That
Monment when you think
“When
Did the Edge of the Wing become White”
Carlsbad/
Phoenix Trip
March
2016
Maddie
14
Kier
12
Cora
9
The
plan was simple; we would fly to Carlsbad Caverns, join up with the
Lowells, spend a few says exploring the caverns, then continue on to
Phoenix for a few days with my parents before finally heading back
home.
The
execution of the plan was anything but simple! Complications started
before the vacation had even begun. The Lowells had been looking to
buy a out-of-town property for several months. When things finally
worked out, it turned out that an inspection and other details needed
to be taken care of the week of spring break. They decided that Dawn
would fly to Michigan to work out those detaila while Brett and Lance
joined us for cave Spelunking in New Mexico. We would certainly miss
Dawn, but as it turned out, this was just the start of the
complications to come.
The
day before our spring break trip, it snowed. We didn't worry too
much. The forecast still predicted that the morning would be clear.
It wasn't. But we decided to head to the airport mid-morning so we
could catch the first opportunity to leave. By 11:00am we thought
our best option (based on radar) was to head east and avoid the low
lying clouds against the mountains. Just as Joel was spooling up the
engine to go, we received a text from Bret, who was already in the
air, recommending that we file an instrument flight plan because of
the cloud cover over southern Colorado. Joel texted back that we
intended to fly east and avoid the clouds altogether. The response
from Brett (“Not gunna work, sir”) was less than optimistic.
Joel Shut down the engine and called the air traffic control briefer.
He ended up fliling an instrument plan.
The
first 40 minutes of the flight went fine. We were in and out of
clouds, but most of the time we could see the ground. Then as we
crossed over monument pass, the dividing line between the Denver
Metro area and the Colorado Springs Metro Area, the clouds began
thickening.... and then I noticed a bit of white forming on the
leading edge of the wing. In the calmest voice I could conjure I
informed Joel that there was ice on the the wings.
“Yep,”
he replied as he pressed the toggle on the yoke, allowing him to
speak to air traffic control and request a different altitude.
Ice
on the wings or “icing” in pilot speak is a problem for two
reasons (1) it can change the shape of the wings which reduces lift
and (2) it can “rough up” the surface of the entire plane,
causing more drag. Both of these can cause the airplane to stall.
What's more the changes can also make it more difficult for the
airplane to recover from the stall.
At
our new altitude ice was no longer accumulating of the wings.
None-the-less, prudence and a quick pilot- “co-pilot” conference
dictated that based on the proximity of the nearest airport, the lack
of proximity of the next nearest airport, and the fact that noon was
quickly approaching, diverting to Pueblo was the best course of
action.
No
sooner had we landed than the snow started to really fly and the
winds started to pick up. With nothing else to do we went in search
of lunch and pondered the possibility that we might be spending the
first night of our vacation in grand old Pueblo-- it wouldn't be the
first time.
Fortunately,
on this occasion, the weather, true to Colorado's reputation, quickly
turned. By the time we had paid the lunch bill, we were able to take
off. We headed slightly east to avoid the lingering clouds,-- then
farther east-- on a rather indirect route to New Mexico.
We
did eventually make it to Carlsbad (before dinner- despite our odd
flight path) but not before we had to make one more unplanned stop in
order to settle some stomachs. Of course air sickness is no fun for
anyone, but the mixture of insulin and vomiting that happens in the
case of a type one diabetic can be down right dangerous! And that is
how I found myself staring, breath held, into a bag of vomit
pondering the questions: how many carbs could this be? If a
diabetic eats 50 carbs at lunch and receives 2 units of insulin, but
2 hours later vomits up an unknown volume of that food, how many
ounces of juice does she need in order to maintain a safe blood
sugar? It's like some heinous, completely unanswerable SAT math
question! Remarkably, on this particular occasion, I got the answer
correct!--Later in the trip I would utterly fail at this same
question!
The
next morning we woke reasonably well rested and ready for adventure.
But, as it turned out, not well informed about this adventure.
We had learned from previous trips into our beautiful national parks
that lodging and tours are likely to sell out. Therefore, we had
booked our tours a few months in advance so as not to be left high
and dry. We carefully read the website instructions that advised us
to arrive thrity minutes before the tour was to begin.
The
morning of our tour we dutifully arrived at the Park front desk
thirty minutes before our tour was to start. The front desk ranger
took his time checking us in and printing our tickets. Than he
rather banally drolled out that the elevator wasn't working so we had
better be ready to hustle. We had twenty minutes to do a trip they
normally advise that people allow an hour to complete!
Hustle
we did! I think we may have invented a new extreme sport-- cave
running! But, we did not miss our tour. When the ranger looked at
our tickets and noted our check in time, she complemented us on
making the 79 story, 1 ¼ mile descent, with four kids at “Ranger
Speed”. You can bet that the next day we gave ourselves a bit more
time to get down into the cave. You can also bet that the next day
all three adults were on a steady regiment of pain killers!
Still,
the tours were well worth the effort. The Kings Palace, the tour we
ran for, is a massive cavern filled with beautiful columns and
impressive mineral draperies. Left Hand tunnel, the tour our sore
legs were punished for, showed us the cave by the soft light of
candlelight lanterns. It also allowed us a chance to see the
complete darkness and hear the silence when we blew out those
candles. We saw two dead bats as well. The live bats had not yet
returned from their winter in Mexico, so the rangers were reduced to
pointing out the tiny mummies. We did find some live New Mexico
animals as well. In addition to visiting the Carlsbad Cavens, we
made a trip to the Desert Zoo to see Javelians, Roadrunners, Pumas
and other desert critters. And no trip to Carlsbad is complete
without a trip to the most awesome of playgrounds.
Seriously,
if you are ever in Carlsbad you simply must engage in a game of tag
on their huge, wooden castle themed playground. But, you can
probably skip the experience of driving through someone wedding.
Although certain short members of our travel group might count that
as a highlight of the trip. Actually, we didn't drive through the
wedding just once, but twice. Because once you get into the middle
of a wedding, you still have to drive out. Whoops.
