Getting Back...

On Friday, we spent a good part of the day waiting... yet again.

The forecasts were giving us some hope that we might break out of Pierre by noon. Going North was an impossibility, as IFR Conditions prevailed. However, a breakout to the west continued to look possible if things went as forecasted. The forecasts were off some.

We patiently waited for the cielings to lift, and eventually managed to break out sometime around 3PM. Heading west under ceilings of about 1000 feet, we eventually came to the clear air that the METARS, TAFS, and briefers were telling us existed.

We made a record time fuelling and planning stop in Hettinger, ND, and decided that it heading up to Minot would be a good idea. It was another move north, and one that might set us up for a return home On Saturday!

The people at the Minot Air Center were super helpful and freindly. Like us, (And most of you!) they have been under fog and low ceilings for what seems to have been an eternity... they know what it is like to be stuck and waiting, and they were most sympathetic to our plight! They did everything that they possibly could to make sure that we were taken care of!

Waking up on Saturday, things looked hopeful.. there were some VFR conditions in Minot, and some Marginal VFR conditions in Winnipeg. So we took off with hope that things would allow us to get home.

We had to turn back.

Although we heard that you experienced some great weather in southeastern Manitoba yesterday, another huge area of intense fog and low ceilings would not allow us to continue. We needed a port to clear customs, and Brandon, Piney, International Peace Gardens, and Winnipeg were all ruled out.

Back in Minot, the forecasted conditions did not at all look hopeful in the TAFS for a final flight on either Sunday or Monday. More fog and low ceilings to persist until probably Tuesday...

It wasn't long before a veteran of a previous Prov Trip (who was stuck for three days last year!) came along with help in the form of a Minivan. He and another Prov student drove the 5 hours to Minot, picked us up, and then drove back to Manitoba through dense fog. Thanks guys!