Flying Over Minnesota

We headed northwest and had to pursue a more northerly route to avoid the severe thunderstorms over Minneapolis. There was a scattered to broken layer above us and we flew at about 4500'. We stopped for gas at Little Falls, MN (Charles Lindbergh Field), the most muggy and hot place on our whole trip!

Little Falls Airport

Lindbergh Field

Up at 5:45 a.m. to clear skies and a good forecast. After breakfast with John, out to the airport. Low clouds were rolling in, almost overcast!! We hurried and took off, heading northward to get away from the clouds, again flying low under them, over green farmlands and with good visibility. We landed at Linton, ND to check weather. Flight Service said that it was clear north and west. We could fly around the weather easily. It was true!

Eventually we climbed to 6500’ and approached Montana. Landing at Laurel (just west of Billings), we refueled and headed towards Bozeman, hoping to reach Missoula. No such luck! It was raining around Bozeman and there were thunderstorms to our left (south) over the mountains. We did a 180 and landed at Big Timber for the night. We put the airplane in a hangar in case it hailed.

A charming gal, Karen, from The Grand Hotel, picked us up at the airport. The Hotel, a Bed and Breakfast, is a restored hotel built in 1890. Oops, Karen made a mistake on our reservation, so she gave us the apartment instead of a little bitty room! What luxury, 2 rooms, a bath and a kitchen! We had a scrumptious dinner in the gourmet restaurant. Now that's a place to return to!

The Grand Hotel

Our Sitting Room

The Grand Hotel Lobby

Karen, from The Grand Hotel, with Ceci

Off at 7:30 a.m. We hoped to make it to Bremerton, Washington by the afternoon. The skies had scattered clouds over the route, but we were able to climb to 9500'. We used oxygen all the way to Missoula. After refueling and feeding our bodies, we took off, flying through the pass towards Washington. Scattered clouds were above us and since it was cloudy and stormy in parts of Washington, we chose to fly at 6500’ over the highway, inside the pass, towards Spokane and hopefully the tri-cities area, WA. The later it got, and the further west we flew, the clouds finally got thinner and we avoided the thunderstorms that were over Pacso earlier.

We landed at Richland, WA in the tri-cities area and ate at the little airport café. Flight Service said we could probably fly through the Columbia Gorge to get to western Washington. The clouds were high enough there, but not over the passes in the Cascades. So that’s where we headed! The Gorge is beautiful, with steep cliffs covered in green trees and bushes, waterfalls cascading down. Clouds lifted somewhat at Portland where we turned north. Then they became lower and broken again, but high enough for us to continue on to Bremerton.

Lenn picked us up and treated us to lunch at the airport restaurant. We sat by the long window watching the airplanes take off and land. He then drove us to his retreat; a home nestled in the woods, with a hot tub, apple trees and roses, a two-story tree house (half way built), and a gazebo with fire pit. That night we sat around the fire, drinks in hand, enjoying the candle-lit night and good friendship. What a way to culminate a long day of flying!

The story continues in Part 4