Sloth, Sports, and Gluttony

Hello followers! DISCLAIMER: This entry is boring...So this morning we decided to exercise the liberty of sleeping in, seeing as the weather was forecast to be garbage. At around nine we began rolling out of bed, basically loitering in our room and debating whether we could escape the edge of this scenic hole in the earth. Eventually we decided to remain in our hotel another night. not only would this allow us to get in some R&R...and watch the biggest hockey game of the century!

We went out to Wendy's for some delicious artery clogging food before picking up some snacks and heading back to the shacks for the game. What a nail biter! At first we were brimming with confidence. By the end of the game however things were not looking so good. Play look strangely like the end of the Canada-Slovakia game. Thankfully they were able to pull it together in overtime and Crosby contributed for the win!

After the game we watched jeopardy and then headed out for Mexican food. The portions were large and the food was great. The staff were even kind enough to sing for Aaron Doherty and bring him free cake for his birthday! (It wasn't actually his birthday but they were led to believe that...haha) We loitered in the gift shop and tried on some charming hats before heading back to the hotel once more. As our day was so strenuous we opted to watch a movie. Once that was over we continued sitting around and occasionally attacking each other. Goose eggs resulted to go along with the fat lip and wedgie marks from previous days. All is well though. Spirits are high and it is looking like we will continue our journey tomorrow!

1000 Feet Down and a Serious Fault

This was our first full day with zero flying. We woke up at 5:30am in order to make it to the Grand Canyon for the sunrise. The only problem was that there was no sunrise due to overcast skies. Instead of seeing the sunrise, we went on a quest of epic proportions. We walked west on an icy trail for approximately 5km. Along the way we saw mule deer, ravens terrorizing the sky, and amazing ridges of the 7000 foot deep canyon. Being the adventurous guys we are, we decided to venture off of the icy path, seeking blockbuster ledges and picture opportunities. On a couple of occasions we may, or may not have, felt like soiling our pants. On our walk back to Bright Angel Lodge we started a snowball fight, and played some ice soccer which helped pass the time.

After lunch we exploited the bus system and made our way to the East end, where we began our descent down the canyon. We worked our way down the path which was part ice, part snow, part dirt, and part mud. Our spirits were high as we weaved our way down into the big hole. There were many breathtaking photo opportunities (facebook photos to last a lifetime) and we also enjoyed finally being able to take layers of clothing off for the first time this trip.

After our 2 hour descent we finally made it to what we thought was the halfway point, took a quick break, and started our venture back up. Needless to say, it was much easier coming down, than going back up. We all started to get more and more cranky, hot, and thirsty. After sucking on a lot of snow, and taking a couple short breaks, we made it back to the top. Surprisingly, it only took us 45 minutes to get there, but that was all walking..very few pictures. At the start of the trail we reviewed the trail map where our spirits were completely crushed. We found out that we had really only descended 1000 feet, or 1/7 of the canyon depth. In total, our round trip experience weaving back and forth was about 10km.

When you add this total to our round trip of 10km in the morning, we walked about 20km in one day! That's a lot of canyon that we saw... but really, it barely scratches the surface!

We all made our way back to the hotel and looked forward to a relaxing evening. Once again, we ate supper at McDonalds :) Unfortunately the hot tub at our hotel was not in operation, however we did not give up. While Aaron D rested in our room, the rest of us were determined to get into a hot tub one way or another. We asked the staff at the front desk where we could fulfill our desire and were directed to a neighbouring hotel. We snuck by the front desk and made our way to the atrium where the hot tub was waiting. We spent about 45 minutes there and came back to our room and vegged for the rest of the night. One by one we all fell asleep and looked forward to sleeping in for the first time!

Ready..Set..Let's Go!

The Grand Canyon..Finally!

Once upon a time there were 2 planes, EIN and SNV.

Our day started off at 6:00am with a quick complimentary breakfast at the Super 8.  Without a doubt, the best part of breakfast was the belgian waffles shaped like the state of Texas!  We loaded up on as much cereal and danishes as we could and drove off to the Dalhart airport.  The weather forecast looked great for the entire day which was a relief for all of us.

Wheels were up around 8:30am and we were enroute to Gallup, NM.  The flight took approximately 4 hours, at an altitude of 10500!  We had to weave in between mountain passes and valleys.  Some of the mountains were as high as 13000.  Along our route we flew right over Albuquerque International Airport.

Even though we were at such "extreme" altitudes, we really were not all that high above the ground. Many of the airports that we passed were at heights of 4000, then 5000, then 6000 feet! This means that we were only 4500 feet AGL... about the same as we fly in terms of AGL in Manitoba!

After landing in Gallup and closing our flight plans, we headed out for a quick meal at McDonalds where we enjoyed wickedsick spicy McChickens.

Our second, and final, leg for the day brought us to the Grand Canyon!  Flight time for this leg was around 3 hours and along this flight we were able to see the painted desert, navajo mesas, and a large meteor crater.  To much of our surprise, and disappointment, there was still snow on the ground. In fact, there was LOTS of snow on the ground! Some of the locals are saying that it is the most snow that the canyon region has received in the past 30 years... and yes, it is DEEP and it is EVERYWHERE!!! 

Once we landed we were greeted by a large van which transported all 5 of us and our luggage back to the FBO, and then right to our hotel!

Tonight we enjoyed relaxing, watching Canada (nervously and barley it seemed!) secure a berth in the Gold medal game, and then going out for supper at a local pizza and pasta restaurant.  A small wrestling match started in the hotel room with wedgies used as special attacks.


Tomorrow we head to the Grand Canyon National Park!

ummm..byeeee!

A Gold Medal Performance!

We woke up bright and early this morning after a short but deep sleep to less than desirable weather in Hugoton Kansas. Just after seven we were outside scraping the frost off the planes. Despite being so far south, the weather was not quite what we expected. Aaron D. and Bretton headed up in the Warrior to scope out the weather and were back shortly later due to low cloud ceilings and decreasing visibility. Fearing the worst, we headed back inside and eagerly awaited weather updates. Three or four hours later we tried again...this time successfully. Although the weather still wasn't great we managed to sneak south a little to Guymon Oklahoma and dodged being delayed for a day or two in the process.

In Guymon we took the airport's courtesy car (a retired police cruiser!) and headed in for some McDonald's. As we ate we noticed the weather was improving so we decided to try and put some more distance behind us. Once again however we ran into a slight setback. When we tried to unlock the warrior the key broke off in the lock! And no...we didn't have a spare. Fortunately we were able to get one cut fairly quickly and a retired mechanic assisted us in removing the broken off piece. Slightly delayed, but we optimistic spirits, we once again took to the skies and skirted southwest beneath a somewhat low cloud cover. We arrived in Dalhart Texas around seven. Bailey's FBO took us in, provided us with free hangar space for the aircraft, and a weathered yet reliable courtesy car (at least we hope it's reliable).

Deciding to call it a day, we checked in to the luxurious Super Eight Hotel and began planning for the next day. To our relief, the weather seemed to have improved...meaning our trip towards the Grand Canyon should go smoothly. Some of us headed out for a late supper before coming back to the room. Although it was a short day in terms of flight time, we were all tired and more than ready for showers and sleep...in beds! Thanks for following! Stay classy!

Day One-- Delays, But Still to Hugoton!!!

I don't think that any of us on this trip thought that we would make it this far in one day! But wow, we did!

After what seemed like a VERY short sleep last night, we are now proudly writing from Hugoton, Kansas. As we mentioned, Hugoton was supposed to be the finish line for day one... but we will all admit that there were moments that it looked like it would be unattainable! Despite the odds and challenges, we made it!

Let us fill in the details....

All of us were awake at 400AM this morning (now yesterday as we write this... imagine that!) and we headed out bleary eyed but at the same time very excited! We met for breakfast at Tim's (isn't this the perfect way to start a road trip) and promptly ordered very nearly the same thing for breakfast... Blueberry Muffins!

The weather looked perfect, and we all put the finishing touches on the loading of the planes and the plotting our routes. Our props turned at 630AM as scheduled, and everything looked perfect and according to plan. However, we had a few technical glitches that did not allow us to get off the ground and en-route as quickly as we would have liked. An unexpected flight to St. Andrews did not let us get airborne until 12PM! We still had (Literally!) nearly 1000 miles to go, and at least two stops and customs to clear!

Our trip to Fargo was fast. We climbed up to 8500 feet, where the winds were blowing strong, and where they pushed us along with great speed. We needed tailwinds, and on this trip we were going to get them. In fact, the winds were stronger than forecast, and we arrived nearly one half an hour sooner than the planning had said we would! What a great way to make up for lost time.


Clearing Customs was simple. They even came out early when they heard that we were early. More time gained! After clearing, we all piled inside the Fargo Jet Center, stocked up on Hot Chocolate, more muffins, and fruit... raved about their incredible restroom facilities (these are some of the nicest washrooms in the world, we are sure!) and then got airborne again.

Next Stop, O'Neil, Nebraska.

Once again, tailwinds helped us along. We arrived at O'Neill nearly 20 minutes earlier than planned, and started the turnaround. Brian, who runs the airport has a couple of really cool little dogs that will do all sorts of little dances and tricks for food! Brian fueled our planes for us, and we went to the planning stations.

Thanks to some advanced training that we received in the weeks before the trip, our turnaround time here in O'Neil was pretty good. We did not waste a whole lot of time on the ground... and we were ready to fly again within about a half hour. Aaron had taken care to simulate this trip in the days leading up to this big day with us beforehand. We had already plotted, planned, phoned, and pretended to do the walk-arounds and fueling on super short notice in the days before. We knew where and how to get the information that we needed, and we could and can do it quickly!

The final leg from O'Neil to Hugoton was to be the longest. In the name of speed, we had skipped lunch, and we also skipped supper. It was nearing 6PM, and we were by now all good and hungry... BUT we still had nearly 4 hours of flying to get to Hugoton! We are sure that anyone below us would have thought that there were thunderstorms on the way as our stomachs growled while airborne!

We made it to Hugoton, however, and we were surprised by a special treat. As we entered the airport building, we could smell a home cooked pot of Chili...

Boy did we clean it up fast! Nothing was left of it by the time we were finished! It was so good that we almost licked the pot clean!

So it is that we get some rest in Hugoton... with very full and very blessed tummies! We now hope to get what little of a nights rest that remains, and be up and at 'em around 630AM.

"Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings." Psalm 17:8

An Annual Tradition Continues...

So then, to the south it is.

Perhaps it is locations like the Grand Canyon.... perhaps it is California, or Arizona. Then again, it might be Texas, or even Kansas!

Each one of these locations in and of itself are certainly enticing. However, it seems that it is so much more than just a location.

You see, we have also heard the many stories.

They are the stories of the students--and the instructors--who have gone south on this trip in the years before. They have all come back with an incredible wealth of stories and memories. Memories of the many amazing places that they have been, and memories of people that they have met on the way.

Like those who have done this trip in the past, we go out with the goal of building a set of memories of our own. As we travel, we will get to visit with other aviators. No doubt, we will create some new friendships, while also getting to say say hello to some old ones.

Though hard to believe, this is the tenth time that Providence College and Harv's Air will be sending a group of students southwards. It will be a long and fascinating cross country journey.

We are honored that you have chosen to follow our travels through this blog! We want to thank you for your many prayers, your encouragement, and your cheering as we travel!

Thanks for being a part of the stories--the memories more correctly--that we will build! Let the Trip begin!