Arizona to Nampa, Idaho Cross Country Trip 2007

April 29, 2007 - Day 3:

Kara and I woke about 6am and I made a call to Southwest Airlines to get an afternoon flight home. We spent some time with Harold and Phyllis studying the Bible and then headed back to the airport to take both CTSW's for a breakfast flight into the mountains outside Boise. We took off as a flight of two and Harold led the way in N9922Z while Kara and I enjoyed the morning sights in N135CT. Harold has been flyin the back country of Idaho for years and owns a beautiful ranch along the Salmon River called Allison Ranch. We weren't going to Allison Ranch this morning, but instead headed to Idaho City for my first attempt at a dirt strip landing. We flew over some beautiful sights along mountain rivers, snow capped peaks and rustic mountain villages. Many of these towns were settled by the early gold miners during the 1860's Idaho Gold Rush. Idaho City was one of those towns and is in the heart of the Boise Basin. At one time Idaho City had a population of 6200 and was the largest city in the Northwest - even larger than Portland Oregon.

After about 45 minutes of flying we followed Harold in to land at the dirt strip on the edge of town. It was pretty cool circling over the strip to make sure it was clear of wildlife and then skim over the tree tops as we dropped into the strip. OK, for me it was a big deal! And probably the biggest thrill of the trip. Getting to experience a flying first with my daughter alongside me was just great! The landing was perfect and we taxied on up to the paved parking area alongside Harold's other CTSW. We took about a 1/2 mile hike along a creek into town for breakfast at Trudy's Kitchen.

Breakfast took awhile as we were behind a group of bikers that had just arrived before us, but the meal was great and we had a good time of talking and enjoying the surroundings. We headed back to the planes and took off to do a bit more sightseeing on the way back to Nampa. We landed about 45 minutes later, refueled the planes and then headed back to Boise to get our things together for the commercial flight home.

All in all it was a great trip and one I'll always remember because I got to spend it with my daughter.

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