20171221 – Aniak to Bogota

Got off work so I shot down to Bogota to visit my old friend from high school Bailey and his girlfriend Paula. I took cargo flights down there and it took a total of about 36 hours to get down. I flew from Aniak to Anchorage first where I was delayed for quite a few hours, then went from Anchorage to Cincinnati but instantly got on a plane for Miami. Had a little layover in Miami where I got some tacos from the restaurant, “Airport Cafe and Liquor.” Then the last flight got me into Bogota at around 3am. I met some cool pilots on the flight and they let me crash at their place and gave me some wine to sip on.

Then once I finally got some sleep I met up with Bailey, Paula, and their new streetdog, Mo. When Mo met me he instantly walked up to me and bit my leg. Each time I leave and come back to the apartment he pulls an Allie from The Notebook and forgets who I am, trying to go in for another bite. Little bastard.

Later at night we went to this “party” that just turned out to be a jam session where there were 2 people and a couple of instruments lying around so I grabbed some bongos and joined in. It was a good time, but the main guy that seemed to orchestrate the event never winked a smile. It seemed like it pained him to play every note but he pushed on for one reason or another.

Winter in Alaska – 20171211

Alaska has officially become unbearably cold and the coldest its been is around 14 degrees Fahrenheit. In January and February it will be well into the negatives. In the morning my fingers freeze off and there’s nothing worse than fueling the plane. The metal freezes your fingers instantly and the only thing that hurts worse is when you warm them back up.

We’re still in the period where the heater from the 207 will keep us warm as we fly, those days will soon be over. Today was a battle with weather all day. We didn’t even start flying until 11am. We had a few snow systems roll through and I got to fly through a few small ones. I was surprised at how little ice stuck to the plane, I believe it was because the temperature shot up dramatically when the systems rolled through. By the last dark flight back to Aniak from Bethel it was just wet rain splattering the plane.