Where have you been? What have you seen?
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#1623729
In case anyone is interested, I have been writing this up day by day. I thought I'd share it here with some photos.

First things first; there's a satellite tracker on the airplane that can be viewed at https://share.garmin.com/katamarino

My loose plan was to spend ~6 weeks total flying from Pittsburgh PA to Alaska, all around Alaska and Northern Canada, and then home. The rough route as initially planned can be seen here:

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The aircraft is a 1982 C182R with PPonk engine. Panel is as shown. Highlights are a 430W, Stec-30 with altitude hold, and EDM-830 engine monitor. Also my new G5 to replace the failing AI. There is a certain amount of "GPS overload". The two in the panel came with the airplane. The Aera 550 on the yoke I find very useful for looking up ADS-B weather and airport info; the interface is better than with Garmin Pilot on the tablet. The tablet is, however, extremely useful for holding all the IFR charts/plates, and has more detailed and up to date airport info than the Aera, so they all play a role.

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I set off mid-June, flying my old C172 up to Williamsport PA to collect my new 182 which had been in the shop there for a G5. I'd also added Flint tip tanks for an extra 23 gallons usable, and a dual USB charger in the panel which is proving to be very useful indeed. As is often the case the work went down to the wire and was only finished the day I wanted to depart.

The weather was IMC through PA and OH but then cleared right up. I just flew hard to cover ground across the "boring bits", and made it to Creighton Municipal in Nebraska to camp overnight.

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The boring bits:
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Overnight in Creighton:
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The view from the tent:
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Last edited by Katamarino on Sat Sep 08, 2018 9:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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By Katamarino
#1623733
The next day I headed on, destination being the "Greater Green River Intergalactic Spaceport".

From Wikipedia:
The Greater Green River Intergalactic Spaceport is a small public use airstrip about five miles south of Green River, Wyoming on a mountain known as South Hill.

On July 5, 1994 Resolution R94-23 of the Green River city council designated this landing field as the "Greater Green River Intergalactic Spaceport", for inhabitants of Jupiter who might wish to take sanctuary in Green River in the event their planet is threatened by collisions from comets or meteors, in apparent reference to the contemporary Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 impact.


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Unfortunately my day was upturned by the discovery of fuel dripping from the wing, which concerned me a little.

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Luckily it turned out to be an easy fix and I was soon on my way to the Intergalactic.

Wyoming countryside:
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Camped out at Greater Green River:
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There is nothing at all at this airport, so I walked the mile to the state road and almost immediately someone pulled over to give me a ride into town.

Rail yard in Green River:
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The Green River (I assume):
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Kid's baseball in the park. As a non-American I found this very cool.
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Local vehicle:
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My view during the much more difficult endeavor of trying to get a ride back out of town to the airport.
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Rob P, Morten liked this
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By Rob L
#1623820
Hey Katamarino, great TR so far.

Green River is in my back yard (I spend so much time in southern Utah I almost live there).

But in a 182 with all those horses you must have done some back-country strips in Utah, surely?
Rob
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By Katamarino
#1623887
The next morning I woke to the sound of a tinny little engine. The Intergalactic was getting busy; a powered parachute had come for some flying.

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The very pleasant pilot took me into town for breakfast, and dropped me back afterwards. He was planning to get an RV to tow the cart behind, and travel the US on retirement flying wherever took his fancy. Sounded like fun!

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From here I headed north to Missoula Montana for the AOPA fly-in. I stopped off in Idaho Falls to fuel up, and buy camping provisions from the ever-present local Walmart. The terrain became much more interesting.

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Landing at Idaho Falls:
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Up the valley towards Missoula:
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Camped out at the AOPA fly-in:
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The fly-in was great, although the weather was horrible all of Saturday. The planned Saturday evening departure was pushed back to Sunday.
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By akg1486
#1623928
I already had a motorcycle holiday in the US on my bucket list. Now I need to make two trips out west: a flying holiday, too.

Great report so far! :thumleft:
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By Katamarino
#1624555
After a full day of rain, the camping area at Missoula was pretty muddy. The fire crews helpfully came by to wash wheels as we taxied off of the grass. After a quick run to Planet Fitness for a cheeky use of their showers, we headed out northwest towards Sandpoint, following two NY based 172s.

Washing wheels at Missoula:
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A tastefully modified Subaru at the Missoula FBO:
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Airplanes on their way to Boeing:
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FBO staff in Sandpoint:
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The others went on a tour of the Quest factory at Sandpoint but, being a dirty foreigner, I was not permitted to enter. After that the three of us flew up to Cavanaugh Bay for lunch. The first restaurant we tried had "run out of food" (huh?), but the restaurant right across the road from the parking area was perfect!

Parked up on the strip at Cavanaugh Bay:
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The view from lunch; the restaurant is right across the road from the Cavanaugh Bay parking area:
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The others left to return to Missoula, but not us, as it was much too nice a camping spot to pass up.
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By Katamarino
#1624865
The next day brought a flight up into Eastern Washington, and Sullivan Lake Strip, a beautiful grass field next to Sullivan Lake in a secluded valley. It features fantastic camping and hiking. There are State Forest campsites both sides of the strip but it is extremely quiet and peaceful.

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On the way to Sullivan Lake:
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Approaching Sullivan Lake:
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Hiking at Sullivan Lake:
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Looking back down to the aircraft:
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Campsite at Sullivan Lake:
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flyingyod, Nick, RichJordan and 3 others liked this
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By Katamarino
#1625122
From Sullivan lake, the route went south to McCall before heading West into Washington.

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Inbound for gas at Orofino:
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Lunch stop on the grass strip at Slate Creek:
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On the way to Washington:
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Getting stuck in the mud at Memaloose, like an idiot. No people, no cell service. I had a couple of airplanes with giant tires lined up to come on a rescue mission, thanks to the Garmin InReach satellite messenger, but managed to get it out with a last ditch digging and full power attempt. Lots of new dents in the tail from rocks though, and I was in such a hurry to get out I left my tow bar by the side of the strip :oops: :cry:
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Crossing the mountains into Seattle:
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Dropping in to see the guys at PPonk. They checked out the engine and suggested a few baffling fixes that seem to have improved temperatures a little. Very friendly and helpful guys!
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Big boats near Seattle:
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Arriving at Seattle:
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On the beach at Copalis, WA. How cool!
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Dave W, Lockhaven liked this
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By Katamarino
#1625488
I managed to take off from the beach without getting stuck, for a change, and stopped off at Tacoma Narrows airport to have dinner with @motoadve and a big group of pilots from FATPNW. A great group of people, and a fun evening! From there it was off to Orcas Island, in the San Juan islands, to camp for the night before entering Canada the next day.

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Tacoma Narrows airport and the famous bridge beyond:
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This unfortunate specimen was sitting right by the entrance gate to Orcas Island airport.
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Set up for camping at Orcas Island:
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Orcas Island:
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The next day brought the flight to Canada. It was fairly straightforward. I had to buy a "customs decal" for $28 in advance to place on the airplane (seems to have no other purpose than a tax), and then file an e-apis declaration online with the US CBP. Apart from that, it was just filing a VFR flight plan online, and calling the Canadians to let them know about the arrival. The flight was a short, less than 30 minute hop up to Vancouver International. On arrival I called customs again from the airplane, and they gave me the OK to continue; never even saw any body!

Vancouver is full of floatplanes:
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Vancouver skyline and scenery:
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Dave W, Lockhaven liked this
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