It’s 4:00 in the afternoon in Fairbanks Alaska and I’m in the cockpit with the engine running, giving Dave a thumbs up that the new alternator is working. Thank goodness. While Dave does some paperwork I file my flight plan and customs notifications for leaving the US and entering Canada. There are still a lot of low debris clouds and occasional showers from the storms but the route is over low terrain above the Alaska highway so I take off and fly low.


I clear Canadian customs in Whitehorse (which involves picking up a phone and being told you are cleared) and then decide I probably have enough daylight to get to a better camping airport at Watson Lake. I land at 11:00 pm, dusk, at Watson Lake, the first time I’ve seen nightfall in two weeks.

I read there is airplane camping but I don’t see it. Canadian airports are little strange in that there are flight service guys there seemingly at all hours. There is absolutely no one at the airport, but a friendly voice comes on the radio, the FSS guy, and he directs me to “taxi” down a gravel road until I see the lake and community camp shelter. There is airplane camping here too but I’m the only one around. Nice because I’m tired and I get the community shelter all to myself to layout my sleeping bag.

Next: Flying the Trench
So long from Alaska I am glad you had some great adventures there… have a safe flight home.