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Posted By:
Hal Brown
Date Posted:
Oct 25, 2011
Description:
Low ceilings were keeping the Cessnas and their student pilots prudently on the ground. Pia Romeo had places to go and no time for hanging at the hanger. Besides, there was big water available with a wet runway extending all the way to New Orleans. We were go to launch.
Date Taken:
Oct 25, 2011
Place Taken:
Gulf Shores, AL
Owner:
Dan Nickens
File Name:
Go_or_No.jpg - Photo HTML
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Category:
493, Travails of Pia Romeo
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Read what others had to say:
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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The clouds were low, but the water was lower. It was calm and the view was fine.
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Fine for Ducks
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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The big bay was full of petroleum stations with fresh product. Most of it is natural gas, though. It was back in the late ‘60’s that Mobil decided it wanted to start exploring Mobile Bay. The big oil spill in California, however, resulted in major opposition to the plan. Mobil had to agree to some strict environmental safeguards. When they finally drilled down into the bay in 1978 they tapped into sandstone from an ancient desert and hit the biggest natural gas field east of the Mississippi. Royalties paid to the trust fund established by the state from the field has been more than $2 billion.
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Refueling Station
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Instead of retirees wandering the beach looking for shells the Gulf Shore beaches were being combed by BP. The money being spent to fund them doesn’t come from Alabama’s contingency fund. No word on where the retirees will go this year for their shells.
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Beach Combing
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Fort Morgan sits out on Mobile Point. It is a designated National Historic Landmark. Unfortunately the restoration has not included reconstruction of the old airport that was built beside it in 1942.
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Bay Fortification
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Both sides of the bay have forts. I assume the gunners were under strict instructions not to use too much powder. Friendly fort fire can’t be good.<br /><br />Historic Fort Gaines sits on the tip of Dauphin Island protecting the west side of Mobile Bay. It was named after General Gaines who captured the traitor Aaron Burr just to the north on the mainland and was a hero of the war of 1812.<br /><br />Fort Gaines was started by the federal government but finished by Confederate forces. It kept the Union navy at bay for much of the war. In August of 1864, however, it was attacked by the federal navy commanded by Admiral Farragut. By damning the torpedoes and steaming full speed ahead he took the bay.<br /><br />The shore is still protected from invasion by the old fort. The canon couldn’t stop BP, however. Only Mother Nature could repel the invading hordes of black goo.<br />
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Fortress Too
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Dredging a circle is very efficient use of limited shoreline. It must have been done before there were environmental bureaucrats.
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SemiCircle Port
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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The problem with building on a beach is that it moves. Maybe the pier is still good for girl watching.
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Pierless Sandpoint
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Barrier islands are naturally narrow. They naturally move around. It is unnatural to try to connect with the lost western half of the island by throwing rocks at it. It’s something the band of the living dumb would do (the U.S. Corpse of Engineers).
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Narrow Island
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Marking the moving sand with a buoy? Katrina inundated the island killing all the trees in 2005. Petit Bois, French for “Little Woods”, no longer has even little woods.
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Sand Bouy
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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The dynamic dance of sand, water, and grass makes for infinitely intricate patterns on the Gulf islands. It’s good to see the green because in World War II Horn Island was used for the testing of biological warfare agents.
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It Lives
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Who knew fortification engineers could make a happy face? This happy looking, officially unnamed fort is commonly called Fort Massachusetts. Maybe that is in honor of the exchange of canon fire with the Union gunboat Massachusetts during the unCivil War? It wasn’t a nice place to be. Although it didn’t see much fighting, 230 Union soldiers died during their three year stint on the island. Their graves were later moved to the mainland.
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Happy Battlements
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Is this helping restore the environment? Somebody at BP must think so. There was a lot of black goo being moved around.
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Beach Cleaners
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Going over and under. The barge never slowed. I did. I thought he wouldn’t fit in. He went right down the middle as I looped around expecting to watch the carnage.<br /><br />Until earlier this year the causeway was universally recognized as the longest bridge in the world, covering 23.8 miles. In June China’s Jiaozhou Bay Bridge claimed that distinction at 26.4 miles. After much debate, Guinness ruled the causeway could still be the longest “continuously” over water with Jiaozhou becoming the longest in “aggregate”. My vote goes with the “who cares” option. It’s a long bridge by any standard.<br />
| | Attachments:
Two Crossing
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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The roads, canals and lake are all long in lower Louisiana.
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Long Way Round
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Two old warriors sit at the little airport in Reserve, Louisiana watching the Cessnas come and go. I had logged only 1.9 hours when I stopped to get fuel after covering 175 miles. Even though Pia was scooting along at more than 90 mph there was no time for a closer evaluation of the old war birds. Pia had California on her mind (“Somebody help me get out of Louisiana just help me get to Houston town there are people there who care a little ‘bout me and won’t let a poor boy down”….<br />Swing low chariot come down easy<br />Taxi to the terminal zone<br />Cut your engines and cool your wings<br />And let me make it to the telephone….'<br />Who knows? Maybe Elvis is still out on the bayou looking for that promised land.)<br />
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Retired Warriors
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Industry lines the lower Mississippi River giving the river a fair share of sedimentary competition.
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Industrial Sedimentation
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Finding a landing spot on the Mississippi requires a careful survey of the billowing clouds of mud for cumulo-logs lying just below the surface and huge barge waves thrashing them around. Of course there’s always the matter of luck because who knows when one will show up just at touchdown. There is an unwritten law, however, that requires every water capable airplane get a mud bath when crossing the mighty Mississippi.
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Clouds of Mud
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Lining the banks with heavy metal floats is likely for good economic cause, but who puts money in the parking meters? Or maybe it's your money for nothing and your ships for free?
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Barge Row
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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A little tug keeps the big barges corralled like the little train that could...
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Boxed In
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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There was no more time for flirting with the tugboats. The busy big brown river rolled on south as Pia turned west and flew on towards her appointment in China.
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Rolling On
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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The swamps of southern Louisiana are legend. In the Atchafalaya River valley they are crisscrossed with old oil well canals.
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Wet Crossing
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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When the oil is gone and the well is plugged, all that’s left is a little pond.
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Oil Gone
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Grass circles are not only made by aliens. They can also be made by swamp elves.
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Lake Circles
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Sure oval track racing is dangerous, but it seems a bit too blasU just to bury the racers around the course!
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Death Racing
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Teaching flames to proceed in ordered line is a good trick.
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Ordered Burning
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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As 100 ticked over on the Hobbs it seemed only appropriate to treat Pia Romeo to a splash and dash in the Intercoastal Canal at Grand Lake. It was what she was made to do. Who knows what foreign waters she may taste by the time she's 1000 hours old?
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Celebrating 100
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Out in the swamps and bayous, with no dry land for a home, folks just <br />make a place on a floating barge. It must not be a great life style. <br />Their home is on Lake Misery…er, Lake Misere (maybe it’s a French <br />thing, Lake “Bet”?).<br /><br />When I first got a seaplane I was told a story of a flight across <br />Louisiana in a little Buccaneer. The engine quit out over the bayous <br />and the pilot put it down on the water. He was rescued by some of <br />the bayou boys and he spent several days with them fixing the <br />machine. He said he never did quite understand what they were <br />saying, but the crawfish gumbo was good.<br />
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Waterfront Mobile Homes
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Roseate Spoonbills are native to the waterways of Florida, Louisiana and Texas. They make a colorful contrast to the brown water. Back in 2006 there was a story about the spotting of two flamingoes in Louisiana: one escaped from a zoo in Kansas and the other was a wanderer from the northern Yucatan. Since then there have been several other reported sightings, including an immature flamingo just this year. Maybe they are pioneers? Or maybe they were mutant spoonbills with a sharp beak?
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Pretty in Pink
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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A game of spoil art in the marsh? The edges of the lake are within the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge. I’m not so sure that dredging makes for habitat improvement for wading birds.
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Tic Tac Toe Plop
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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In an area of marsh grass, the trees that try to make it are much sought after as bird perches. They get painted white for all their trouble.
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Bird Perch
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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From the marsh to the refinery to our gas tanks.
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Oil Export
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Somebody didn’t stay inside the lines.
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Farm Graffiti
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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There was no notice in my flight briefing about a fly in. Fortunately it was just a casual lunch thing by the local gyrocopter guys at the Chambers County airport (T00). Landing in eastern Texas marked another 2.9 hours. At an average of 75 mph my morning tail winds were clearly gone (unless wandering around looking at stuff was adding miles!). <br /><br />“Gotta press on” I told them when offered a ride swap.<br />
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Gyro Show
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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The drought in Texas makes should increase demand for the amphibious boating industry from formerly lakefront property owners. I’m not the SeaRey sales guy so I didn’t stop to make a pitch.
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Dry Lakefront Property
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Great place but the owner didn’t dig the lakes long enough for seaplanes.
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Lake Estate
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Now this house has lakes big enough for a SeaRey (if the neighbors are nice).
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Lake Estate Too
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Drought and fire: not a good combination.
| | Attachments:
Burnout
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Texas is oil country. East Texas includes a big chunk of the Mid-Continent oil field that extends northward to Kansas and westward to New Mexico and eastward into Louisiana. Until the Saudis struck oil it was considered to be the biggest reserve in the world. The Texas Railroad Commission, responsible for regulating the state’s oil fields, estimates it contained a total of 190 billion barrels. A total of 60 billion have been pumped out so far from the Texas part.<br /><br />
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Oil Country
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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It’s not all flat. It just looks that way.<br /><br />A gas stop looked like a good idea. Taylor (T74) was right on the GPS flight line. It was only 2 hours out of Anahuac, but it looked like stopping points were starting to get scarcer as we went west. Besides, I rationalized, another 180 miles west in two hours was good time.<br /><br />As I was fueling a guy came over with a complaint. “I’d like to get a SeaRey but I can’t get any good information.”<br /><br />“About what?”<br /><br />“About the status of Lake Georgetown.”<br /><br />“That’s easy. Check with the Texas Seaplane Pilots.”<br /><br />“Huh?”<br /><br />“Yeah. Check out the Texas Seaplane Guide (<a href="http://texasspa.tripod.com/">http://Texasspa.tripod.com/</a> for a listing of Texas lakes that are open to seaplanes.”<br /><br />“Who cares if it’s open? I just want to know if it has enough water to land in.”<br /><br />“Oh. Well, I’ll check.”<br /><br />I never did tell him it is one of the six lakes that are “Closed” according to the Army’s Corpse of Engeneers.<br /><br />
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Plains of Texas
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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The drought is bad for lakes, but good for the river that was drowned by the lake.
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Draining the Lake
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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The drying lake leaves contour lines showing the limits of its former glory.
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Lake Contours
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Here’s a double disaster: not only do house prices plunge, but so does the lake level leaving former waterfront owners high and dry and under water (on their mortgage).
| | Attachments:
Waiting for Water
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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The San Sabo River has run dry. Not for the first time.
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River Bottom
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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After skirting some big ol’Texas size storms, some sunbeams were a welcome site. The fresh smell of the rain soaked land was a bonus.
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Welcome Sunbeams
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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The last challenge to getting on the ground for the night stayed west of San Angelo long enough to get Pia put away in a nice, safe hangar for the night. It was only 190 miles from Taylor but the sun was sinking. At 2.2 hours, the groundspeed was still not tragic. And besides, there was a big Texas size storm blocking progress west.<br /><br />I arranged a rental car at the terminal and wandered out to get it. There were two Army guys standing there with their bags. They were looking a bit befuddled. “Where are you guys headed?” I asked.<br /><br />“To Goodfellow Air Force Base, sir!” was the emphatic, drill field reply.<br /><br />“Air Force Base?”<br /><br />“Yes, sir! It’s our new assignment.”<br /><br />“Okay….where’s your ride?”<br /><br />“We don’t have one, sir. Our flight was delayed, sir. The bus has already left, sir.”<br /><br />The “sir” stuff was a bit over the top, but I couldn’t just leave them standing there. “Well, I’m going that way. Want a ride?”<br /><br />“Yes, sir!”<br /><br />The new Army does not travel light. They filled up the little rental car with luggage.<br /><br />While they were loading I surreptitiously checked the smart phone. Not remembering an Air Force base anywhere around San Angelo I was thinking I could be in for a long ride.<br /><br />I wasn’t. Though the Goodfellow airfield closed in the 1950’s, the base is now a training center for military intelligence.<br /><br />The base has some cool airplanes parked there. It was named after a WWI aviator that took off in bad weather to conduct reconnaissance mission over the lines. The weather kept the slow plane low and it never returned. The crash was located three days later after a successful offensive.<br /><br />Later I started worrying about the state of military intelligence. Couldn’t someone have figured out that they were missing two recruits because their flight was delayed? I hope so. But maybe I had inadvertently interfered with part of their training (you know, find your way to base by any means possible).<br /><br />Whatever.<br />
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Last Challenge
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Kenneth Leonard - Oct 25,2011
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Excellent adventure Dan. Yeah, they have always needed to change the name 'intel' to something that doesn't invite ridicule - like 'analysis'. And no, we're not sophisticated enough to do the 'let them get lost as a learning experience' thing...we don't need to - they do it often enough on their own.
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Don Maxwell - Oct 25,2011
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'But maybe I had inadvertently interfered with part of their training (you know, find your way to base by any means possible).' No worry, Dan. That's exactly what they did!
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Wayne Nagy - Oct 25,2011
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Another entertaining night thanks to you, Dan...
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Thomas Alexander Bowden - Oct 25,2011
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Now what's Kerry gona fly?
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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I told him he could borrow 220WT if he needed a fix, Thomas.
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Thomas Alexander Bowden - Oct 25,2011
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I thought their was a dealer in China, Why did they need a plane shipped there for a show? Doesent the dealer have one there?
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Dan Nickens - Oct 25,2011
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You're right, Don! It just goes to show how easily manipulated some members of the indigenous population are.
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Troy iRMT Heavy Maint. Enriquez - Oct 26,2011
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Dan, you are a masterful wordsmith and, the time and research you put into your posts are <br />commendable and appreciated. Thank you.<br />but, anyone can take a great picture...... from a Searey, that is.  <br />Thanks again.
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Ross Vining - Oct 29,2011
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Dan<br /> I thoroughly the yarn, thank you for the time and insight you bring to your travelogues.
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