This is one of those pictures taken in 2006. You cannot see the mountain today, or possibly for the rest of the week. I was up at 0500 (local time) this AM. Bill, of Grace and Bill's B&B showed up at the building I'm staying at at 0630 to cook me breakfast. I am the only person staying right now. I missed the weekend rush and 3 other rooms, of the four in the B&B, will be occupied tonight. Bill is quite interesting. He came here first in 1986 from Boston, returned to climb Mt. McKinley in 1989 and never went back to MA. He's a cook and a chef. He makes a living 4 months out of the year cooking for one of the oil camps. His wife is an environmental engineer and works from home (I guess that's why they have great wireless). They have two daughters and live on their income and what they bring in from the B&B. It is really a nice place. Clean, well thought out, friendly.
I was immediately thrown into Float Plane flying this AM. I arrived for my 0800 appointment at 0730, waited till Lance showed up (my instructor). The weather is still rainy with low ceilings but no wind. He opted to take me right out to a lake for my first lesson. The plane is really not quite the sophistication I'm used to, but in the air handles really well and has sufficient power to weight ratio. The ceilings were a bit low (around 300 feet above the ground), so we did one circle, landed, and then headed back to the airport.
First lesson ended at 1000. Next one (hopefully the weather's better) is at 1200.
I'm in one of the many cafes in Talkeetna, sitting at a table with several strangers. One couple is from LA but has a cabin north of Hayward, WI. Small world!
Will post todays pictures later.
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