in the cockpit, but feels really good to be more open.  So another win!

Tony had a couple Tundra tires that he'd taken off his aircraft, and he gave them to me.  They're quite a bit larger, and will be good for rough strips or out landings.  Only problem could be that there wasn't much clearance in the trailer, and concerned that it wouldn't fit......  But turns out that it just fits by the narrowest of margin, but it does fit!

With the bigger wheels, it became obvious that alignment of one wheel wasn't correct, the right wheel was towing in too much.....  This explained why it was so difficult to roll the aircraft backwards.  That wheel was tracking out, spreading the landing gear and the tire was scuffing along the pavement.  First of all thought it was a bent landing gear leg, but on pulling it apart, it was pretty straight.  Turned out to be a loose fit where the axle foot bolts onto the leg, bolt holes kind of 'hogged out', letting the foot rotate.  So lined up the foot and then drilled a new hole at right angle to the original.  Now the foot is secure, and the alignment is correct, as proven the first time I easily rolled the aircraft backwards out of the hangar.  So another issue solved!

Cleared out a rats nest of old unused wiring, for a strobe or something, and figured out what wires go to where, and what fuses do what....  Wired in the radio and the GPS, and built a mount for the radio.

Added a rope and pulley arrangement to pull the aircraft up the ramp into the trailer, cause I'm not as strong as the previous owner.  Added tie-down points to the outside of the trailer, in order to be able to tie it down.  It's so light that it could be blown over in a storm.  I brought extra of my 'Whack-em-Down' aircraft tie-downs from Australia to drive into the ground.  Added tie points inside the trailer to hold spare fuel cans.  Loaded and unloaded a couple of times to get the sequence right.

So it's been a busy time here, all in 95F (35C) heat.....  All this wouldn't have been possible without the hospitality of Tony and wife Bobi, and Tony's help all round.  And typical American friendly help at the airfield.  When a fella saw me preparing to try to drill that leg and foot with a hand drill he insisted that we take back to his home workshop and use a proper drill stand.  And when I needed a couple of bolts they hunted around a couple of other hangars to find them.....

Did the first test flight today, after all these mods.  Went really well, balanced in flight, and no extra draft from the cut-away.  But when I landed the tailwheel collapsed......  Managed to stay on the runway and taildrag it off the taxiway.  I never did like those crumby little 'pizza-cutter' tailwheels that Kolb uses, so had already ordered a much more substantial tailwheel form Aircraft Spruce.  When I got home today it had arrived, so perfect timing!  And a kind fella at the airfield had already given me a piece of 5/8" chrome moly tubing that I'll need to mount the new tailwheel.

So now it's a much better aircraft for my use.  I had thought that I was just going to have to live with those issues, cause can't do much on the road, but this has fixed all that.

The aircraft and trailer.

Enclosed this time.

The Trailer.

Fabric covering, sort of like a covered wagon of old...

Very light and easy to tow.

So I'm ready to roll in the morning!  Headed for South Dakota......

Good progress but no distance....

Started out with lots of excitement, the flying/road trip was really happening at last.  The aircraft was ready, except for the tailwheel, and I already had all parts required to fix that.

Erie airfield is close to the interstate highway I-25 which heads north, so was easy to get out of town and on the way.  Stopped at a gas station a few miles up the road near Longford to top up with fuel.  A vibration and clatter underneath had been bugging me for awhile.  Sounded exactly like a universal joint, but every time that I crawled underneath, they felt tight and solid.  But I had always checked in 'Park', and this time tried 'Neutral', and then found LOTS of freeplay....  So it needed work right now....  Asked a fella distributing water for the drinking fountains in the gas station, and he recommended a mechanic called 'Hands On', nearby.  It was the perfect workshop, down a backstreet and only working to local customers.  A very straight arrow and as honest as could be sort of fella.  We hit it off right away and he made space to do my job today.  Turned out that the U-joint was so worn that it would have collapsed sometime very soon, probably along the remote highways in outback Wyoming....  So I was really lucky to get it fixed now!  (But I do remember that he did say he had difficulty getting one of the circlips to fit properly; more on that to come...)  I was so impressed with his approach to work that I asked if he could do the shock absorbers as well.  He fitted them in as well, and now I have new front shocks and airlifts in the back for towing.  I knew that I was going to have to do that sometime anyhow, so it was good to get it done now.  Took all day, but time well spent....

Camped at Longford Walmart.  A very quiet Walmart lot.  Bought a couple of plastic storage containers to help organize the van.  All is going really well.

A long day on the road.  Very remote in eastern Wyoming, a long way between towns, sort of like Australia.  Rolling grassland, only for cattle, with a few valley bottoms with cultivated fields.  Lots of 'snow fences', must be pretty cold and bleak in winter.....

 But a pleasant easy run along secondary highways with little traffic; sure beats the interstate with all it's traffic....

 Van towing well at 65 mph. Then a lot of grades and bends thro the Black Hills, so pretty tired by getting to Sturgis and some lunch.  On to Box Elder, and America's Mailbox.  Good reception, and looks like they know what they're doing here.  Now need to study the manual for my Drivers license test tomorrow.....

More chores but good progress.

Started the day with a Flying-J truck stop coffee - yuck....  Now I know why I swore off coffee last time over here....

America's Mailbox headquarters and RV park.

They're really big on flags here, that one is 60 ft long....

America's Mailbox has made an business of registering and insuring full-time RVers who have no other home address but their rig.  The owners have been full-time RVers themselves, so knew the need.  Most states require utility bills and such to prove residence, and many charges local taxes even if you spend all your time elsewhere.  They provide a mail forwarding address, and hold mail until you email them with a current address, and then they forward it to you.  They also help arrange driver's license, registration and insurance, and it's really popular, with a lot of big motorhomes arriving to become new South Dakota 'residents'.  They have an RV park adjoining, and all that's required to declare to be a SD resident is a receipt for one night in the park!

Then over to the drivers license office.  Really quiet and efficient there.  The receipt for the night in the RV park, a written test, a driving test, an eye test, a photo, and then handed a new license, all for $20.  Really exciting, felt like a teenager with first license!

Then back to America's Mailbox to do registration.  A bit of mucking around cause I never got a bill of sale, just the signed off title.  Some phone calls and some faxes and it was fixed.  The purchase price of $2000 was just right to exempt from sales tax...   Registration fee $67 for a year!  It's hard to see those charges cover anything more than the office costs...

Then to the in-house insurance agent.  $195 for 6 months, compared to the $929 for 6 months in Arizona!  It was really worth coming here to South Dakota to do this.  Lots of other RVers doing it as well, it's a bit of an industry here.....

Then went to Wells Fargo bank and opened an account and get a plastic card, real simple now that I have this US address.

So now I've got a drivers license and a credit card, and a vehicle, what more do you need to tour America!

Late in the day by then, but just had to get rolling.....  Now camped in a gravel pit next to Wall airfield.  Flew from here last year to see the Badlands, so no need to fly again now.  Gulping a Big Bud, it's been +100F (38C), and still just about that at sundown....

Stopped along the way and fixed the problem with the fan in the van, so the the air conditioner couldn't work this last couple of days.  We Aussie's are tough and not bothered by heat, but a/c sure feels good sometimes, eh....

p.s. - I just checked the Spot locator and it's amazing!  In satellite view you can even see the piles of gravel that I'm hiding behind........  Don't think anyone will notice me here......  Nearly dark now.....

Lucky Breakdown

Rolling at sunrise, excited to really be on the road again.  Stayed on excellent secondary highways through,rolling grasslands.  Very relaxing.....

Went just fine until suddenly one of the new universal joints collapsed, with lots of clatter and vibration......  Luckily it was only about a mile to a country store and I was able to limp and clank very slowly to there.  On the way the vibration shook the muffler loose from the exhaust pipe and dropped the muffler on the road.....  What a change to the relaxing day.....  Wired the muffler up off the road, and then bellowed and clattered the rest of the way to the store.....  Unbolted the drive shaft, and a local farmer gave me a lift 12 miles to the nearest town.  Of course the farmer knew who was the best mechanic in town, and 'Rockin-Rob' was certainly it.  He dropped what he was doing and worked for a couple of hours on my problem.  The circlip groove was battered by the episode, but he carefully ground it deeper with a Dremel tool, and did a really good result.

I sure was lucky to breakdown where I did.  50 miles earlier in that remote country would have been a real hassle, and this was Friday before the Labor Day long weekend so everything would be closed until Tuesday....

In the meantime I explored a really good museum across the road.  Interesting local history and heaps of huge dinosaur fossils, alongside a 'Creation' display trying to explain how the fossils aren't really as old as science measures......  Outside was a really brilliant sculpture from scrap metal of a dinosaur.  Not just a rough approximation, but a very artistic and realistic work, very impressive!

Then got out on the road, hitch-hiking with the drive shaft.....  Surely that drive shaft would tell one of these farmers that I'm a man in distress, and not just a drifter.  Very soon picked up by the lady who owns the store where I had left the van.  She was quick to point out that the locals wouldn't be put off by a drifter, but would be by a 'liberal'!  She then intimated that the clothes I was wearing could indicate a liberal or even a greeny....  Kahki shirt and cargo shorts are my everyday wear in summer, just because they are so comfortable, but I hadn't considered image...  I guess the image is a bit too close to a park ranger, not a loved creature in these parts....  I resent having to select clothing for image rather than comfort, but I do realize it sets a first impression.....  So I got out my blue work shirt and bought a pair of dark cargo pants.  I know that blue jeans is really what's needed, but I need all these pockets, and my balls won't tolerate being crunched up in stiff jeans when I sit and drive all day....

Noticed Sitting Bull's grave site on the map, so went a fair bit farther to pay my respects because I do respect him greatly.  Couldn't find it when I got to the Indian village where it's located, so asked directions from a couple of young fellas. They told me, then tried to panhandle, "...can you spare a couple of dollars..."  These were young healthy men with plenty of work ability and government pensions, but no personal pride....   Sitting Bull would have been very disappointed with them......

So out of town, and found a campsite on a hill overlooking the Missouri River flats where Sitting Bull and his tribe would have hunted and played, and I tried to imagine those scenes.....

Washburn, North Dakota

At Washburn airfield, North Dakota.

It's blowing a gale today, with some shower squalls, so no flying, so went by road to visit the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, and the replica of old Ft Mandan.  I've often thought that if I was a young fella in those days, I would have wanted to be on such an expedition into unknown territory. But seeing the size of the accommodation that about 40 men had to cram into for all those winter months, rules it out for me.  You'd have to be a very sociable and tolerant fella to survive that; not a place for a dedicated loner like me.....

Finally to the oilfields, first real flight, but aborted...

Now at Tioga aiorfield,  

The weather at Old Fort Mandan didn't show any signs of improvement, so got on the road....  Really would have liked to fly there, as the start of the Lewis and Clark Trail, but couldn't wait around for questionable improvement.....  Maybe I'll get back later.  The Lewis and Clark Trail is part of what I came to see, so better do it right....

Had a a look at Stanley airfield, but that was just the start of the oil wells, so went on to Tioga, and this is the real oil patch.  Big tanker trucks everywhere, but many are parked today cause this the the Labor Day long weekend, and many are gone home to family, or just gone fishin'....   Temporary accommodation everywhere. Trailer homes stuck in every corner of land, and all sorts of accommodation advertised at very high prices.  Three taverns on main street, open on a Sunday.....  Big changes in this little Lutheran conservative town....  New rumbling diesel pickups everywhere.....

I set up at the very quiet airfield.  Flew a half hour overhead, just checking things out, since this is still just checking the aircraft out, haven't really done an exploratory flight yet.....  Did a couple of touch-and-goes to get a feeling of the aircraft, but then the front  portion of the turtle deck covering ripped loose and went through the prop...  Luckily it was a Warp Drive, cause it just made confetti out of the aluminum, with no damage to the prop.  As I had mounted that turtle deck this time, I noted that I would like to add some zip-ties to secure it better than just the old velcro.  Well, should have done it sooner rather than later....  Now a real problem, where to get the .016 aluminum, to replace it??  Not much chance out here...  So I removed the aft portion of the turtle deck as well, and went for a test flight - felt just fine, so I'll fly that way, it was a pain to install anyhow.....  Keep It Simple, eh.....

So all fueled and ready to explore the center of the oilfield chaos at first light tomorrow....  Good timing, cause it will be Labor Day so no commuter jets in the air right now....  Don't like mixing a slow ultralight with high speed traffic like that.  Then I'll split to a smaller, quiet airfield for more exploring   for the next couple of days.  Finally starting to happen for real.....


p.s.- Boy this 'Steel Reserve, High Gravity Lager', at 8.1%  packs a punch in a 24oz. can (710ml) ....  Brewed in Milwaukee where they do know how to brew beer, who says American beer is all weak piss.....  Tastes good too, so much better than those light 'pretend' beers....  But can't type straight anymore, so to bed early.....  Got some photos, but they'll have wait until I'm sober.....  Sounds like mosquitoes tonight, so I've also got to rig my net......

Still no real exploring flight....

Flew at sunrise this morning.  Chilly and heavy dew.  As soon as I got up to altitude, found that there was considerable southerly wind.  Actually, only making 36mph ground speed against it in the direction I wanted to go......  So just flew around the town and landed again.....

Soon after touch-down the tailwheel detached itself and the axle skidded along the runway.  Searched and searched but couldn't find the wheel, as it had run off into the grass.  Had to carry the tail and push the aircraft to the intersection to get it clear of the runway.  No sooner done than an aircraft took off on that runway.....  Went back and hunted and hunted for that wheel.  Was despairing that I might have to order another and wait until it came....  Then finally stepped on it!  Just yesterday I was looking at the cotter pin that held it on, and deciding that I'd replace that pin with a bolt - too late.....

Difficulties loading the aircraft, cause this new tailwheel doesn't fit the wheeled dolly needed to lift the tail into the trailer.  So I have to bodily lift the tail onto a support and change to the old tailwheel to load it into the trailer.....  Big hassle, and liable to do a back injury due to the awkward lift.  Need to get this dolly modified, but darn't approach any welding shop here cause they're all super busy....

Drove to Wiliston, the fabled main center of all this oilfield activity.  Yep, very busy place, even on Labor Day holiday....  This airfield with lots of business jet traffic wouldn't be suitable for me, so moved on to Watford City airfield.   On the road this place is even more busy, big trucks everywhere, and all in a hurry.....

To get here, drove cross-country along the Lewis and Clark Trail.  The road doesn't quite follow the river, but gives some good varied views of the country.  A really jumbled and mixed feeling.....  Some good visions of Indian country in the hills along the river, with cliffs for buffalo jumps, and visions of sheltered campsites they might have used.  Now herds of fat Angus cattle on that grassland....  Very lush grain fields on the more level country.  And everywhere now, the new economy, drilling rigs and oil activity.  The jack pumps pulling long strokes at full speed, so a lot of oil coming up.  Tanker trucks everywhere carrying that oil to wherever....  There are about 15 dams across the Missouri now, so much of it is actually a chain of lakes, so it's hard to visualize Lewis and Clark actually making their way upstream.  ......  Great for agriculture and flood control, but I'm looking forward to finding some of the original river that Lewis and Clark paddled up....

Moved to Watford City airfield and set up camp.  Camping on airfields means you have to get used to the rotating navigation beacons that flash green-white-green-white.... all night.  This airfield also had a large gas flare lighting up the area....

So still haven't had a real exploring flight yet.....  Hopefully tomorrow morning, if it's not too cloudy, as forecast......  There's lots of interesting activity right around here.

Warm beer tonight cause the liquor store is closed on this holiday.  A continual stream of young men in pickup trucks driving up and going away disappointed....

The Bakken Oil Boom (Chaos)

Finally, first real exploring flight!  An hour and a half out of Watford City.  Aircraft felt really good! Throttled back to 5600 rpm, gives 50+ mph in perfectly balanced straight and level flight.  Quiet and smooth and peaceful at that power setting, and completely stable, just right for observing and photography.  I think I'm going to like this aircraft for this purpose.....  

Observing all the drilling rigs and production pads, some with gas flames, scattered around.  Temporary accommodation everywhere, fifth wheelers and travel trailers in every available space, and whole communities of transportable units (called 'dongas' in Australian mining camps)....  Lots of new apartment buildings going up.  Big sheds serving the oil industry, drilling equipment suppliers and trucking yards.  Most of the oil still goes out by truck, so that's a LOT of tanker truck traffic.  Main highway 85 goes right through town, so long lines of trucks working their way through....  Crude oil going out and lots of diesel coming in to fuel all the big trucks and pickups...  Watford was just a really small town, but now overwhelmed by all the new activity....  Services can't keep up, so a bit rough on the edges yet, lots of dust....  An exciting 'boom' town feeling!  Thousands of young single men prowling around, so lock up your daughters, but they could do worse than tie up with a man who's got the stamina and ambition to put on boots and put up with these rough conditions in order to get together a stake.....  These are 'can do' men, no loffers here....

All those jackpumps pulling long strokes at full speed, so lots of oil coming out of the ground.

Rigs drilling more holes everywhere.

Most of that oil is hauled out by truck.

Hundreds, nay thousands of those trucks everywhere.

All that heavy truck traffic in the summer heat has left these grooves in the highway....

Evidence of a new pipeline across a field, to eventually carry most of the oil out to market.

A large 'man camp' next to a small town.

Completely changes the character of that once quiet little town.

Lock up your daughters.....

Not a place I could live in.....

 There are fifth-wheelers and house trailers everywhere....

Anything goes.....

Laundromats are always a big business in such camps.

A lot of hard-working machines in there.....

Everyone drives those trucks.

Changed times......
Was probably a one-room country schoolhouse.
Looks a lot like my first school, but this one more ornate....

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Begin Lewis and Clark Trail

Flying from Washburn, ND

Up at first light and unloading aircraft for an early start.  But battery dead so can't start......  Took time to arrange a jump start from the van....

Finally up and away, only to find that the wind up there is 30+mph.... and rough.  So still went and got a few photos of the Old Fort Mandan, but couldn't go all the way to garrison Dam and the big coal-fired power stations along the river.....  It would have meant a return leg at 30mph or less......     At least I did get a bit of a look at the Fort, but couldn't get down low due to turbulence..... Loaded up again....  So an hour of unloading/loading for a 23 minute flight....

This is near old Fort Mandan, where Lewis and Clark spent the first winter of their expedition to be the first crossing to the Pacific Ocean.  I've been fascinated in this expedition for a long time, and long wanted to follow it's route.  So I'll start here and try to follow it up the Missouri River and over the Rockies to the coast.

Ken Burns' documentary on the expedition gives a really good story of the trip.  It's a dramatization, but a good one, as his documentaries always are.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc9tG9aD3P4

Old Fort Mandan, right beside the Missouri River.

This is a replica, because the original was burnt down, then eroded away by the river.

That's the little 'Fort' where 40 men spent the very cold winter 1804-05. 

Note how the smoke from the tall stacks is blown by the strong wind,

but the steam from the coolers is just wafting around.

So typical for such a morning, calm on the ground but blowing strong just a couple of hundred feet up.

 I guess these wind turbines nearby tell the story.

They built them here because they know it blows most of the time.

So wind farms aren't a good sign for ultralight flight.....

Headed into Bismark and found a muffler shop to replace the broken van muffler that I had wired up with haywire.  While waiting for my turn, got a new battery from Walmart for the aircraft, and hunted out stronger tailwheel springs at Ace Hardware.  These American hardware stores are truly amazing! This one had 200 varieties of springs!  While maneuvering in a parking lot I scraped against a car.....  First time ever.....  Only the lightest of sprapes, on his plastic bumper.  First he was distressed and wanted name and number and insurance and all that complicated procedure.  After I rubbed most of the scuff off, he settled down a bit and I convinced him to take $100 and leave it at that.  As I left, now late for my muffler appointment, he said, "...I hope the rest of your day goes better..", and I sure needed that...

Finally hit the road late afternoon, headed into the westerly sun, but with that wind now giving me a tailwind, and with a rig like this I feel the boost, and with the new glass-pack muffler barking away, the van fairly charged along.....

They don't sell beer in South Dakota gas stations, so pressed on into Montana and found a much needed big cold one just across the border.  Then out a country road and found a nice quiet campsite well away from the roar of the traffic on the interstate.  Not easy to find such campsites with such a trailer in tow, cause can easily get caught with nowhere to turn around.....  Internet wouldn't work out there, but too tired to care anyhow....  And so to bed, hoping for a better day tomorrow....

Serendipity!

Well, now at Winifred, Montana http://fms.ws/Dji4m/47.55571N/109.37868W  A tiny town, one grocery store, one cafe, one gas station, a couple of churches, and two bars.  Serious dryland farming all around, lots of wheat and hay bales.

Serendipity - "... the accident of finding something good or useful while not specifically searching for it..."

That's the story of my knock-about travels, many times over....  Seems to be especially so when things have been heavy going, then stumble onto a really pleasurable experience, it's happened to me so many times!   Today was feeling despondent that time is half over and done so little flying yet....  Hassles with trying to rendezvous with my new license plates....  Hassles renewing my internet pre-paid.....  Etc, etc.....  All in high 90'sF (36C) humid, and storms threatening.....

Then what a surprise!  Winifred is way off the beaten track, so I didn't expect Verizon internet signal here, and there isn't....  With no Verizon I couldn't call up SkyVenture on the iPad to get the location of the airfield, or phone the manager.  I could see the rotating beacon high on the hill, right in the edge of town, but every approach just ended up in someone's yard....  Finally got directions, and the airstrip is right in the edge of town but not near the beacon....  Just a grass strip, but what facilities!  I got into the pilot's lounge with the CTAF frequency, and phoned the manager on the phone provided.  He came over right away to welcome me to the facility.  A new 39 x 33 metre free-span hangar, with five super cubs around the sides and lots of room for me to unload the trailer inside out of the thunderstorm approaching.  Now I don't have to pack the plane away every night just in case of storms, and nice and cool to tinker on it in the daytime.  It seems this hangar was a gift from a pilot who much enjoyed flying from here!  Some Americans really do philanthropy in a big way, if they get to choose where the money goes.   The pilot's lounge even has wi-fi, so that's how I can send this posting now.  I think I'll hang around a couple of days and try to catch up on adding photos to the blog....

Winifred, with the enormous public hangar front center.

Unloading inside the hangar.

Finally a real good flight

Perfect early morning here.  Down to the cafe for my standard breakfast, two eggs over easy, hash browns, toast and coffee.  Full plate and coffee refills, $5...

Flew north to the Missouri Breaks, which is why I came here.  The river runs through spectacular eroded badlands country.  Inaccessible by road, so it's unmodified since Indian times.  Lots of protected gullies for deer and elk to feed and shelter.  Could imagine Indians hunting them as they came out to the river to drink; good terrain to stalk in close and set ambushes.  Could also imagine Lewis and Clark poling up the river, under those impressive cliffs.....  There are several old 'bush' strips up that way, but I didn't feel like landing on them if I didn't have to, cause each landing with a very light aircraft like this, with a tiny tailwheel, has some risks, and don't want to break something out there and get stranded....  Now, if I'd been in my Savannah, all of them would have been targets..... Flew 2 hours, found that I need better padding under the seat....

The Missouri river winding through 'The Breaks'.

Flying high, cause there's not many places to land down there if the engine stops.....

 I like to imagine Lewis and Clark paddling and poling through here, 

not knowing what would be around the next bend.

 There are a lot of deer and elk down there.

Hunters come from all over the country to hunt here.

Farming right to the edge.....

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Then came back and flew short circuits at the field.  Just the right place for that practice that I needed in this new aircraft.  Smooth grass and no traffic, so just round and round a few dozen times.  Finally figured out that this aircraft needs to be 'wheeled on'.  I'm used to flaring right back to a stall landing, but these Kolbs sit so flat on the ground that the tailwheel lands first if I do that, and then the mains come down with a mighty thump.....  So, just hold it level and don't flare, and just pin the mains on when they touch down.  So it's landing faster than a fully flared landing, but that's the way it has to be.... Feels a lot better now.

There's a big sign company in main street so I stopped to see them.  I would mostly expect to find a business like that in a light industrial district in a noisy big city.  But these fellas have got themselves known for specialty big sign work, and city firms sub-contract to them.  So they can live in a quiet small town, and don't have to put up with the city, pretty smart, eh....  Anyhow, I'd dreamed of covering those big windows in the van with the perforated vinyl, used for 'see through' signs on windows.  With the white outside, and black inside, I can still see out really well, but outsiders can't see in.  But I'd given up on chasing around a city to find a sign works and having to deal with them....  This was really easy, and at the same time I had them make up a couple of red kangaroos for the van and aircraft.  Looks great I reckon.

Overcast and dull today...

Overcast and dull today...  Cool at last, after so much hot weather, high 90'sF (high 30'sC)
Ideal for some landing practice, but no good for sight seeing.

No internet signal here, but wi-fi in the pilot lounge, so spent some hours uploading photos onto the blog.

Exquisite flight!

Just came down from an exquisite flight!
Heavy rain last night, but when the clouds cleared away and the sun broke through, conditions and lighting were perfect.
Flying around light fluffy low clouds, rising and dissipating.
Flew back to the River in The Breaks and had another good look around.
Throttled right back, so the engine quiet and peaceful, just holding altitude, floating along.....

When I got down I just had to do a big WAAAA-Hoooo!!!
Just feels so good after an experience like that!

Now I'm ready to pack up and find out what's goin' on elsewhere elsewhere....

Of course Lewis and Clark followed along the river, to the series of waterfalls that gave them such difficulty, and Great Falls city its name.  Took a month to portage around them.
But they are right next to Malmstrom Airforce Base, so I couldn't fly in that airspace.

Lots of windmills and snow fences say that they get lots of wind here....

 This is a blade from one of those huge wind turbines.

On to Three Forks, Montana.  I was here last year, and really like this area.

Three Forks, maintenance....

Blowing all day, so not a flying day....

The seams along the bottom of the trailer cover have perished, and starting to flap.
Luckily there's a good saddlery shop in Three forks, and he had a stitching awl and strong thread.
Spend all day  restitching about 12 yards of seam - one stitch at a time....  Push the awl through, pull it back halfway, then scrunch down under the trailer to pass the thread through the loop, pull that stitch tight, then start another stitch.....  Very slow and tedious, and awkward and painful - like an all day session of yoga......  But an excellent result, much stronger than original.  Now just an equal amount yet to do....

Could barely crawl into bed, nursing sore muscles everywhere.....

Flying the headwaters of the Missouri

Perfect weather, so unloaded and fired up for a great flight.  Three Forks gets it's name from three rivers, Gallatin,  Madison, and Jefferson, that all join up here and flow through a gap to become the Missouri.  Flew around that gap and looked for the campsite where Lewis and Clark stopped for several days, trying to determine which branch of the tangled channels to follow from here.  Then flew downstream to the start of the first reservoir at Townsend, where the Missouri is already 'tamed' by a series of dams....

 The Missouri starts when these three rivers join and flow through the gap.

Lewis and Clark camped on that island between the channels.

 But very soon is the first dam.....

 That dam feeds the irrigation channels into the next valley.

 Which makes very productive agriculture.

A few miles further is the first big reservoir, and it doesn't feel like a river anymore.

Went to the post office to send the Arizona license plate back the previous owner of the van, and the lady at the counter noticed my name on the return address.  She said, "...We have a package for you that doesn't have a complete address...."  That was the spare part from Kolb that I had been waiting to arrive at the local aviation service by UPS!  Turns out that it had come by USPS (US Postal Service) instead of UPS courier as expected, and the aviation company's name had been omitted....    Sure was lucky that I'd had to go to the post office, and she remembered my name, or could have been days waiting for it......

Took the new aluminum tailskid back to the airfield and tried to install it, but couldn't get the steel fitting off the old one....  Took it to a car repair shop just before closing time, and they pressed it off in a hydraulic press, no charge!  No way I could have got it off without that press.....  Finally all repaired and loaded up just before dark.

To Leadore, ID

Away early, and rolling through grand SW Montana scenery.

Then up and over the continental divide through the Bannock Pass.  Lewis and Clark actually went by the nearby Lemhi Pass, but the roadmap looked to be a bit too rough to tow the trailer.  As it was the Bannock road was lots of gravel and dust, but sure was good to be right away from tourist traffic.

Then down the western side and into Leadore, Idaho.  Just a gas station, a general store, a hunting outfitter, and a bar.  At the outfitter's a hunter was loading up the quarters of an elk that he had shot with a bow and arrow, first day of the season.

The airstrip was deserted, and in poor condition, but just right for me.

 Flew the valley.

Lots of cattle feeding down there.

Since I've been in the US all the cattle I've seen are black angus or angus cross.

That 'Angus Burger' marketing campaign by the angus breeders has been very successful.

 I've only seen one small herd of herefords......

Must have devastating for hereford breeders, all those bulls and no one wants them.....

I reckon no one can tell the difference between angus and hereford steaks, 

but marketing has done it.....

Tried to fly up to Lemhi Pass, but there was an easterly wind blowing over the range, 

and I know not to fly into the lee of mountains like that,  

so just had a look from the distance.....

Lewis and Clark crossed that range on horses, following an old Indian trail.