Flew commercial to Saint George Utah to pick up Charlie Mike. As the weather turns to fall here, there, it was still nearly 100 degrees during the day. Fortunately, there was no smoke!

I took off early Sunday morning and headed toward Elko. I was debating the best smoke-free route home and had two apps running to chart the course. Gaia GPS had the best smoke map layers of any of my apps. That, with Foreflight, led the way.

My first night was in Burns, Oregon. I have stopped for fuel at Burns in the past, but this was my first overnight. On the Foreflight App, a pilot left a note saying to “not miss” the Historic Central Hotel in Burns. That person was right! What a lovely surprise! The place was stunning! If you are in Burns, definitely stop by to check this place out!

The next morning, I was off to say Hi to a friend in Redmond, Oregon. I saw him for a quick hello, then headed back to the runway to take off, and darn! My left mag was unhappy. Three hours with a mechanic later, we found the problem, fixed it, and I was back up in the air. (The problem was a stuck valve on my #4 cylinder – which you fix by hitting with a 2 x 4). M

Made it to Lynden after a quick fuel stop in Kelso – who, by the way, had the lowest price fuel of my entire trip, I think.

Flying in the PNW is SO different than flying in hot, high, dry places. The sea-level air is so thick and wonderful! I must admit, there’s no place like home.