Leg 7 - Houston to New Orleans

 I woke At 6:30 am not knowing what weather to expect. Pulling open the curtains I was greeted to clear blue sky. I packed up quickly, wolfed down a small cup of oatmeal (thanks Wendy!), and called for a Lyft ride to West Houston airport. 

There was a scattered layer around 2500 feet as I called Houston approach for flight following. The air was smooth but the forward visibility was somewhat limited by heavy haze.

In the distance I noted a line of building cumulus that initially caused me a little angst.  Was I going to run into thunderstorms?  As it turned out I would pass some number of these lines of building cumulus none of which developed into thunderstorms.

 It was a beautiful morning!

 As I headed West towards Abbeyville, my planned fuel stop, I realized that I was flying over nothing but empty swamp land. If my single engine decided to die here, even if I survive a landing, this swamp would probably get me.  

As a pilot there are certain things that you can do to mitigate your risk and then there some times when there is nothing you can do. I used to get stressed when I was in these situations. Today I just relaxed and enjoyed the amazing scenery. Linda - I took you're advice and just enjoyed myself! You would have been proud of me. 

I have read so many books involving the mighty Mississippi River. To me it is a mystical river that holds so much of our country's history. When it finally came into view, it was another emotional moment for me. I have a lot of these.  Linda calls me a whoosy man. She has a point.

I was going to be flying into the New Orleans Class Bravo and called up approach control. There is something a little intimidating about Bravo airspace.  It has everything to do with being in close proximity to commercial airliners. Also you need to be very precise about altitude and heading control. 

This is the third Bravo airspace I've been in on this trip. I have learned the secret to dealing with ATC. When you initially call up the approach tell them you are unfamiliar with the area and request vectors to your destination. It's like magic. They start treating you with kid gloves, making sure you understand their communications and direction. New Orleans approach was great in guiding me into Lakefront Airport (KNEW). They even read me the current weather at the airport.

I am very grateful for the way air traffic control has dealt with me on this entire trip. All of the controllers have gone out of their way to help this nervous pilot through complex airspace.

And soon Lake Pontchartrain came into view. As a reader of James Lee Burke books, this too was a sight that I was anxious to see for myself. 

On final to 09 at Lakefront

ATC basically allowed "own nav" direct to Lakefront Airport. I skirted the lake at 5500 feet until ATC cleared my descent down to 2000 feet. The wind gods were on my side as the control tower cleared me for a straight-in approach to runway 09. 

On final I could see downtown New Orleans and the Superdome. The sky was clear and the whole scene was stunningly beautiful. I pulled up to Flightline First and they fueled me up and put 972GL in a hangar for me.

You can see the Superdome in distance

I took a Lyft ride to the Fairfield Inn and checked in. I immediately headed out to the National WW2 Museum. The scale of this facility is monstrous. It is a beautiful, artistic, and moving experience.

I had to see Bourbon Street, so I got a Lyft and headed for it. Once there, I lasted about 2 blocks before I had to get the hell away! This was at 5pm. I can't imagine what it's like after dark. Screaming, crazy people, and blasting music was more than I could deal with.

I walked two blocks away and found a great little restaurant. I ordered a martini, fried alligator, and crawfish ettoufee. Everything was wonderful. After dinner I  listened to an amazing street singer as the sun began to set over New Orleans.

I had an amazing day. One I will never forget.

Day 6 - First Smooth Flight of the Whole Trip

The weather forecast had been for low clouds and possible rain all day Saturday. So I slept in. I woke up at 8 am and looked outside. It was severe clear! I hurredly packed up, wolfed down a cup of oatmeal and drove the mile and a half to the airport. By the time I packed up the plane, low clouds had rolled in. Arggh@!$#!

A few minutes later Dallas greets me and tells me that it will probably burn off. Hoping he was right I went to get some breakfast.

And once again another food boondoggle! 

You think you should be able to go into any small town in America at 9:00 in the morning and just order a breakfast of bacon and eggs. Is that too much to ask??? It is if you are in Junction, Texas. Now if you want ribs or brisket, at 9:00 am, you have your choice of restaurants.

I ended up eating half of a 6" cold cut combo from Subway for my breakfast.

The sky started to clear as I was eating and so I quickly headed back to the airport and took off.

The wind was already blowing as climbed up, and under, a 3000 foot broken layer. The layer was only an few hundred feet thick but once again it was bumpy underneath. A few miles from the airport the layer edged upward and so did I, trying to judge the 500 foot clearance requirement.

After a few minutes the clouds dissipated and I was able to climb up to cooler air at 7500 feet.

South central Texas looked great in the morning sun with the clouds adding dramatic effect.

And then a miracle happened. The bumps stopped and I was in smooth air! The kind you can fly with one finger. It stayed like that all the way to West Houston Airport. I could relax and just enjoy the scenery and it felt great. 

Flying with one finger

The happy, unstressed pilot

I have no idea who LUECKE is. Either into aviation or extraterrestrials, I'm thinking.

Two hours and twenty minutes after takeoff I landed under calm winds to a very professional corporate airport. There is something kind of cool when a flag man comes out and guides you with hand signals to your parking spot.

I got to spend a wonderful afternoon with my nephew Denny, his sweet wife Wendy and their beautiful daughter Jessica. Jessica's 10 year old son, Seth, and I had a water balloon fight (which I totally won), played on his trampoline and threw balls to their two dogs.

Jessica

And then FINALLY, I got to eat some real food! Not just any food. Barbequed brisket, and ribs, and bacon wrapped peppers, and collard greens and green beans and baked beans and potato salad. Then I had chocolate cake for desert. It was so good!!! Now I know why Denny married Wendy. It wasn't because she was as beautiful as her daughter. It was because this girl knows Texas BBQ!

My Texas BBQ - you rock, Wendy!

It felt wonderful to be with the family of my sister Dottie. Dottie passed a number of years ago and it has been forever since I have seen them.

Life has kept me separated from all my family by thousands of miles for many years. It has caused me a deep hurt that I try to push down every time I think of my sisters and nephews and nieces that I never get to see.

I am lucky that all of my family are kind and caring people. This trip has made me realize how much I miss them all. When I get home I am going to start making plans to visit my three sisters in Canada as soon as the travel restrictions are lifted.

Day 5 - Grounded Due to Weather

 Weather sucks. And why have we not had an inch of rain in Central California in 6 months or more - and South Texas is about to float away?

The ceilings between Junction and West Houston today were ranging between 1200 and 1500 feet. The reported visibility was showing 6 to 10 miles. The forecast called for occasional thunderstorms. The Leidos Flight Service briefing was suggesting a possible four hour window in the early afternoon. 

What I'm still trying to understand is why I even considered flying today? I mean I really thought about going. It was a stupid idea and I promised myself, and Linda, that I would not fly beyond my personal minimums. One of these included not flying if there was an overcast or broken ceiling below 3000 feet. Today's weather was well below that. 

I need to remember this so I don't even consider exceeding my personal minimums again.

The weather tomorrow is going to be worse so I get an extended vacation in not-so-beautiful Junction, Texas. Sunday the skies I are supposed to clear. In the meantime I'll be boring myself to death in the local Best Western.

Good news, Dallas said I could keep the cop vehicle until Sunday. Too bad there is no where to go, and nothing to see.

On Sunday I will finally get to see my nephew Denny and his family. I haven't seen them in many years. In fact, I haven't made any effort to stay in touch. Hopefully it's not too late to let them know that I care about them. And to try and be a better uncle. This has bothered me for many years, yet for some reason I chose to do nothing about it. I'm an idiot.

As I have been writing this the mother-of-all thunderstorms has started raging outside. It's the loudest thunder I've ever heard. I took a quick run out to check the tie-down on the plane and snapped this picture.

I probably won't post an update until next Monday or Tuesday.

Day 4 - Culberson (VHN) to Junction Texas (Kimble Cnty AP (JCT))

 At the beginning of this journey my original plan had been to get up early fly 4 to 5 hours in the morning and then have the afternoons to relax and enjoy the location I ended up in. The concept sounded good but the reality has been quite different. I failed to factor in the fuel and food stops which have been inconsistent and time consuming.

 What has been happening is that I have been getting up early in the morning but not getting off the ground till about 8:00 a.m.. By the time I make 1 or 2 food and fuel stops a large part of the day has gone.

 Yesterday I flew for 4 hours but it took me until 5:00 p.m.. The result of this is that I am flying in the windy and turbulent periods in the late afternoons.

 My progress is not what I had hoped, and the long hours in the plane is not helping my physical state.  By the time I get dinner and get back to my hotel room I barely have time to write my blog, take a shower, and do the flight planning for the next day. There is nothing relaxing about the way this is going.  It's beginning to feel like a struggle.

 Today I tried to change the process. I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and was in the air at sunrise.   I took off from Culberson airport into a strong and cold wind. 

As I climbed for altitude the turbulence was light, but annoying. It started to feel like a repeat of the day before. However, once I got up to 7500' the air smoothed out .

 I was flying directly into the sun and there was a haze that almost obscured the horizon.  After a while not being able to see the horizon started to affect me. I was not comfortable flying like this so I descended down to 5500'. This put me back into the bumpy stuff, but at least I could have a better view of the horizon.

 Unless you're flying on instruments, not being able to see the horizon can be dangerous. It is surprisingly easy to become disoriented and potentially lose control of the aircraft.

 My plan for today had been to make it to Sonora, Texas a distance of about 400 miles.  However, the last half of the route was showing low clouds and potential rain. I decided I could fly part way and then land and see if the weather improved. 

 I landed at Fort Stockton airport (FST) and waited in the pilot's lounge constantly checking the weather ahead. It was forecast to clear up around noon.

 In the pilot's lounge I met a couple of Texas state trooper helicopter pilots who were flying their helicopter up to Fort Worth. It was interesting talking with them.

An hour or so later I figured I could make it at least to Ozona Airport. Once there, I would decide whether to continue or not. 

The weather past Ozona was 1300 foot overcast. Not knowing the terrain and local conditions, I was not comfortable trying to fly under this. Also, I don't fly VFR-on-top (flying over a solid layer of clouds). 

I landed at Ozona (OZA) and walked 3/4 of a mile to the truck stop. I was hungry and really needed something to eat. The were all out of breakfast tacos and the counter guy tells me all they have is pig skin tacos. 

Ok, it's pork, how bad can it be? What they served me looked like barely cooked pig fat with some greasy sauce in a taco shell. It was quite possibly the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten (and I have eaten balut!). I was so hungry I choked down half of it.

Don't ever eat here:

I have flown adjacent to major highways for almost all of my adventure. I never forget that I am in a single engine airplane.

I decided to push on to at least Sonora, having confirmed by phone that the sky was clear there. 

The turbulence was just enough to not be able to relax. Again, I couldn't take my hand off the stick for more a second or two. This kind of flying is stressful and exhausting for me.

As I reached Sonora, the overcast layer was turning to broken and the visibility was good. I made the decision to press on to Kimble county. I landed about 1:30 and began trying to figure out where to stay.

I got a reservation at a hotel about a mile and a half away. I grabbed my over-night backpack and my electric scooter and was about to leave. Just then a guy came up and introduced himself as "Dallas" (yes, Dallas from Texas, and I'm not making this up!). 

"You want to borrow a vehicle instead of riding that itty bitty thing?", asks Dallas. 

Uh, ok! 

"Well then let me get you the keys".

Dallas, from Texas, went on to tell about the good and bad restaurants in town. He also warned me about locking stuff up and not leaving anything in the vehicle. 

You don't have to spend very much time in southern Texas to realize illegal immigration is a real problem. I don't know what the right thing is politically, but the residents down here are seriously affected by it. Border patrol agents and national guard seem to be everywhere. It's weird, and disturbing. 

It turns out the vehicle Dallas has for me is a former border patrol unit. Still has the "exempt" license plates. 

Dallas had mentioned a place to go swimming. After hours in a hot cockpit, I took his suggestion. I went for a swim in the Llano River. It felt great!

On the way back to the hotel I am acutely aware that I am riding in a blacked out Suburban with a bullbar and "Exempt" license plates. I also have my aviator sunglasses on. 

As I'm rolling down main street a highway patrol, parked on the side of the road, mistakes me for a fellow officer and goes out of his way to wave at me. I waved back. That doesn't happen when I'm rolling in my Kia...

Todays flight. Note the weather came in later in  the day.

Day 3 - Eloy AZ to Van Horne Texas

 I didn't sleep well last night and was up at 5:30. 

I packed up, ate a bowl of oatmeal without milk (not recommended), and rode the scooter to the plane. I think I got off the ground around 7 am.

It was a pretty morning and the sky was calm.

Davis Monthan Air Force Base

As I passed Tucson I called up Tucson Approach and picked up flight following. 

Once away from city, the barren Arizona landscape seems to stretch on forever. The view is frequently broken by large ragged mountains reaching up to 9000 feet. 

And then, strangely, in the middle of nowhere - crop circles.

I landed at Deming New Mexico (DMN) to get gas and food. Unfortunately the crew car was being used, and it was a long way to the nearest food trough, so I wouldn't be eating here. 

I took a quick picture of my wife, Linda's, keep sake. It's my reminder she is watching over me.

No, I don't know what happened to his pants. Knowing Linda she probably took them off to see what was underneath....

A few air miles down the road was Las Cruces Airport which I heard had a BBQ place on the field. On the way there the afternoon thermals started kicking up.

Las Cruces has a massive runway with a ton of heavy iron. I have no idea why since there isn't anything around here.

I keep running into friendly people. After I parked the plane a guy rolled up in a WW2 Willys and asked if I wanted a ride. 

As a serious off-roader, I jumped at the chance for a ride in the pre-cursor to my Jeep. He dropped me off at Jim Bobs BBQ, right on the field. And it was damn good BBQ!

I departed Las Cruces an hour later and ran into a near repeat of the day before. To be fair, the turbulence wasn't quite as bad but it was enough that I could not take my hands off the stick, even for a second, over the next hour and  half.

I think I did learn something important about turbulence today. I learned that it helps to really fly thru it. By that I mean not just hanging on for the ride but actively making control inputs and throttle changes to maintain altitude and control. It's still bloody exhausting, though! 

As I passed El Paso (%^) ), I had to veer over downtown to avoid another series of jagged cliffs. What I didn't realize was how close to the Mexican border I was. One moment I was looking down at this strange line below the nose wondering, "What the hell is that?".

And the next moment I realized it was the border and I was, technically, in Mexican airspace! Crap!

I made a quick jog to the left and waited for Center to read me the riot act. It never happened, so no harm no foul. I hope...

In case you're wondering -yep, there really is a wall from El Paso and stretching for miles into the distance.

Once again, I decided to forget my original destination and headed for the nearest airport. This turned out to be Culberson (VHN). It's located next to the town of Van Horne.

After landing, "Jeff" walked up and asked if I needed fuel. Sure! So Jeff filled me up. I asked him if there was a hotel nearby. Yep, about 3 miles to town.

I was not feeling like riding my scooter 3 miles when Jeff asked if I wanted to borrow "Bill's" truck for the night? Uhh, ok.

"Its right over there, just have it back by 8:30 am, ok?" Uhh,ok. 

Bill has a nice truck, by the way. 

Walking by an open hangar I noticed a bunch of military drones. It turns out the national guard does border patrol with them out of here.

And Bill's truck. Thanks Bill, whoever you are!

I'm sure there are spelling and grammar mistakes in this blog but I am way too tired to deal with them.

Day 2 - Emotional in Sedona - Terror Over Phoenix

 Feeling like I've been rode hard and put away wet.

Leaving Kingman Arizona this morning I climbed into a blue sky and calm wind. Another perfect day for flying!

I was especially excited about todays flight as I would be finally making it to Sedona. 

There are certain airports that every pilot dreams about visiting. Sedona is on the top of many such lists. For me there were two airports I had to see someday. One was Kitty Hawk, the site of the Wright Brothers first fight. The other was Sedona.

Sedona  airport is located on the top of a stand-alone 1000 foot mesa. Landing here is like landing on an aircraft carrier - albeit with a much longer runway. The stunning beauty is part of the attraction. The other part of Sedona airports mystique is the frequent terrible winds that have been the undoing of many pilots.

Today the winds were forecast to be light, and this turned out to be the case. The pictures of Sedona speak for themselves.

I fueled up and had lunch at the airport restaurant. Sitting in the restaurant looking out over the runway my mind drifted back to my first thoughts of flying here, 30 years ago.

"Some day I will build my own plane and fly to Sedona". 

I felt a flood of emotions as I sat there eating my oatmeal. I tried to wipe the tears from my eyes. Not sure why I started crying. Maybe it was because six years ago, after my stage 4 cancer diagnosis, I thought this dream would never come true. Maybe I was happy for finally making it here. I don't know, but I had to keep wiping them away.

The FBO on the field has a special certificate for a pilot's first landing here. This is definitely going up on my wall at home. I have spent to much time tying to rotate this. You'll just have to read it sideways.

And right here the fun ended and the terror began.

Climbing out from Sedona an hour later, things had changed. Right off the end of the runway the plane began bouncing around. Not too bad, but certainly not the calm air that had greeted me here. And then it got worse.

Ten minutes out and the "bouncing" became turbulence. 

The turbulence became unreal. 1000 fpm up and down with constant rocking side to side. It kept up all the way thru Phoenix. 

There are times when you wished you'd never learned to fly. This was one of them. It just kept hammering my little plane. Uncontrolled climbs followed by steep descents, all while the wings were rocking crazily. There was no way I could try and turn back to Sedona. I could barely keep the plane moving straight. And there were no airports between me and Phoenix International. 

Surrounding Phoenix International is a very large area of controlled airspace. It's referred to as "Bravo" airspace and is intended to protect commercial aircraft from little guys like me. 

My original plan had been to skirt the east side of the bravo, which is up against a series of cliffs. I quickly discarded this idea because I knew the winds would be even worse there today.

Flying around the west side of the bravo would have added another 40 minutes in this washing machine. I needed some help.

I called Phoenix Approach. Typically they will tell small planes like mine to "stay clear of the bravo!" The controller was busy handling multiple inbound and outbound airliners and other commercial traffic. His voice was like an auctioneer, issuing rapid-fire directions with barely a breath in between. 

I'm not sure if it  was the stress in my voice, but when he called back to me his voice slowed down from his previous rapid and clipped speech. "How can I help you 972GL?"

"Can you clear me thru the bravo?", I asked already knowing the answer.

"November 972GL your cleared to enter the bravo. Do you need vectors to your destination?"

Dear god, I would have kissed this man if I could! 

"Affirmative, but I'm having trouble holding altitude."

Terror is the wrong word, but "fear" is almost not enough. I felt some level of helplessness bouncing down this turbulent valley. I was in the sky, all alone, and my plane was nearly out of control. Landing was not an option. 

The real fear comes when you realize that this could get worse. Your in the mountains, on the lee side, and stuck in a valley with towering peaks on either side. It can absolutely get turbulent enough for me to lose control and die.   

One important part of learning to fly that people don't talk about much is learning to manage fear. For most people, even those who dream of flying, their first time actually at the controls is frightening. As you progress through your training, you are introduced to the many ways you can die in your little plane. Stall it at low altitude, get into a spin, fly into IMC, run out of gas, engine failure, carbon monoxide or hypoxia, or simply freezing up when the plane is demanding an input. Or getting into an area of severe turbulence. 

By the time you get your pilot's license you have acquired some level of managing fear in the cockpit. On this particular day, and after 30 years of flying experience, I was having trouble managing my fear. I felt I was on the verge of panicking. I did not want to die today. While this may sound melodramatic, it was very real at the time.      

The sound of the controller's voice was like a life line to me. I wasn't all alone anymore. Ok, I know I was still all alone, and maybe it's hard to understand, but having someone who could provide any level of help felt like a godsend. It helped me get my fear back under control.

"972GL turn right heading 160, just keep your altitude below 6000," he spoke slowly.

"Below 6000 for 2GL," I replied. 

At that point I knew I was going to be ok. Yes, a guy on a radio who couldn't help with the control of my aircraft, couldn't really help me. Yet he did, by giving me the emotional boost I needed to quell the almost over-whelming fear. 

He ended up vectoring me right over the center of the Phoenix International runways! By the time I reached the southern edge of the bravo the turbulence had subsided, a lot. Mentally I was done, however. There was no way I wanted to continue the flight, so I  started looking for an airport to spend the night.

I picked Eloy for no real reason other than it was close. It turned out great as there was a funky motel right across the street from the airport.

I went for a walk as the sun went down.

Now I'm sitting here drinking a vodka on the rocks and trying to absorb the amazing day I had today. This really is an adventure, and it's only day 2.

Day One - Pine Mountain Lake to Kingman Arizona

 The day started out more perfect than I could have hoped for. The sky was clear blue, the winds were calm. The forecast along my entire flight was clear and calm. 

Ready to go under calm and blue skies

My first intended destination was Mojave Air and Space Port. It would be a good place to refuel, eat lunch, and maybe see some cool airplanes. As it turned out my kidneys had other ideas.

Thirty minutes from Mojave I had to pee BAD. Tehachapi Airport was dead ahead and I landed to take care of my problem, and refuel. I tried to get an Uber or taxi to a nearby Subway but had no luck. I ended up sitting in the small pilots lounge eating tough beef jerky and cashews. 

On the ramp at Tehachapi

The density altitude at takeoff was 6500 feet. N972GL climbed out was quite slow due to full fuel and a lot of baggage.

I picked up flight following from Joshua Approach. The Mojave Desert is a hot bed of aviation. Military and experimental aircraft, combined with a lot of restricted airspace, make the support of air traffic control important.

The desert is a strange empty space, broken by a number of isolated airports, large greenhouse farms and lonely homes. There is very little greenery. Oh, except for the water skiing resort and housing development far from anything! 

The empty Mojave Desert

The water skiing development in the middle of the desert - who lives here????

My calm day took a disruptive turn about here. At 7500 feet the turbulence, while not terrifying, was very uncomfortable. For the next two hours I was bounced around. This did  nothing to help my sore back.

Two hours later Kingman Arizona came into view. Thank god, because I really  needed to pee again!

I fueled up after landing and then tried to get a ride to my hotel, 5 miles away. Kingman has apparently never heard of Uber. I called the one listed taxi in town who told me he didn't feel like it... (don't ask me, I have no idea).

I started to get my scooter out of the plane, though not looking forward to a 5 mile ride on the thing! Just then, the local FBO owner pulled up in a golf cart and asked me if I wanted to borrow their truck for the night.  I was tired, starving and sore and really needed a break right then. I thanked him profusely and he gave me the keys and directions to the hotel.

I made it to the Red Roof Inn and ended up having a gourmet meal at Denny's - the French Toast Grand Slam.

I'm worn out. Tomorrow I have a short 3 hour flight to an isolated air strip in the southeast Arizona desert. I'll be all alone camping under the stars.

Kingman Airport

Dinner at Dennys

The Day Before Takeoff

 It's May 23rd, the day before takeoff.

When I brought the idea of this adventure to my wife Linda four months ago, it sounded all so exciting! How cool would it be to finally realize this dream I had so many years ago?

I spent the following four months working on the plane to get it as perfect as possible. I bought ultra-light weight backpacking-style camping gear. I planned and studied and obsessed.

However, in the last few days this excitement has been replaced with something else. The realization that I am actually doing this has sunk in. It's not something that is happening in the future. It's happening tomorrow.

Today I seem to be having a lot of emotions and doubts. The biggest one is anxiousness. Not necessarily the good kind. I am so used to my daily life - my comfortable chair, my own bed, my daily routine. This routine is comfortable and safe and easy. As I have gotten older these things seem to take on a greater importance. I'm not sure why.

I am also feeling melancholy about leaving Linda. She is my best friend, my partner in life. I spend all day, every day, with her and its still not enough. I miss her already, even though I haven't left yet.

Do I really want to go on the adventure without my love of my life? How can I enjoy myself without her to share the experience? This is a very real concern. 

I've told Linda there are two things for sure that can cause me to turn around and come home. The first is that I can't keep my pain under control. The second is deciding I just don't want the adventure if she's not in it.

The first leg of my flight is, honestly, the one I have been most concerned about. It is the flight from Pine Mountain Lake to Kingman Arizona. 

Leg 1 - Pine Mountain Lake (E45) to Kingman (KIGM)

The concern with Leg 1 is the winds in the Mojave Desert, and at my destination, Kingman. For the past week they have been unflyable. The winds and turbulence was well beyond my comfort level - 26 knots gusting to over 40 knots.  

A few years ago Linda and I found ourselves transiting the Mojave desert in the Cessna Cardinal we were partners in. I decided to stop at Mojave Air and Space Port to hopefully get a peek at the Stratolaunch aircraft. Big mistake. The wind was so bad I could not take off again. For the next two days the wind did not die down and we spent a lifetime sitting in the small pilot's lounge. There is nothing to do in Mojave if you're not flying, so it was a very long couple of days.

However, the winds are forecast to die down starting this afternoon. The weather for tomorrow will be about as perfect as I could hope for. 

Monday's weather at Kingman - Sunny, winds 7 gusting to 13

The plane is packed, fueled, and ready to go. The only thing I have left to do is throw my two backpacks into it.

Now I just need to remember that this is supposed to be a fun adventure and I should be enjoying myself. Hopefully, once I am in the air all this anxiousness and uncertainty will fade away. I'll post again tomorrow and let you know how it went.

Here is the link to my Spot X gps tracking which tracks the plane:

https://maps.findmespot.com/s/JT4J

N972GL and Willy (I will miss him too!)