Before launching out of Spearfish after enjoying a really nice lunch at the Green Bean, we discuss whether to make a small detour from our route to fly over Mount Rushmore. I am inclined to do this, but we ultimately decide that we need to move along to get to Alliance for the actual start of the race. It's a little surreal to be doing these "legs" yet knowing that we're not even in the race yet. Moreover, it's after 12:00 on Wednesday, which means the other racers have started the race now. Weird.
After flying in the clouds for a full day, it's exhilarating to enjoy the blue skies, white clouds, and green landscapes below. Charissa and I are really charged up flying as the Lone Racers across these northern legs of the course. The landscape is rising, and we begin climbing to higher altitudes in preparation for Rawlins. The Black Hills spread out below us. I will definitely need to come back this way again, when I can see the monument areas, and it must be an awesome sight to see from a small plane flying by.
Oh, I love flying through and by clouds. Like snowflakes, it seems that no two are the same. The endless variety, shapes, and sizes of clouds always make it interesting to me. Drilling into a cloud is still one of my favorite moments in flying. I do like flying within a cloud with no reference to the ground and just relying on the instruments in the plane for orientation. The mystery is when you will pop out of the cloud, once again enjoying sunlight and the view below. For me, these are special moments when I fly.
As we make our way to Wyoming, the earth becomes a bit more jagged and craggy looking. We see more brown earth and less emerald green. It's looking more rugged, and you can't help but think more of the Wild West and wonder about the pioneers who pushed their limits by trekking across this landscape.
The rivers are very serpentine winding their way through the countryside. Ribbons of riverbeds cutting their way through. I don't know what the population of Wyoming is, but clearly it's pretty sparse around here. The wildlife holds the majority here for sure.
We get a glimpse of snow-covered mountains in the distance. We see patches of snow below us as we get closer to Rawlins. It will be ouir last stop before heading on to Alliance NE for the start of this race. But for now, we savor the views below and look forward to seeing the mountains rise up a bit and to climbing higher to remain safely clear of the terrain.
Yep, the mountains are coming up to greet us on this journey. Yep, there is snow on them too. The land below in the shadow of these mountains is green and has interesting ripples rolling across this terrain. The lakes and rives look pristine from our altitude. It's truly a beautiful sight to have the privilege of looking out on.
Here we are on the ground in Rawlins WY (RWL). Leg 4 is completed. The elevation on the ground is 6813 ft. It's a sunny, hot day, and the density altitude is 9800 ft! As was briefed at the fly-by seminar back in Iowa City, it's important to take care launching out of here with the high density altitude. It's very doable, but we just need to lean out the engine as necessary.
Charissa is calling her husband, Ady, just after landing. She is truly thrilled to be on this adventure - her first Air Race Classic - and it hasn't even begun yet. We plan to find some dinner here and expect that the temperatures will drop a bit, and the density altitude will decline a bit too. The line guy is thrilled to welcome Classic Racer 41 and appreciates our Grateful Dead Reckoners tie-dyed shirts. He offers us 2011 Air Race Classic KRWL baseball caps. We each take a hat to add to our trophies for this flight to Alliance NE.
The line guy loaned us his pick up truck to go into town for dinner. We just need to be back by 7pm, so he can head home. Here we are at The Depot, and Charissa is standing by a fine Union Pacific rail car. We also meet Lynda Meeks here who was offering a Girls With Wings talk. We had a great time chatting with Lynda but then discover that it's time to head back to the airport with the truck. So tonight's dinner is a quick pick up at Subway, and we're off to the airport for the final weather check and launch. I call Gretchen Jahn for a refresher on launching in high density altitude. The weather looks great. We're off the ground and flying east to Alliance NE!
Before launching out of Spearfish after enjoying a really nice lunch at the Green Bean, we discuss whether to make a small detour from our route to fly over Mount Rushmore. I am inclined to do this, but we ultimately decide that we need to move along to get to Alliance for the actual start of the race. It's a little surreal to be doing these "legs" yet knowing that we're not even in the race yet. Moreover, it's after 12:00 on Wednesday, which means the other racers have started the race now. Weird.
After flying in the clouds for a full day, it's exhilarating to enjoy the blue skies, white clouds, and green landscapes below. Charissa and I are really charged up flying as the Lone Racers across these northern legs of the course. The landscape is rising, and we begin climbing to higher altitudes in preparation for Rawlins. The Black Hills spread out below us. I will definitely need to come back this way again, when I can see the monument areas, and it must be an awesome sight to see from a small plane flying by.
Oh, I love flying through and by clouds. Like snowflakes, it seems that no two are the same. The endless variety, shapes, and sizes of clouds always make it interesting to me. Drilling into a cloud is still one of my favorite moments in flying. I do like flying within a cloud with no reference to the ground and just relying on the instruments in the plane for orientation. The mystery is when you will pop out of the cloud, once again enjoying sunlight and the view below. For me, these are special moments when I fly.
As we make our way to Wyoming, the earth becomes a bit more jagged and craggy looking. We see more brown earth and less emerald green. It's looking more rugged, and you can't help but think more of the Wild West and wonder about the pioneers who pushed their limits by trekking across this landscape.
The rivers are very serpentine winding their way through the countryside. Ribbons of riverbeds cutting their way through. I don't know what the population of Wyoming is, but clearly it's pretty sparse around here. The wildlife holds the majority here for sure.
We get a glimpse of snow-covered mountains in the distance. We see patches of snow below us as we get closer to Rawlins. It will be ouir last stop before heading on to Alliance NE for the start of this race. But for now, we savor the views below and look forward to seeing the mountains rise up a bit and to climbing higher to remain safely clear of the terrain.
Yep, the mountains are coming up to greet us on this journey. Yep, there is snow on them too. The land below in the shadow of these mountains is green and has interesting ripples rolling across this terrain. The lakes and rives look pristine from our altitude. It's truly a beautiful sight to have the privilege of looking out on.
Here we are on the ground in Rawlins WY (RWL). Leg 4 is completed. The elevation on the ground is 6813 ft. It's a sunny, hot day, and the density altitude is 9800 ft! As was briefed at the fly-by seminar back in Iowa City, it's important to take care launching out of here with the high density altitude. It's very doable, but we just need to lean out the engine as necessary. 
Charissa is calling her husband, Ady, just after landing. She is truly thrilled to be on this adventure - her first Air Race Classic - and it hasn't even begun yet. We plan to find some dinner here and expect that the temperatures will drop a bit, and the density altitude will decline a bit too. The line guy is thrilled to welcome Classic Racer 41 and appreciates our Grateful Dead Reckoners tie-dyed shirts. He offers us 2011 Air Race Classic KRWL baseball caps. We each take a hat to add to our trophies for this flight to Alliance NE.
The line guy loaned us his pick up truck to go into town for dinner. We just need to be back by 7pm, so he can head home. Here we are at The Depot, and Charissa is standing by a fine Union Pacific rail car. We also meet Lynda Meeks here who was offering a Girls With Wings talk. We had a great time chatting with Lynda but then discover that it's time to head back to the airport with the truck. So tonight's dinner is a quick pick up at Subway, and we're off to the airport for the final weather check and launch. I call Gretchen Jahn for a refresher on launching in high density altitude. The weather looks great. We're off the ground and flying east to Alliance NE!
Great part of the country the rest of us missed! Thanks for posting.
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