Times with Tim, Part Two

Alright! Back for more airplanes? Pretty fun stuff, aren’t they?

In case you missed yesterday’s post, we can sum up the events of the day before yesterday: I got to help work on Uncle Tim’s airplane with him and it was a fun time. You can read about that by clicking right HERE, if you’d like to.

Hard at Work

The best part about this story is that it didn’t end where I thought it did. Yesterday morning (Friday, for those of you keeping track), I was just bringing in the placemats after the crazy-insane busyness that’s known as breakfast around here. It was my last little clean up job before moving on to other chores, when who should stick his head around the corner but the hero of our story, Uncle Tim! He was already clad in his waders and aviators and seemed in a rush as he asked,

“Anna? You busy right now?”

“Nope! I replied. “What can I get you?” I was ready to run and fetch, fill or find whatever it was he needed. (The guides try not to walk trhough the lodge and kitchen this time of day because waders track a lot of mud everywhere. They’r every considerate.)

“You sure you don’t have something important to do?” He looked concerned.

“Yep. I’m good. Really. What can I do?”

“Well if you run and jump in the airplane you can come to Hotlesklwa with me! Won’t be long though, I just have a quick trip to make..”

If I were a squealer, I would have squealed.

Instead, after a nod from Heidi the Cook, I ran and grabbed my camera before dipping my shoes in the lake and clambering up into the co-pilot seat. It’s good etiquette to dip your feet before climbing on floats and in planes. You might need to know that someday. (Actually, it might be more of a rule but I really like saying “good etiquette”. Either way, now you know!)

Then we taxi’d out and chased some ducks – well, not really chased, but whatever – and I told them to get out of the way because our wings were bigger than theres. We chatted too and he told me where all the safety stuff was and I watched him flick buttons and move knobs and do all sorts of pilot-y things.

Then we were off! I watched the lake and the mountain on the side because I’m too small to see straight over the dash very well anyways. I watched as we followed Hotlesklwa (pronounced HUT-le-Squaw, by the way) creek way up to the lake. The lake is at the bottom of the Hotlesklwa valley, which is a pretty good place for them, as me & uncle tim discussed on the way up. The whole trip is about an hour by horseback but 2.5 minutes by plane.

Hotlesklwa

“Well I know why Ray didn’t build his camp here!” Uncle Tim said, after we landed. “It’s still morning here!”

He was right. There was still mist on the glassy little lake, and the sun hadn’t hit the area because it’s tucked so closely around the ankles of Mount Terez. It was pretty though. Just like everything else around here.

Then he jumped out and grabbed some fishing rods, completing the objective of this quick morning mission.

On the way back I was shown a salt lick where the goats like to come but there weren’t any that morning. I also saw a lot of trees and a close-up view of the mountain. I saw camp, too..small like monopoly houses with the fading tin roofs. Then we landed in the cove and roared into camp, just before ten a.m. Perfect timing, for I still had a lodge to mop and Uncle Tim had clients to shuttle and gear to organize and food supplies to deliver. Back to work we went.

It’s not many people who get the chance to see a goat lick before lunch, have a plane ride just because, or  spend time with cool relatives like mine. I have an awesome uncle. He’s very considerate, isn’t he? Made my day, that’s for sure, and not just because planes are cool.People are more fun than airplanes. Mostly, I just like hanging out with my Uncle Tim. It was sweet.

Fun stuff!

So life lesson of the day? You should always take the opportunities that you have to invite somebody along, even if it’s only a 2 minute ride somewhere. In terms of most places around here, an impromptu trip up to Hotlesklwa isn’t anything special; it’s like a trip to the grocery store but more of a hassle because there’s airplanes and schedules at stake. You never know what you’ll face in a day when you get up in the morning, that’s for sure. But if you take a chance and maybe take some time to ask someone along, you never know what will happen! It may have been an unplanned trip for Tim and a hectic morning for some of the clients, but you can bet your biplane it was one of the memories that I’ll take home as the best of this summer.

Oh wait – one more thing. I can’t let you go without pointing a little something out.

Look carefully below and you’ll see a circle screwed into the underside of the wing there.

Proof of a certain someone’s handy-dandy screwdriver skills, that’s what that is…

 

~Anna

Nothing falls off? I’ll count that as a SUCCESS!