The PNW (Pacific Northwest)

We awoke to gray skies, apparently the blue sky yesterday was as much sun as the Seattle area is allowed per month.  Our plan was to visit a waterfall East of Seattle and then head into town.  We headed off and the GPS showed a small slowdown near our destination.  As we approached it slowed down but we were soon showing that we would clear the issue in another half mile.  Then the traffic just stopped. 

We sat way too long and eventually I decided to give up.  We turned around and headed to the city.  We will likely never see that waterfall.  Our first stop was the Chihuly Garden and Glass.  It’s a nice exhibit and I like his work, well some of it.  If you are a fan it’s worth the stop but it’s a bit overpriced.

We then took a stroll over to Pikes Place Market.  This place is famous for fish throwing but while we saw the mongers, we did not see any flying aquatic creatures.  The market has many stalls with crafts, food and other junk.  Overall it was crowded, dirty, and a bit dilapidated.  We walked around a bit more and then headed back to Tacoma.  I had found another fish and chips shop that was near our hotel.

It was a hole in the wall and really busy.  We each got a fish and shrimp plate.  I think this one was better than yesterdays though they were both delicious.  Overall we made it a really easy day.  We have been sightseeing hard for 9 days so it was good to kick back and relax.  

The next morning we headed off to Mount Rainier National Park.  We had seen the mountain from above, now it was time to see the park.  The Pacific Northwest is known for its fog and gray skies.  Yesterday and today had been gray.  Heading to the park it was lots of gray with occasional mist.  We did not expect to see the mountain and the mountain did not disappoint.  We did see some nice rivers, waterfalls and had a good time taking short hikes.  In the end we saw five waterfalls.

One detail that jumps out driving through is that some of the trees are humongous.  Like super big and really tall.  Overall it’s a nice park.  It would be better with blue skies, some of the overlooks, I could have just as easily been looking at a blank piece of paper.  We never did see the mountain from the ground.  The skies had cleared back in Tacoma by the afternoon but for us the Rainier park stayed socked in.

Rainier was fun and after heading back to Tacoma we ditched the car at the Marriott and walked over to Union Station.  This is an old train station that last had a train in 1948.  It is now a federal courthouse and has some nice Chihuly pieces as well as cool architecture.  We enjoyed the building.  You need to go through security but they seemed well aware that many visitors were just there for the visuals.

We try to find new things to eat on the road but we broke down and stopped in a Starbucks for a drink.  I don’t go at home but figured this was a quintessential Seattle destination.  The original store was at Pike Place Market which we visited yesterday and opened in 1971.  Since then the chain has expanded a bit.

I filed our flight plan for the morning and did a quick check of the weather.  I was expecting it to start off low and clear by departure time.  Given that we set the departure time, we had a good chance of making this.  The approach minimums are 266 and 344 depending on which direction they are landing.  Our departure criteria would be 500' and 1 mile visibility or better.  Not a lot of terrain and we would be <5200  pounds on departure from sea level with cool temperatures.

Not as simple as it looks (#6 Washington)

The flight from Idaho Falls to Tacoma Washington looks pretty simple.  About 460 miles with no really high terrain on the route.  I wanted to go IFR so that I did not have to hassle with the Seattle class B airspace.  This area is usually dry as a bone so I was less than happy when we had rain the night before departure and they were calling for more across the region.

While the route was easy, it was flanked by mountains in many places and this meant the IFR MEA (Minimum Enroute Altitude) would be 10,000.  Ten Thousand was not a big deal, we had flown 12,500 to get to Idaho, the difference was the freezing level.  It had the potential to be lower than the MEA.  We have a Flight into Known Ice Baron but Mountains and the need to not sink below 10 thousand made this a potentially bad combination. We would not be launching into any known ice.

After having studied lots of weather, temperatures and such the days before, when we woke up, things were better than forecast.  The only real weather in our path was at our destination, it was overcast but expected to clear.  Either way it was not too low so we packed up and headed off.  We were given a climb to 10,000 and on course and soon leveled off to a nice surprise.  A tailwind Westbound.  We had as much as 25 knots on the tail and as little as none but at least it wasn’t in our face.  There was some weather out and about but it was off our path and the temperatures aloft were between 45 and 55 so ice was not an issue.  We had mostly clear with an occasional wisps as we moved from Idaho to Oregon.

Reaching the Washington border we could clearly see Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier.  I had wanted to do a close flyby of Rainier but also wanted to be IFR.  Usually these two don’t mix but I requested a course change to swing us by for a closer look.  The controller was very accommodating and gave us a vector that put us less than 10 miles from the summit.

They have minimum altitudes on their scopes and it seemed like he gave us as close a show as possible.   The downside of passing so close is that it leaves you only about 37 miles to lose 8,000 feet. The Baron excels at steep descents so down we went after passing Rainier.  The air was smooth and the controller kept giving us lower as we zoomed down at 200+ knots.  Oh and our destination, still 1300 overcast.  Luckily I had briefed the approach and gotten set up before the sightseeing.

We took vectors to just outside the final approach fix where we joined the inbound course.  Our speed was under control and below gear extension speed.  Cleared for the approach it was gear down, flaps approach and then follow the instruments.  We broke out at 1300’ above the field and made a nice touchdown.  We were marshaled into Narrows Aviation and they had the car plane side before I could even get out.

After refueling and grabbing a snack, we headed off to sightsee.  First stop was to look at the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.  An earlier version had collapsed in 1940 when the wind blew.  This version has done better.  Fun fact, the collapsed bridge had a duplicate version that was installed to connect Deer Island in Maine.  Once the Tacoma one fell, they fixed the design and CC and I drove over it in the mid 90’s.  I believe it has since been replaced.

After the bridge, we dropped our stuff at the Marriott and then headed off to Point Defiance Park to enjoy a walk and some views.  They had an amazing rose/flower garden.  On the walk over we saw a deer just grazing in the park.  It ignored the humans which was a bit surprising, they are more skittish back home.  We ended up seeing several more.  

After the flowers we visited a beach.  Funny, it had no sand, just rocks and I think the water was pretty cold.  We then took a hike to see some overlooks.  After that we were pretty hungry so we headed out to a seafood spot we saw on the drive up.  It was a market/restaurant and we split a basket.  Tasty, yes, healthy, well maybe, they say fish is good for you.  We capped the evening with a stroll around the hotel and walked across the famous Chihuly Bridge of Glass.

Idaho Too

Some flights are easier than others.  This morning’s flight was pretty straight forward, 123 miles, 44 minutes, clear skies and good visibility.  Start up was routine but it was still 50 degrees out so we sat and idled a bit while the engines warmed.  Then it was off to the runway with a clearance to climb to 8000 and on course.  On departure I leaned the mixtures as Idaho falls sits at 4,700' and lift off took a few hundred feet more than sea level but we were soon climbing a bit better than 1000 fpm.  

Today the scenery was great, mountains, to each side and open skies ahead.  After a short cruise segment we descended and made a soft touchdown.  Our car was ready and we swung by our hotel, this time our room was ready early, some more of that luck.  After cleaning up it was time to sightsee.  The first stop was the Perrine Bridge.  They have a great overlook of the bridge and the Snake river as well as a nice visitor center.

We had a pleasant surprise, there was a 9/11 memorial group which had strung a humongous flag over the river and it was very cool to watch 400 pounds of red, white and blue flap in the breeze.  We also saw some base jumpers repacking their chutes.  We missed their jumps but apparently the city allows people to jump from the bridge.  This seems counter to what you would expect but cool.  After the bridge we headed up the river to see a classic location.

Evil Knievel once tried to rocket over the river but a malfunction caused the rocket bike’s parachute to open early and he didn’t make it.  All that’s left is a ramp and a plaque but it’s still a pretty cool place.  Continuing up the river we visited Shoshone Falls.  They are quite impressive and there were great views.  On the way in as we descended towards the river we saw a goat on a near vertical canyon wall.  On the way back up he was still standing there, pretty impressive climbing, or maybe he was stuck, who knows.

Our final stop was the Minidoka Japanese Internment Site, this is now a national historic sight.  There is not much left, just 2 buildings, a root cellar and a baseball field and the memories.  They have markers that tell the story but the visitor center is only open on Saturdays so we missed some of the info.  It was interesting to see but I had already read about the site so not a lot of new information.  Not sure I would detour much for it but it was only about 20 minutes out of the way.

On the way back to the Hotel we picked up some truly excellent Mexican food.  While our first Tacos were adequate in North Dakota, these were exceptional.

The next morning we headed off to Craters of the Moon National Monument.  When I say Idaho, most people say potatoes, not Volcanos.  Well maybe you should say both.  The area has recently been active.  When I say recent I mean about 2,000 years ago.  Scientists say the area is due for an eruption in the next 1,000 years so before we arrived, we agreed if there was any rumbling we would high tail it out of there.

We liked this park.  It is small in comparison to the others we visited.  It all centers on a 7 mile ring road.  You would think that a pile of rock would be pretty sturdy but this type of rock is easy to damage so to preserve the site, they keep you in limited areas.  Arriving it was still cool and we enjoyed the breeze.  We made a series of stops along the road to observe the various types of lava and rock formations.  

Most of the hikes were easy but Inferno Cone is a .2 mile walk up a 14% grade to gain 164 feet.  It is deceptive in that when you start climbing, it looks like the top is close but then you clear a crest and see you have a lot more to go.  We eventually reached the summit and enjoyed the views and watched a small snake slither by.  After a few more short walks we headed off to the mountains.

These mountains are about 40 miles North of Twin falls and technically part of the Rockies.  That said, they generally are balder with less trees than the ones we saw in Colorado.  The road follows a wide valley between the peaks.  Our destination was the Sawtooth Botanic Garden.  It is small but quite nice with a wide variety of plants, flowers and sculptures.  We met a nice chipmunk here and enjoyed strolling through the gardens.  They were not as big as the ones we found in Iowa but they were very nice and we enjoyed them.

On the way up we had seen signs for a Hispanic Heritage festival in Hailey, ID.  It was much more of a town than I thought we would find and it was a fun little festival.  We arrived just as they were showcasing some dances.  We walked around a bit and I think this got us back in the mood for Mexican food as we decided to pick up round two of Tacos when we returned from the mountains.

Sunday we got a late start, this is a vacation.  We headed West to Bruneau Dunes State Park.  For some reason Idaho has Sand Dunes near Boise.  There is one huge one that is around 460 tall feet and another smaller one that is only 90 feet.  We parked at the foot of the small one and hiked up.  The sand makes it much harder to climb than most trails but soon we were on the crest looking at the big dune.  At this point we made an important decision and I believe excellent decision, we would skip climbing the tall one.

The park rents sand boards for those that want to surf the dunes.  Also another excellent decision, we decided to watch others.  We enjoyed hanging out and watching the kids and adults give it a go.  It was not as simple as it seems.  Steering was an issue and we enjoyed seeing some nice wipe outs.  

Our next destination was the Old Idaho State Penitentiary.  We continued West on I-84 to Boise.  The speed limit out here is 80 which makes the miles fly by and we soon arrived at our destination.  Built in 1870, it operated until 1973.  This is our third prison tour, not sure it reflects well on us but it was interesting.  The site is very well preserved except for a few buildings destroyed in the 1971 and 1973 riots.  

One thing you learn is that they had periodic riots.  The root cause seemed to be subhuman living conditions, terrible food and exploitation.  They had bios on prisoners that had been held there across the life of the prison.  It was interesting to see the evolving standards on sentencing.  For example a late 1800s inmate who shot and seriously injured a man received a 2 year sentence.  In the 1920s a man was given 2 years for having alcohol when Idaho had gone dry.

We explored the prison for a bit more and then started the drive back to Twin Falls.  We had been given a pretty clean rental car but looking at it after all our driving we had covered the front with bugs.  We had to stop at a gas station to clean the windshield and buy some candy.  By the time we arrived at the hotel, it was covered again.   It was time to start studying the weather and do some flight planning.  We had some potential weather monday.  The route was pretty simple but the Minimum Enroute Altitudes were high and the freezing level would be close to our altitude.

The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone

When planning our trip I had originally planned Twin Falls for Idaho but the more I looked at our route, the more I kept seeing that we would be passing right by Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.  We were going so far, I figured why not stop a few extra days.

Initially I thought we should land at Jackson Hole, WY to see the Tetons and then drive up to Yellowstone.  This was the most efficient driving wise and would save us about 4 hours of driving over 4 days.   That said, Jackson hole was not a great solution.  Sometimes closer is not better.  For every stop, there are many logistical issues.  We need a hotel, a car and then there is the suitability of the airport.

Jackson Hole is at 6,451 feet and squeezed between some 11 to 13 thousand foot mountains.  It also has some fast changing weather and you can easily get socked in or out.  With the altitude, I have very little performance in the the event of an engine failure.  Combine this with much higher fuel and parking costs, hotels that were either exorbitantly priced or pretty marginal and tough to get rental cars,  I decide to take the safer, easier option and drive a bit more.

Weather ended up driving our schedule and we went to the Tetons on Wednesday, our first day.  After hot but dry weather, we awoke to a line of rain pushing through and the prospect of much worse weather Thursday.   Driving East from Idaho, we could  see rain storms ahead of us but as we neared the rain moved East and we could see the back of the Tetons.  To get to the Tetons you cut East from Idaho and then climb the mountains as you enter Wyoming.  This highway is steep with grades up to 10%.  It is also the road that washed away a few months ago.  This meant we had to deal with some traffic issues but eventually we arrived just as the rain cleared.  Our timing was good or maybe just lucky.  

The Mountains are stunning and it makes a great postcard.  That said, I think the place is overhyped.   The overhype has made it really crowded which detracts from the whole experience.  Also it is basically one string of mountains with a road in front of them.  We enjoyed the drive and the sights and did two shorter hikes around Lake Jenny and The String Lake.

We were looking forward to the Bison herd which is supposed to be 300 strong but when we came to the overlook the Bison were close to a mile away.  Is it a great park, sure.  I can see why people like it and like the visuals.  That said, the actual experience was not as good as some of the other places we have visited.  One other factor may have been that we had a stunning view flying by on the way to Idaho.  Not saying, don’t go but don’t blame me if you are disappointed.

Thursday we awoke to more rain and it was much colder, at least by Florida standards.  Forecast was for early rain, some clearing and then lots of rain in the afternoon.  Heading up to Yellowstone we had bouts of rain but nearing the park the skies cleared a bit, just some light drizzle once in a while.  So yesterday I was not that impressed with the Tetons but Yellowstone does live up to the hype.  My only complaint is that it is so popular it is always crowded.

Crowds aside, we had a lucky visit. When flying I don't want to rely on luck, but sightseeing, am all good with being lucky.  On the way in we drove by a Bison and a Moose.   As we headed deeper into the park the traffic came to a dead stop.  We saw rangers ahead and initially thought there had been an accident but then we saw the wolves.  The cars started moving again  and we pulled over to get a better look.  A pack was out in an open field, howling and wolfing around.  Apparently this is rare and we were lucky to see it.

We then headed off to the Lower Geyser Basin.  We scored a great parking spot and enjoyed the bubbling and steam.  Technically it’s water vapor, sorta like a low cloud.  We bypassed the Grand Prismatic Spring but got useful intelligence on parking.  Our goal was Old Faithful.  If we were a bit smarter we would have been more up on its schedule but we winged it.  Arriving we once again scored a great spot.

We walked over to Old Faithful and the crowd was big.  The people around us were more knowledgeable and knew the next predicted eruption was in 10 minutes.  Given that they are about 2 hours apart, score!!!!  The prediction was close but it started two minutes late.  It’s a cool geyser and we enjoyed the eruption.  It was a bit gray so we didn’t have great contrast with the background but we enjoyed it.

Our next stop was the Prismatic Spring, known for its colors and impossible parking.  Arriving, there was a line backed up to the main highway but we knew you could also park on the road.  Passing the entrance, we found a space 3 cars from the first spot, score again!!!  As we started to walk to the Spring, a small shower came by.  This is also a high wind area and the hot pools make copious amounts of fog/cloud.  We hiked out to the Spring and endured high winds, blowing rain and low visibility.  OK not super lucky but it made me feel like an intrepid adventurer.  The cold temperature made for copious amounts of fog but we persevered.  The views were only OK due to the weather and fog but it was fun.  Heading back we walked by the cars stuck in the parking lot mess and chuckled as we walked to the road and zoomed off.

On the way out of the park, we passed many nice overlooks of the Madison river and I was looking for the perfect one for us.  As we came around one bend I saw a pull off and then the rushing water.  Pulling off we had great river views and a bonus waterfall.  We hiked around a bit and got some great waterfall and rapids views.  After that the weather was moving in and it was time for us to move out.  We cruised out enjoying the views as we went and headed back to our hotel.

Overall Yellowstone is beautiful.  It has a variety of landscapes, geysers, rivers, animals and much, much, more.  We easily could have spent another day there or more.  It is a top 10 park and it deserves its spot.  This was the end of our first Idaho stop.  Even though we started in Idaho today, We actually visited Montana and Wyoming as well.  So our technical stop in Billings was backed up by visit today.