Ms. Got Rocks (2 page)

When Rocky bought the Twin Otter airplane, it came equipped with detachable floats with the wheels built in and separate skis. She was not flying through Alaska and Canada without them. She would leave in the morning if she must. Morning started at four thirty AM, that time of year in Anchorage.

Spotting Talltree her mechanic, she waved him over and they hauled the floats and plane skis out of her equipment storage shed. The floats were not hard to install. It certainly was easier with two people to do it. The skis they strapped onto the float pontoons.

Talltree talked in a soft voice across a pontoon.

”Don’t worry, those cops aren’t buying Tony’s sad song. One of those guys is the one who took you to the hospital last night. I think he is still pissed at what Tony did to the dogs.”

“I hope that they will let me leave the state,” Rocky whispered back at him while they worked.

“Rocky, we need to go through that whole check list again,” Talltree cranked down on the last bolt. 

The PD and Tony were gone, and everyone returned to the ops office. The parking apron and runway were finally quiet.

“Forgetting to put the floats on is inexcusable; I could have cost you big time,” Talltree verbally kicked himself.

“Don’t start, that’s why two people do the checks.” She shoved the checklist clipboard at him. Together they started the hour-long checklist for overnight flights that they made up years ago.

Rocky would do the short version before leaving in the morning and every morning of the trip.

Talltree taxied the plane over to the gas pump, and Rocky took the dogs for a pit stop. While she waited for them, she decided it was too late to leave then. She was too worn out from emotions to concentrate on the long flying ahead.

“I filled the aux tanks, too, mark that off my check sheet,” Talltree completed the rundown checklist and they called it a day.

“I guess, that is it, might as well hit the bricks, while I can.” Getting misty eyed; she did not do these goodbyes at all well. She could not take extended goodbyes and instantly changed her mind about leaving in the morning.

“Tonight or never,” she blubbered to Phoebe.

“Hey, not so fast, you have to come in for a cup of coffee, one for the road,” Talltree was out of the cockpit and hustling her toward the farewell party in the office.

C
hapter 3

“
L
ovie, Phoebe, find life jacket,” Rocky told the dogs after she reached behind the pilot’s seat to swing the lid of the bin up. That stretch almost broke her arm off at the socket every time she managed to get it latched to the bulkhead.

“Find life jacket, now,” she repeated the instructions. It took a long time to teach the dogs to do this, but they were not doing a landing on a strange lake until they have their life jackets on.

Lovie brought her human a sweatshirt.

“Lovie, find life jacket,” Rocky took the shirt and put it on the passenger seat.

Phoebe brought a life jacket and dropped it next to Rocky.

“Good girl Phoebe, find Lovie’s life jacket.”

Phoebe turned back behind the seat and Lovie’s big face appeared around the seat with her mouth full of another ratty sweat shirt.

“Okay, I don’t have to be hit with a brick.”

“Yes, the water is cold. I understand, sweater on you first, good girl, find life jacket, Lovie. Then we will put the sweater on you,” Rocky assured the Boxer.

“Darn dog is smart enough to know that water is cold,” Rocky told the cool air in the cockpit.

Rocky knew what their actual chances of survival were in one of the glacial lakes.

“All right girls, let’s get some air and flip on the autopilot and get dressed. You guys are such smart puppies,” Rocky verbally rewarded her dogs.

That elicited a good round of dog tail thumps against the floor of the Twin Otter aircraft.

"Going up,” Rocky called out.

Nosing the plane up, when they reached 5000 feet, Rocky engaged the autopilot. Shortly thereafter they were into floatation devices and Lovie seemed content having an old sweatshirt on under her life jacket.

Rocky reached around and clipped the dogs into the safety harness' Talltree made for them.

They were down and Skoogit Lake was smooth skimming on the floats to the gas pump on the dock. Within fifteen minutes, they were out of the plane, stretching their legs, having had a pit stop, and a short snack. Rocky picked up after the dogs and checked the weather service by phone for the latest in-flight data.

Not bad, they could probably get all the way through Canada with great weather. Maybe even start enjoying the flying. It had been awhile since she flew for the sheer fun of flying. Though Rocky wanted to get to California as soon as possible; that did not preclude smelling a few of the roses along the way.

Swinging out over the ocean and looking for whales was tempting, but the safer way to do this trip was along the coastal interior slice that had scattered communities along it.

The tattered old windsock on the floating gas station was hanging noodle limp. It was time for the travelers to do the checklist and be on their way. This leg would fly over several glaciers and Rocky expected some turbulence in those areas, but nothing that she had not experienced flying daily over Matanuska Glacier.

They had been back in the air for an hour and the flying had been smooth and easy, the big glacier was right below them but Rocky did not know the name. Her flight map showed it, but no name was listed.

There was the bump and they went up and then a fast swoop down. Rocky pulled back on the stick and reached up for air. Up was safe. The extra 500 feet had smoothed out some of the bumps and Rocky looked at the huge glacier below. Incredible what God had created.

Her plan was to set down for the night in Sitka. Rocky had always wanted to visit there. If the bird needed something more than gas, she could probably get it there.

They had flown over the little community of Yakutat a while ago and Gustavus was coming up next. After passing those small communities, it was still a long way to Sitka.

When Rocky first started flying with the dogs, it seemed like they had to have a relief stop every two miles. They were nervous, and one or the other was always making their, I have to go now, squeak. After logging hundreds of air hours together, they settled back and slept or looked at the clouds or scenery. Rocky calculated she should do a four-hour leg, before one of them needed a pit stop.

With the auxiliary fuel tanks installed the plane is capable of flying for almost ten hours before needing a fuel up.

Rocky was feeling tired even though the flying was easy and the scenery was breathtaking. She was feeling the let down of the emotions of the past several days.

Haines was a short distance away. Over the small city they would turn toward the ocean and make the lengthy flight leg into Sitka. One of the things she wanted to try while in the air over nowhere was making the cell phone work. She keyed up directory assistance for Sitka.

“Isn’t technology wonderful, with my cell phone and my credit card I’m on hold for the ticket office of the Sitka Music Festival.” Rocky told the snoozing dogs.

"If I hold my tongue right, I might get a ticket for the performance tonight."she announced to the still sleeping dogs.

Done deal, a festival ticket awaited her at the box office, the plane is off autopilot and she only had to fly to Sitka for an enjoyable evening. They would sleep in the plane to make up the expense of the ticket.

The cockpit instruments advised that Haines was off to the right, though it was not visible. Rocky called ATC and advised air traffic control that she was beginning the leg to Sitka. She really did not have to do that, but it was a good habit to keep. There were no old, bold, pilots for good reason.

Rocky saw them; she did not know what kind of bird they were. She did not want them thinking the plane was a predatory flying dinosaur. They would scatter in every direction from their flying formation right into the silver and blue Twin Otter.

Before she was upon the flock, she banked to the right toward the ocean. She grabbed some air for safety for the birds and the plane.

Rocky would love to know what kind of bird they were and have a better look at them, but large birds and airplanes do not mix well.

“Make that don’t mix at all,” Rocky laughed at her own humor. Lovie lifted her head and looked sleepy eyed at the woman. She laid her big head back on her paws.

“Guess my joke wasn’t that funny,” Rocky said aloud to the already sleeping Boxer.

Rocky was definitely ready to get out and walk around, her butt was tired of this seat, and her legs ached from working the pedals.

Reaching into the map case she pulled out the stash of candy bars and opened a Snickers. As soon as the dogs heard the wrapper crinkle they were awake. Phoebe had hopped onto the co-pilot seat and Lovie moved forward to put her front paws on the deck.

“No Snickers, for you gals, here is something as yummy,” she said to her canine flight assistants.

When they spotted the baggie full of cheese cubes and moose salami pieces, they forgot the candy bar. Each of the trio had a squirt out of the sports water bottle. The snack had awakened them for the rest of the flight and feeding the dogs their treat had helped pass the miles.

There were more small villages below the plane and more small planes around them. Most of the villages were tiny wooden structures on stilts clustered over a bay. Soon they would be over Sitka and she radioed into the airport to advise them of her arrival time.

Checking Sitka runway length again in the Jeppesen manual Rocky confirmed that Sitka airport was paved. It had lights, and was long enough for the plane and a runway with rollout aprons. What a treat, all the modern conveniences. A change from what Rocky usually landed on in the Alaskan bush, for sure, she thought. They would be on the ground in ten minutes.

Rocky sent the dogs back into the cargo section on their beds for the landing and clipped their safety halters into the rings mounted into the bulkhead.

That short final was a bit bumpy coming down with a little crosswind off the harbor.

They were in Sitka and it was a refreshing 55F and looked like it was going to rain. The dogs were stretching under the plane after Rocky got the plane tied out on the apron.

The man at the ops office, where she paid the rental and landing fees, told her it was a two-mile walk into town. The hike sounded good to her, and was not a problem with the two dogs. They were on their way into town as soon as the plane was gassed up and tied down.

It was around four thirty on the misty afternoon when the trio started their tour of Sitka, and the hunt for a nice dinner.

What a cute little town, Rocky thought. The harbor was full of fishing boats, and the trees were real size trees. Rocky knew they were in Southeast Alaska by the size of the trees. In Anchorage and points north, if there were trees they are short. This area looked more like the Pacific Northwest than the Arctic.

They played tourist and Rocky bought a bag of kettle corn and three “I Heart Sitka” buttons at one of the numerous gift shops. She pinned a button on each of the dog’s collars and saved the third to go onto the plane.

She kept her digital camera blazing away, the harbor was that interesting.

Dinner was expensive for what it was, but she was hungry, it was hot and good. The dogs liked the part she shared. She was lucky to find something to eat at any price as the cruise ships were not in port until the next day.

During the walk around town, they found the Music Festival entrance and picked up the ticket at the box office. Rocky was pleased to see Mozart on the play list for that night. The box office lady said that dogs were not welcome at the festival. They had plenty of time to walk back to the airport to settle the dogs for the night. Rocky could walk back to the festival in time for the overture. When the concert was finished, it would still be light enough for her to walk back to the airport.

Sunset would be at a quarter to ten and Rocky would have ended the day with plenty of exercise.

It looked as if they would get to end the day with rain. By the time they had walked back to the plane, the light was absolutely wonderful, and the light mist was again swirling around them. Rocky daydreamed as she walked that Mr. Darcy was coming around the next turn in the road to meet her.

He did not, but if he had Rocky would put him to work helping her rig the space blanket around the skirt of the plane. That was it for romance on the imaginary moors of the Sitka City Airport, more was the pity.

The space blanket would make a little shelter for the dogs. The rain was changing rapidly from a mist to a regulation full size Southeastern Alaska rainfall. Rocky pulled the umbrella out of the bin behind the pilot seat and locked the plane and set the dogs to guard with their toys for company.

Snug under the umbrella, with a blanket and determination that she was going to enjoy the music even more hearing it through the rain she walked on the already muddy roadside.

“I guess I thrill easily, and I hope I don’t get all emotional and blubber and make a fool of myself,” Rocky warned herself as she walked.

She was feeling a lifting of her heart as she trudged along the soggy roadbed listening to the rain beat a rhythm on the umbrella.

Despite the downpour, Rocky had made good time; she was almost at the box office. The rain must be keeping people away from the concert there was no line of waiting concertgoers.

Damn, the concert was canceled, the sign at the box office read. She could come back tomorrow night for that concert or get a refund for her ticket by phone.

Alaskans are the sort who attend events no matter the weather. If they did not they would never do a darn thing.

On the other hand, the musicians were from Outside and the cruise ships were not in town. Rocky would survive even though her jeans were wet and her spirit was disappointed. She sat on a bench by the harbor and watched the boats in the rain and punched up the 800 number for the refund on her credit card.

The light was making her wish she could sit here forever. She hoped the little camera would catch every wisp of mist. Catch every seal that watched her watch him and the special colors of the fishing boats. The rain was not the wetness that ran down her cheeks while she sat and indulged herself with a good but rare cry.

The streets of Sitka were empty. It was a lovely Monet color summer evening for a walk in the rain to the airport.

“Hey, lady,” called a male voice accompanying the truck that splashed her and stopped next to the park bench.

“You are the lady flying down to California,” the man in the truck stated for her.

“Yeah, I am.”

Now she recognized him, the man from the flight ops at the airport.

“Are you going back to the airport, walking in the rain?” he asked through the window space that was rolled down an inch. “Hop in I’m going back over there, I forgot my cell phone and the wife is mad at me for it,” he yelled through the window at her.

“I’m sopping wet,” Rocky expressed the obvious.

“Don’t matter much, I’m from around here and it is always wet. Our finest product is rain,” they laughed as Rocky climbed into the truck.

“Thanks for the ride, see you in the morning, maybe, before I’m gone,” Rocky was somewhat drier thanks to the heater in his truck.

“Okay, have a good night then, eh,” he called out the barely open window as he drove off at the same wild speed that he drove them to the airport, splashing her again.