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From the Blazing Hot Desert to the Chills of Glacial Lakes and Back - Part 1
Dana Brejakova, Contributing Writer & Photographer

Aircraft: two RV-8s and one RV-3

Squadron Aviators: Shep (Jerry), Jimmy the Squirrel, and Dennis

Total time: three and a quarter of a day (the whole round trip with two overnight stays)

Distance: from El Paso, Texas all the way up North to Kalispell in Montana (13 states crossed)

Mission: epic flying adventure while delivering a bird to her new owner

Mission accomplished: YES and YES

Additional note: It was intense, awesome, butt-kicking, and we loved it!

Warning: What you are about to stick your nose into is an article about the epic adventure we went through. So hold your hats, buckle in tight, and enjoy.

Someone once said, "There are only two happy days in aviator's life. The first one is when he/she buys an airplane and the second one is when he/she sells it." And so it happened that the second happiest day became a reality for Jimmy the Squirrel as his little Rocket RV-3B was leaving the fleet. The bird found her new home and she was ready to be delivered to Kalispell, Montana. Yes, all the way up North from El Paso, Texas. A big piece of land was about to be crossed so Jimmy started planning the trip with his wingman Jerry. Stoked Jerry wanted to haul the Rocket while Jimmy was supposed to fly along in his two-seat RV-8 so the two could return back to El Paso in Jimmy's RV-8. However, luckily enough, Dennis and his Dad wanted to join in Dennis's RV-8 as they both smelled awesome adventure. Jerry wanted to fly back home by airline to be back sooner, so a spot opened for me in Jimmy's RV-8. Perfect! The more the merrier. And so our epic flying adventure was ON! Checking off all checklists, going through the flight plan and weather, packing all essentials, a good night and sleep tight, there was a big day ahead of us.

Our flight plan. The goal was to eliminate mountain terrain as much as possible. It was a longer way, but for our Van's RVs - a piece of cake. The need for speed was well covered.

Day 1 In the air

Woke up at 4 AM to be wheels up at 6 AM the latest to beat the turbulence caused by heat convection to enjoy smooth air above the desert. We got airborne before 6 AM and off we went. Bye-bye KELP and see you soon.

Beautiful sights open to those who wake up early but stunning views open to those who wake up early to go flying. As we were leaving Texas and entering New Mexico, the Sun started rising on the horizon.

Jimmy the Squirrel, "Do you have a visual on us, Dennis?"

Dennis, "Yes, I have you on my nine o'clock."

Jimmy the Squirrel, "Copy."

Shep, "I am below you, on your right, Jim."

The squadron was synchronized and all three aviators were making contact to share necessary information during the flight while I was enjoying smooth air and capturing the sensations in photographs.

Early morning, hills of New Mexico under our wings. All systems were running sharp as a swiss clock, the air was smooth, the weather looked good, try to stop us.
(Left) Here and there, Jimmy the Squirrel had to suffer through my dull moments where I could not take any good picture of the land below us. Therefore, I was snapping pics of the back of his head to document the trip from the perspective of a backseater. (Right) Jimmy's back of his head and the front of the cockpit as a reflection in my sunglasses wonderfully summarizes the story of the back seat girl from a creative perspective, doesn't it? Haha.

After two hours in the air, we arrived at our first stop in New Mexico - Clayton Municipal Airpark.

Following the same old routine from the past rodeos was what we did at each stop on this trip as well - push the birds towards the fueling station, top the fuel tanks, go to the bathroom, drink some coffee or a soft drink at the FBO, eat a power bar wondering why the heck it sticks to your teeth so bad, stretch the legs a bit, chitchat, observe the birds, clean off bugs, push the birds away from the fueling station, hop in, and take off.

The topography below us started changing and instead of dry desert character and brownish hues of the ground we started seeing more bits of green with low hills.

Already in Nebraska approaching our second stop.

Doing more or less two hours legs, we then landed at Scott's Bluff, Nebraska. The Sun started to burn and I knew what was coming - very likely hitting heat convection bumps and surely boiling in the hot sun while pumping gas at the stops. Oh well, it is what it is.

Open horizon in front of us. Getting ready for takeoff from Scott's Bluff.
Looking over my shoulder: Shep in the Rocket (as we call the bird) right behind us leaving Dennis with his Dad as the last to take off.

After 30 minutes in the air, an idea was born. How about scratching a corner of South Dakota to check off another state we flew over on this trip list? Sure thing! Twenty minutes later, we landed at Custer County Airport to top off and one more power bar later we continued. The next stop ahead of us was Billings, Montana. Getting closer and closer fast, yippee!

The birds around the self-serve gas station in Custer County Airport, South Dakota. Charming squadron, isn't it?

Apart from snapping pictures, checking the maps, and choosing the music - peeking over Jimmy the Squirrel's shoulder was one of my favorite activities during the flight. At that time, I could see that Jimmy was spending more time looking at the weather radar on his Garmin screen. Soon enough I realized why. The screen was indicating a storm cell that was slowly but surely growing into our pathway. I thought to myself, "It must be what looked like a heavy mist in the distance after we took off from Custer." What looked like a mist from a greater distance then, now looked like an anvil cloud, which it was. At that moment Shep made contact to make sure we all were diverting from it. I must say, I have not seen this type of storm cloud with all its levels so well displayed. It was exactly like it was drawn and described in the cloud presentations I read. What one can see from the cockpit of an aircraft! I will never stop wondering. From a safe distance, we all passed the "big Momma" cloud which gave us a few kicks here and there as a reminder she was not in a good mood.

Big Momma cloud

Finally, around 4:30 PM we reached our second to last stop - Billings, Montana. Woohooo. Montana, baby! What a charming little spot and FBO. At this stop, we all knew we needed to put some decent food in our stomachs. Sorry power bars, we needed an actual FOOD. After we ran the time assessment (we still had 2 more hours in the air to reach our final destination where we needed to make sure we would land before the sunset) we realized we were safe so late lunch at the near-by cool spot it was. I think I probably had the best fish tacos with sliced avocado in my life! Even though I was fighting an unpleasant headache due to lack of sleep from the day before and no coffee in the morning, boy, that late lunch felt great. For a while, our table must have been the quietest one as everyone was happily munching on their sandwiches and tacos. A slice of heaven.

Well fed we headed back to the airport where the staff at FBO confirmed that the sunsets at that time of year took even longer and that we did not need to worry at all. That was great news. We could even slow down a little and enjoy the last leg of the trip because it held some incredibly beautiful views we all were so looking forward to.

Birds all lined up at the airport in Billings, Montana, where the professional and friendly staff was helping us refuel, freeing us from empty oil bottles, and chitchatting about aviator's life. We all were very nicely surprised about how friendly and helpful the local team was! Shout out to you Billings, Montana, you were amazing.

The last leg of the trip, yay! Even though the most beautiful views of this trip were about to leave us in awe, the fact the winds started picking up significantly decreased our level of enthusiasm. There was some mountain terrain we were about to cross and with the winds getting stronger we started expecting some discomfort. Yes, I am talking about fluid dynamics, which does not mean anything else but ugly BUMPS. It did not take long and the first kicks started attacking the birds. Aviators pulled back on the throttle to ease on the bumps but it was getting more and more uncomfortable. Little did we know that from then on the bumps would not stop and that they were about to get more intense. No one spoke on the radio, it was quiet as everyone was trying to find a better route. Jimmy was on the detailed terrain map which looked fuzzy as everything was shaking, however, he saw a way to move away from the higher terrain and waltz towards hills and valleys. Meanwhile, on the backseat, I was making all kinds of promises to the higher power because I was a "teeny" bit worried. At the same time, I was trying to read the terrain map and see what Jimmy saw when we diverted from the planned pathway. Right there and then I realized how calm head and knowing your stuff is a must up there. No place for panic, remain calm. How does it go? Aviate, navigate, communicate. Indeed!

Soon enough, we entered the Flathead Valley and the kicks lost intensity. Now I could take the camera out and start taking some pics.

Beautiful hills welcomed us as we escaped the windy mountains.
The valley was slowly opening up to us. Green hills lining both sides. Gorgeous!
Finally, the bumps were only very mild so I was snapping one photo after another. That was one charming topography, let me tell you.
Late afternoon sun lit the whole scene in a soft hue. It felt like Autumn. A familiar sensation I know so well from my homeland in Czech Republic.
Last look over my shoulder, leaving the majestic mountains behind.
Yes, that tiny little white dot was Shep in the Rocket (as we call her), she is almost home.
The Valley was full of glacial lakes. Some big, some small, some were just barely there. What a reward after all day spent in the air and having our butts kicked LOL.
Closer look at one of the glacial lakes during the late afternoon in such a lovely setting.
Flathead lake right ahead of us. Shep in the Rocket was so stoked by the views and happy we almost arrived, he announced in the radio "I am going to investigate the lake." Playful as Jerry gets, he dove down and flew along the lake.
Jerry getting playful letting the Rocket have some fun above the beautiful lake.
Such a beautiful valley. A little gem hidden by the mighty mountains.

Final approach, one more left turn and we arrived! Safe and sound, on the ground! Great job, aviators! And mainly Jerry who manually flown (yup, no autopilot there) the bird all the way all day! Happily tired we were greeted by the friendly staff at Glacier Jet Center, "How was the flight, guys?"

Me laughing, "We got our butts kicked above the mountains!"

Shep, "Embrace the suck."

Next, I hear laughter.

The new proud owner was already waiting at the airport and Jimmy the Squirrel taxied the bird to his hangar where they went through the hand-over protocols. The Rocket is gone, I miss that little bird already. However, knowing how beautiful her new home is and that she is in good hands puts me and Jimmy at ease. Farewell, little bird, we will miss you.

Next day early in the morning me and Jimmy the Squirrel had to hike the mountain with a little help of cableway. What a view on top! Two desert rats who love mountains were getting their dose of holidays.
View from the cableway. The whole valley was just gorgeous. The color of the water in the lakes! Lovely.
Glacial lake from a closer perspective.
Almost like the commercial for that un-named brand of herbal cough drops, isn't it?
The air smelled so wonderful in the forest, and especially when that forest was in the mountains. Gosh, what a wonder to have a fast RV. One day you are sweating at the desert and next you are in your down jacket enjoying chills from the glacial lakes!

To be continued...

By Dana Brejakova, Contributing Writer & Photographer
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