Camping at the Airport!

Hey Kim! as long as the coffee's "locked and loaded"... you're good! Be careful!

Roddie!

OH YEAH !!!  Definitely made the right move!  Slept like a baby in the Assault Van, woke to the sound of a timer-triggered, brand new pot of Folgers being born, and got the whole place pretty much to myself !!!

My maintenance buds are out, fighting a losing battle against the snow, which is now covering the ice they were working on through the night.

Incredibly, Cape Air is actually considering making a run for it, and I'm on "Hot Standby", waiting to haul their 402 out through the white stuff.  Figure they'll chuck the luggage AND passengers in the old Cessna and blast off before they get any accumulation of their plane, though our de-iceing gear is also ready to rock.

Luckily, in my mad dash to equip my wonderful van yesterday, I ALSO chucked in a few little helicopters, and will be rotorwinging around the hangar if Cape Air does bail outta here.

Be safe, my buds...I'm here and happy !!!!

Yeah...don't know the deal with our global location vrs weather...we're sure catching it now.

"by crankbndr on Fri Dec 06, 2013 9:15 am
I just looked up your current conditions on NOAA and it said "freezing fog" , can't imagine what that is like."

Think: microscopic ice crystals sticking to everything !

The airport is officially closed now, and TSA and our Cardinal Glennon Flight Nurses are bailing !  I'm gonna take another

The GOOD news is that the Restaurant is up and going!  So, there will be catfish dinners to go with our blizzard, and I WON'T be doing "Rabbit-on-a-Stick" for lunch !!!

Years ago, we were hunting pigs around Wappello Lake, close to Poplar Bluff, Missouri.  We'd get there before light and hoof it across some of the feed plots, hoping to ambush some ferrel hogs.  I noticed what looked like frosted lilies.  But there was no lily under the frost, and the things almost disappeared to nothing if you touched them.

Found out later that they're called "Frost Flowers".  Wikipedia has this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frost_flower

The boys are working at it, but right now, it's more just a matter of holding it off 'till this thing passes.  Our airport is NOTAM'd "CLOSED" for three days...

Cribbs74 wrote:Man Kim,

You guys are really getting a pounding up there!

Yeah, by our standards, it's a legitimate butt-kicking. I'm almost off-shift, and intend to pull the van into our big hangar and catch a righteous old-guy nap !

Figure on doing some helicoptering tonight !!!

HOME !!!!

Got a chance to bust out, and the rest of the crew is in good shape so, off we go---dashing through the snow...and ice...and several sideways 4WD's...dodging the standard-issue cuckoos on 4-wheelers...busting the mighty Assault Van through arrogant little whimpy drifts...to arrive safely back at The Hill!

Didn't even THINK about pulling that steep little driveway, so the Van got parked next to the milk shed. Got plenty of food and water, and the Skunk Works is operational, if somewhat drifted.

Welcomed by a near-swarm of chickadees and buntings wanting to be fed. With the livestock cared for, gonna knock off a hot, soaking bath and THEN do whatever comes to mind.

Two FREE days with the best favor-waiver short of tornado damage: "Sorry, I'm stuck on the hill and just CAN'T get out!!!"

WHAAAAHOO !!!!

duke.johnson wrote:Glad your home Kim.  I've been thinking of you a little.  Seeing  snow outside and thinking it would be nice to be closer to learn to fly gliders from the 'MAN'.

Thanks Duke! The place looks mighty nice to me, eventhough I was pretty comfortable at the airport, I really like the Home Turf !

I didn't know WHAT the heck I was doing with gliders (an argument that can STILL be made with some legitimacy) before I got Dave Thornburg's "Old Buzzard Soaring Book" !!!

I've got a dog-ear copy of it I'll send you on extend loan if you'd like to check it out !!!

And Now, time for a Power Nap !!!!

Later Snow-Bound Kim