Long Day

The Wind Blowing Hard Across a Hard to See Taxiway

We've just slipped through the gray clouds that are covering nearly all of Saskatchewan today. The sun is near it's setting stages and casting a pinkish speckled glow across the huge sea of stratus cloud. It reminds me of a tropical beach...interesting to say since Northern Saskatchewan is about as far from a tropical beach as you can get, but it makes me feel warm for a moment just thinking it.

We're homeward bound after a long day of many legs, nine to be exact, and one new airport to add to the list. The homeward leg for me is always a relaxing one. We settle into our cruising altitude of 16'000 feet and pull the props back to 1750 RPM. The torque sits at 1500 ft'lbs a side and fuel flow is resting at 300 lbs/hour per engine. Things quiet down and the sheep skin starts to feel overly comfy. It's only a 50 minute leg from La' Ronge to Saskatoon but the early morning and long day has time to catch up with me. The sun is bright on the horizon, the airplanes vibrations are relaxing, the bleed air off the engines is warm and blowing. Not a good combination! I reach back for my last coffee of the day, it's from this morning still, so it should have some kick...