(Almost) all photographs taken with an iPhone 4 (5-megapixel) camera
Why fly to Yellowknife?

N134MA

2001 Amer Champion Corp - SCOUT (8GCBC)

Specifications

Trip Summary

Hrs.: 59.1 / Distance: 6,500 mi

Fuel: 8.4 GPH / Avg Cost 5.91 $PG

Trip Summary

Day 1 - In cockpit satellite radar shows the route to Sioux Falls SD.
Day 2 - A lonely church in western South Dakota.
Day 2 - Sturgis SD one week after the motorcycle rally. From the air, it looked like all of the beer bottles and bodies were gone.
Day 2 - Mt. Rushmore Day 3 - Grand Teton & Jenny Lake, WY Day 3 - Yellowstone Park. The geyser Old Faithful, wasn't.
Day 3 - Grand Prismatic Hot Springs.
Day 3 - Met with (L to R) Fred Chamberlain, Jan Clausen & John Lohr (my partner on the other two arctic flights).
Day 4 - Yellowstone car tour. Ground view
Day 4 - This day Old Faithful was.
Day 4 - Bison -- I did get a note from the Husky Forum saying it was okay to call them buffalo. Bison Bill Cody just didn't seem right.
Day 4 - Yellowstone Falls
Day 4 - Yellowstone Black wolf. Black wolfs are only found in North America and have recently been shown to be the result of dog-wolf interbreeding. Day 4 - Norris Basin Day 4 - Elk
Day 5 - Yellowstone to Canada: Cranbrook, BC Day 6 - The British Columbia Trench. A popular aviation route to Alaska. Day 6 - Jasper National Park
Day 6 - High Level AB. Typical arctic airplane tie-down - electric plugs for oil heaters.
Day 7 - Seismic lines cut through the wilderness Day 7 - Great Slave Lake
Day 7 - Yellowknife Day 7 - Yellowknife Day 7 - Yellowknife walkabout

Day 7 - Yellowknife walkabout

Day 7 - Yellowknife walkabout Day 7 - Yellowknife walkabout
Day 7 - Yellowknife walkabout Day 8 - Buffalo Airways Day 8 - Buffalo Airways
Day 8 - Hike to Cameron Falls Day 9 - Mackenzie River to Ft. Simpson
Day 9 - Ft. Simpson city airstrip. A modern, hard surface airport was built 7 km. from town, but this is what we came looking for.
Day 9 - Wolverine Airways floatplane to Nahanni River and Virginia Falls
Day 9 - Nahanni River Day 9 - Virginia Falls
Day 9 - This is too easy to label. Day 9 - Billion year old fossil. Day 9 - Virginia Falls
Day 9 - Ranger Adrian taking a picture of Jan and John. Day 9 - Reflection of a mountain o the way back. Day 9 - Back on the Mackenzie River.
Day 10 - Camping at Wolverine Airways in Ft. Simpson
Day 11 - Fred in his mandated Canadian Survival Equipment. Ursula did not think it was haute couture.
Day 11 - Local outfitter, Werner, registering his clients summer hunting trophies.
Day 11 - Back to Yellowknife Day 12 (2am) - Aurora Borealis. Yellowknife is under the circle around the magnetic north pole.
Day 12 - Barren Lands (Hudson Bay to Great Slave Lake). Lack of navigable rivers and suitable soil for vegetation have traditionally kept people out of this area. These are some of the oldest rocks on earth, t 4-billion years old.
Day 12 - Canada's first diamond mine, Ekati, started in 1998 near Lac de Gras by, in part, Chuck Fipke and Stewart Blusson. Ekati (Dene) and lac de Gras both mean Fat Lake.
Day 12 - Fourteen miles away is the Diavik Mine. Staked by "Gren" Grenville and "brought in" by his 24-year old daughter, Eira,who lead the exploration team. The most profitable mine in the world.

Day 12 - I found my own gold island on a Barren Lands lake. A real geologist and award winning aerial photographer, Jim Wark, says is it is bacteria. (AirphotoNA.com)

Day 13 - Our first bad weather grounded us and the sea gulls in Hay River.
Day 14 - Dawned a better day. Day 14 - Edmonton
Day 14 - Our first taste of civilization. Day 14 - A visit to Ft. Edmonton, a recreation of the Hudson Bay Company fort in 1795. Day 14 - Ft. Edmonton
Day 14 - Ft. Edmonton Day 14 - Ft. Edmonton
Day 14 - West Edmonton Mall. After visiting the biggest mall in the world we felt fully rehabilitated.
Day 15 - Edmonton to Minot ND

Day 15 - Edmonton to Minot ND

Day 16 - Flew with nephew, Conor Healy USAF.
Day 16 - Rest stop at Arthur ND Day 16 - Minnesota. Day 16 - Troy MI after 9.1 hrs. of flying this day.
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Trip Summary
Date
Hrs.
Fuel
Purchased
GPH
$ US
1
0818-Th
VLL (Troy,MI) - Wag Aero,(Lyon, WI) - PDC (Prairie de Chein, WI) - FSD (Sioux Falls, SD)
7.4
35.2
2.99
105.29
2
0819-Fr
FSD (Sioux Falls,SD) - 49B (Sturgis,SD) - Mt.Rushmore - THP (Thermopolis,WY) - JAC (Jackson,WY)
7.6
24.2
6.03
145.83
3
0820-Sa
JAC (Jackson,WY) - WYS (West Yellowstone,MT)
1.3
51.9
5.40
280.15
4
0821-Su
Yellowstone
23.2
0.00
5
0822-M
WYS (West Yellowstone,MT) - GPI (Glacier Park, MT) - CYXC (Cranbrook & Kimberley, BC)
4.4
23.6
6.29
148.44
6
0823-T
CYXC (Cranbrook,BC) - via The Trench-CEC4 (Jasper, AB) - CYOJ (High Level, AB)
7.2
37.5
6.51
244.13
7
0824-W
CYOJ (High Level, AB) - CYXJ (Yellowknife, NWT)
2.7
26.0
7.51
195.14
8
8225-Th
Yellowknife
24.5
7.20
176.31
9
0826-F
CYXF (Yellowknife) - CYFS (Ft. Simpson) - Nahanni R & Virginia Falls - CYFS (Ft. Simpson)
2.4
10
0827-Sa
CYFS (Ft. Simpson) - CYXF (Yellowknife, NWT)
2.1
40.5
7.92
320.11
11
0828-Su
Yellowknife
12
0829-M
CYXF (Yellowknife,AB) - EKATI & Diavik Diamond Mines - Ft. Resolution - CYHR(Hay River, AB)
5.5
42.5
7.79
331.28
13
0830-T
Hay River
14
0830-W
CYHR (Hay River, AB) - CYXD (Edmonton, AB)
4.3
33.8
7.49
253.17
15
0831-Th
CYXD (Edmonton, AB) - CJS4 (Moose Jaw, SK) - MOT (Minot, ND)
5.6
51.4
5.95
305.83
16
0901-F
MOT (Minot, ND) - Local - EZS (Shawano, WI) - VLL (Troy, MI)
8.6
71.0
4.90
347.90
Total
59.1
485.3
8.21
$3001.63
Avg $PG
$6.19