Email From My Brother Scott

Scott always has the best stories, they make me laugh and cry all at the same time, cause I miss his goofy butt. It amazes me that he lives and works where he does.

Hi All.... I Think I will be done here Tuesday but not sure when we will get a pilot capable of taking us back over the big mountains between here and anchorage. Mainly when ever a plane comes in from Anchorage then we can get out. Also, I took a few pictures and videos, all with the cell phone (which has no service here) but I didn't bring the nice camera on a trip like this, its to big for the lil planes and for work, but they are OK, and lil short video clips to send once I'm back. The "dial up" Internet here is way to slow.

So, I had one the most interesting conversations the other day.

So I am standing out on this run way that was plowed out of the snow in preparation for our departure in our cracker jack box of an airplane. This little 3 seater bush plane that didn't make you feel really comfortable to begin with.

Then the pilot walks up in worn out overalls and a flannel shirt with his bag over his arm. He kicks the tires, knocks the snow off the flaps and says "all right, you boys ready to get in the air?" Well I was up until a couple minutes ago. Then as I'm getting on the plane it's not that cold, around 15 below zero Fahrenheit.... He says "are the clothes your wearing all you have with you today son"?

So I say "Yea I'm from "Glennallen" so -15 degrees isn't that cold to me... He said, now no kidding, the pilot fixing to to fly me out into the untouched country of Alaska say's and I quote "yea but if we crash you'll want some cold weather gear for the -45 degrees tonight in the mountains."

Hmmmmmm, well now that sure doesn't give yo much confidence in your bush pilot.... He is also the planes mechanic, and the guy who judges rather or not the landing strip on the other end is long enough that some native village has cleared with a Dozer for us and marked with traffic cones. Yea, he figures there's a good enough chance we will crash that we best take along our "crash preparation kit"

I know ur thinking is this new to him... No I've lived up here 15 years. However this is my first venture out into the native Eskimo villages and it's different. Even the bush pilots around Glennallen and other places are very clean cut and professional and the planes are fairly new, and the landing strips are built buy the highway dept. The other difference is that where I'm from if you were to crash there is usually cell phone coverage. Here if you crash and you live thru it you put on snow shoes and start walking till you find some one or some one finds you. That could be hundreds of miles, or you just have to wait till they miss you where you took off from and then they will come look for you. So, it's a little different out here.

I love it though. I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.... Well, actually... I could go for job engineering a job on a beach in the Bahamas right about now :-)

....and he does all this with a prosthetic leg....
love you little brother!