Doesn't Look Too Good For Flying Today

Well here I am, back in Bethel. Erin, Macy and myself got in on Saturday afternoon. We spent a couple of days in Anchorage where we were able to pick up some groceries at a tolerable price, and watch the Badgers rally back from an 0-2 deficit to out-puck the SeaWolves 3-2. It was about as cold in Anchorage as you have it now in Wisconsin, but not mind-numbingly cold like Bethel was. Luckily we missed the nasty cold snap of Bethel for the most part, just catching the tail-end of it on Saturday.

Getting out of the cold stretch has presented me with a new problem: warm weather. That's right. It's too dang warm for me to do my job. Here's the rub: Monday I was to charter to my next village assignment, Kipnuk. I went through the usual routine of hauling a cube van full of gear and equipment out to Yute Air, having pizza at Brother's upstairs, sitting around and waiting. They called me, we got on the plane. We taxied (sp?) out to the runway, at which point the pilot took off the headset, used a mid-level expletive, and taxied back over in front of Yute. We were called back because other planes were icing up in the freezing fog.

So I went back in and sat down and waited for an hour or two before falling asleep. Eventually a young lady tapped my knee, giggled at whatever look must have been on my face as I woke up, and told me we were canceled and I should go home. Feeling a little under the weather, this wasn't the worst news I'd had. Nothing compared to the Christmas Flying Catastrophe of 12/21/08.

Tuesday I stayed home sick. Ironically, planes were flying to the beat of the band on Tuesday but I was in bed where I needed to be.

Wednesday: Freezing rain and temps in the low to mid 30s turned Bethel into a skating rink. Schools were closed because the buses couldn't get out of their parking area. If you drove over 10 MPH, you were going too bloody fast. Kipnuk had a blizzard warning. The phrase of the day was "We're still on weather hold. Call us back in maybe an hour."

And ditto for today. Freezing rain towards Kipnuk, and a runway full of glare ice in Bethel. Who knows when I'll get out. I just accept the fact that there isn't a damn thing I can do about it other than stay comfortable and wait for it to pass. Kind of like this darn cold I have. I focus on the positive in that I get to recuperate at home instead of away.

It turns out I may be in town to see the start to the K-300 afterall.