August 18, 1998

Up at the crack of dawn and out the convenience store motel.  We had to get a special VFR after we dusted the ashes off Mary Beth so we could get out of the smoky Whitehorse.  25 miles out, everything cleared up.  Watson Lake for fuel, (FSS guy remembered us from last year)  and then down the "TRENCH."  Trying to make Bellingham, Washington by night.  The weather turned out to e pretty good today.  No turbulence!  Nikki and I took turns closing our eyes though.  Seems like we both slept bad last night.  We dreamed of turbulence.  (I thought I was sleeping in the Exorcist bed.)  Through the trench, we saw lots and lots of logging.  Lots of little gravel runways.  While we were flying out of Canada, we talked about everything from the trip, the Russian pilots, clean socks, and food.  Can't wait to pull off the interstate and walk into a Cracker Barrel Restaurant and eat some Chicken and Dumplings.  It's funny the things you crave.  We look a little worn too.   We both need a beauty shop.  Mary Beth (the plane) is the only one who is holding up.  Our McCauley prop has been through the ultimate torture test.  Boy, the places it has been!  But, it takes a "lickin and keeps on tickin".   We stopped in Prince George, B.C.  to get fuel again.  We fueled Mary Beth and also ourselves.  Squeezing through the rest of the mountains (with Nikki saying "I hate this, I hate this") we finally flew into Bellingham.  Our last customs stop!  We decided to overnight here after 8 1/2 hours of flying today.   A stop at the mall so I could get some socks.  Seems, we washed mine in Siberia and while wet we put them in a zip lock bag.  We found them a week later.   No one wanted to be my friend.  So I'm tired of wearing the same pair.   When I put them on, dust flies out.  I don't understand.  Every other day, I turn them inside out.

Nikki bought some fancy bras and some Tootsie Roll Pops.  Then we went for some good American Mexican food.  Boy, Home Sweet Home !!  And again, the usual!  The hotel is 1 block from the restaurant.  Our waiter left work so he could drive us to our room.  I told Nikki that we needed to walk the food off, but if you notice, most men don't want her walking.  (Do they think she's fragile?)  Go Figure......  She has been carried across Siberia and now Washington.