Day 14 - Oshkosh, WI to Billings, MT, via Mackinac Island, MI
I managed to get to sleep earlier last night than other nights, but it was still almost 11 by the time I was lights out.
I slept until just after 5. Although I tried to go back to sleep, no such luck, so I got up and packed away all my gear, including a very wet tent. Once everything was stowed in the plane, it was time to push the plane through the grass to the taxiway, then fire up the engine.
Last Oshkosh sunrise
The rule is that no engines can start anywhere on the field until the tower opens at 6. Like clockwork, just a few seconds after 6AM, 4 Mustangs started their throaty roar in the warbirds area. There’s nothing quite like waking up to the sound of four Merlin engines ticking over.
As if the aviation gods wanted to make up for the painful taxi upon my arrival, it was a quick 5-minute taxi to the runway, then less than a minute wait for takeoff.
My plan for the day was to start the trip home by going the wrong way: I flew NE to visit Mackinac Island, a resort destination characterized by not allowing cars in the northeastern-most portion of Lake Huron.
Ground fog near Oshkosh
To get there, I had to cross Lake Michigan. I climbed to 12,500’, which would have allowed me to glide about 35 miles were I to have lost my engine. Fortunately, by crossing at an angle, I was able to keep my over water portion to just 70 miles. As an added safety precaution, I donned my life vest, which wasn’t too uncomfortable.
Crossing the lakeshore Eastbound
Nothing but water over the nose
Fashionable in my life vest
At that altitude, I was concerned about hypoxia. To help address this, I have a small pulse oximeter that I use. I could have gone on oxygen, and would have had I stayed high longer. As it was, once I knew I could make the far shore if I lost the engine, I started down to a lower altitude.
I managed to take some time to sightsee from the air during my descent and approach into the island:
Mackinac Bridge
The town on Mackinac Island. That’s the airport in the top left
Once I landed, I walked the 2+ miles into town. The entire town is geared towards tourism, from the Grand Hotel, to the people maintaining all the picture-perfect gardens. Everything is horse drawn, even the garbage wagon and plumbers carrying supplies on a bike. The only exception was an ambulance, and even that was driving at walking speed.
The Grand Hotel
Garbage day on the island
All these horses meant that you had to watch your step. ‘nuf said.
I noticed several Scouts in full uniform, including a few who seemed to be standing guard. It turns out that there is a “camp” where a troop can visit for a week in exchange for the Scouts doing service projects and working on admissions to parts of the state historical park. It’s a great way for a troop to have an unusual experience at a low cost.
Scout helping out
On Main Street, there were the standard shops: t-shirt vendors, ice cream stores, and restaurants. In the case of this town , the 1/2 mile Main Street featured no less than 6 fudge shops.
Not a fan of fudge (too sweet), I got an amazing chocolate muffin that felt like a ton of bricks (as in brick of butter). It was fantastic!
I walked the waterfront and Main Street, then headed back to the plane. I covered over 5 1/2 miles walking in under 3 hours. My overall impression is that it’s a quaint town, but not much to do besides walk, ride bikes, take horse-drawn carriages, and eat fudge.
Fort above the town
A crowded Main Street
I took off on the runway pointing west. I turned about 5 degrees to the right and headed home. The first leg was a little more than 2 hours’ duration. As I crossed from Michigan to Wisconsin, the ground was pockmarked with countless lakes. It seemed that every inch of shoreline of every lake had a house with a dock.
From a weather perspective, I was lucky. Although the air was very hazy, it was smooth and not too hot. The winds were directly from the right, so they had minimal impact on my ground speed. I tried a few altitudes for speed and fuel burn, finally settling on 8,500’.
To pass the miles, I took to writing this blog, using a single finger on the keyboard. I have also jotted down a list of tasks for the overhaul of the plane this winter.
As I crossed into Minnesota, boring scenery got even more boring: I picked up a solid undercast. It became solid white below, and hazy gray everywhere else.
My progress has was good, so much so that I stretched my initial fuel stop by another hour. This got me farther along, and the fuel was $0.50/gal cheaper.
Resting in an air conditioned lounge in a recliner in Pelham, MN
Over northern Minnesota, my traffic alert suddenly sounded: something fast was closing on me from behind and coming down like a rock. On the display, it looked like they would hit me, but then they veered to the north and passed less than a mile to my right. Glad these systems worked as designed.
From the time I left Wisconsin, I kept getting more smoke. This is from the fires in the western US and Canada. At times, I couldn’t make out any horizon, but I could still see down to the ground.
Hitting the N. Dakota border, I traded most of the smoke and haze for a welcome high overcast. On the radar display, it looked like heavy rain, but experience told me that it was likely just virga, rain that falls but evaporates before it hits the ground.
I hit a few light showers for a total of about 5 minutes. Right as I came out of the trailing edge of the clouds, I hit significant turbulence, including one downdraft of 2,000 feet per minute.
The Yellowstone River
My goal was to make it to Billings tonight. I had a hotel waiting for me, where I will be dry out my tent <grin>, sleep in a real bed on clean sheets, eat a nice dinner that isn’t on a bun or comes in a bag. 
Drying out a wet tent in a Doubletree by Hilton
Once out the back of the band of clouds and rain, it was back to the smoky haze, which persisted all the way to Billings, and will continue the rest of the way home. Most of the West is on fire.
