Teena’s Flying Adventures 2012

I love flying and for many years, even though my husband is a pilot and operated an air taxi for many years, I still rarely got to fly.  Not being a pilot myself, I was always the one to stay home and take care of everything at home, including kids, animals, guests at the lodge, and everything in-between. Below is a picture of our two planes used on the Colville for many years: The Piper Super Cub and the Cessna 206. The cub remains on Tundra tires, but the C-206 uses both wheels and floats depending on seasons.

This past summer was the first time I’d gotten to fly in the Cessna 206 in many years. Jay flew the 206 floatplane to the Colville from Fairbanks to pick up his daughter Melody and me to take us back to Fairbanks after Melody’s special time with G-ma & G-pa. 


                                                                                                               
It was a gorgeous, clear day in mid-July when we took off from the Colville 
Homestead Lake and headed south.

 














TAKE-OFF

TUNDRA and small Lakes

                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Fly-over

Looking back across the Colville River.

 

Our route took us overland until we met the Itkillik River, followed that until hopping over to the Anaktuvuk River,  which we followed through Anaktuvuk Pass and

over the village of Anaktuvuk Pass. 













At this point, the north-flowing waters of the Anaktuvuk River fade out and the south-flowing headwaters of the John River start. 


















We followed the John River through the beautiful mountain valleys until we broke out near
Bettles,
where the John River joins the Koyukuk River.  From here the Brooks Range slipped behind and the flats, and hills rolled by on the way to the











Yukon River crossing. We flew over the mighty Yukon just east of the Haul Road bridge.




 






Our route took us over much forest-fire damaged terrain that was bursting in amazing colors. There were purple shadows mixed with reds, oranges, and greens, and, Oh, how the fireweed covered the hills like pink blankets over sleeping bodies. 







We passed occasional rain squalls, but visibility remained great and as we neared Fairbanks, the skies were clear again.

Melody is a flying trouper. 







THANKS Pilot Jay.
















On the floatpond in Fairbanks. 
I am always so amazed by the lush green and tall growth.  Although the tundra has a beauty all its own, it is wonderful to experience the trees and abundant growth of interior Alaska in summer.






















I have shared only a fraction of the many photos I took on the flight to Fairbanks. I’ve decided to split my flying experiences up from Summer 2012, so another installment on a different flight will follow soon. Stay tuned.