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The planning stage is crucial for success
(survival) in a wilderness flight. Our origin was Frederick, Maryland. Good
sense and the law required us to carry enough survival gear to last 14 days
in the very wild. We had to be able to carry full fuel and still be within
weight limits. This is everything we took. |
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We flew to Minot, ND the first day (July 3,
1988) with one stop in Rockford, IL. After stopping in Montana, and then
Calgary, we stopped several more times in Canada before the second night. |
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This was our hotel in Canada the second night, 2300
miles from home. |
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Breathtaking vista to be sure! |
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Glaciers that look like the rivers of ice
that they are. |
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In Fairbanks we were now 4200 miles from
home. The first day there the temperature was 85 F. The next day much
cooler. We were able to camp by the airplane again. |
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The flowers are planted in a section from the
Alaskan pipeline. |
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This fence was made from many pairs of wooden
skis. |
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Big time entertainment is on tap in downtown Fairbanks. |
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A totem pole in the making at the University. |
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The sign on the bottom picture
says: Kotzebue, an Eskimo Village 35
miles north of the Arctic Circle, has been a native trade center for hundreds of
years and still is. In the past the people of the surrounding villages, as well
as from Siberia, came annually to sand spit Kikiktagrek to trade there furs,
seal oil and hides. Kotzebue is named after Captain Otto von Kotzebue, a Russian
naval officer who discovered Kotzebue Sound in 1816 in an attempt to find a
Northeast Passage. Kotzebue was the Polar Bear hunting capital of the world. |
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Kotzebue had a population of about 3500.
Several Boeing 737 aircraft arrived each days with tourists and supplies to see the real Alaska
that we were seeing. |
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Beautiful downtown Kotzebue.
Just outside of town is the "Kotzebue National Forest"
with one small tree. |
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A native American prepares a seal on the back
lawn. Notice the (legs of a) child watching nearby. |
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The entertainment attraction for visitors was
a Native American show and dance. |
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It's best to learn young! |
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We camped by the plane (of course). This
picture was taken on July 9 just after midnight. On the next night, the sun
would set for the first time in 6 weeks. It would rise again after 20
minutes! The temperature 48 F. |
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A critical part of our flying experience is
the FAA Flight Service Stations. We always checked the weather and filed a
flight plan for every flight. These people kept track of our flight
progress. |
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We were told we might find a herd of 100,000
caribou a few hours by air north of Kotzebue. We flew for several hours, but
did not find them. We saw this small herd to the south |
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This marked our farthest distance from home
at the tip of the Bering Strait. This radar facility was probably watching
us as well as the Russians. We could see Russia in the distance (Diamede).
This was still "Soviet Union" times; the International markings on the
aviation charts showed the danger of that era. We were almost 5000 miles
from home.
Continue to see Nome, Denali, Glaciers and more |