Flight To Oshkosh, Wisconsin, July 2011

Tuesday, Aug. 2

At 6:00 a.m. we woke up to another torrential downpour. Happily, we had anticipated it last night (radar pictures are so helpful) and had tarped and otherwise covered our planes. But we obviously weren't going to be going anywhere for a while - not with almost two inches of rain on the tarmac! So we burrowed deeper into our sleeping bags and blessed the air conditioning of the FBO at Montevideo Airport, MN, where we had spent the night.

We weren't able to take off until 12:30 p.m., and there was heavy cloud cover. Wayne and I flew @ 2500' MSL, about 1000' below the clouds. Visibility was excellent; I had bought some Pledge swipes and cleaned my windshield. I had been puzzled for a moment when there were huge streaks of black when I cleaned the inside of the windshield - then I remembered the fire - and realized it was smoke residue.

We flew for about 40 minutes under the clouds - and then we crossed the Minnesota River and we were in South Dakota!

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Soon the clouds began to dissipate, and by the time we reached North Dakota the skies were clear and we had a slight tailwind!

The first leg was a long one - 2 hrs. and 40 minutes. I was glad to touch down, get out of the Talon, and stretch. It was hot and humid - much more pleasant up in the air.

Our next two legs for the day were exceptional. Wayne and I were doing 75-80 mph over the ground, and the skies were crystal clear and deep blue. Visibility seemed to go on forever - over the plains of South and North Dakota you can almost imagine that you're seeing the curvature of the earth.

The flooding in both South and North Dakota was overwhelming to see from the air. Both states look like an extension of Minnesota - "The Land of 10,000 Lakes". It was very sad to see the devastation - miles and miles of swamped fields.

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As we flew further west, the flooding in North Dakota disappeared. Now we were over lovely farms, fertile fields, and green hills.

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Our GPS' continued to show 75-85 mph over the ground, so instead of stopping in Hettinger, ND, Wayne radio'd and asked if I wanted to continue on to Bowman, ND. (No, my radio isn't working any better, so we've developed a pattern of flying within visual contact, which also means within radio contact.) Happily we were able to contact Bob as he prepared to land in Hettinger, to tell him of our change in plans.

Bowman, ND is blissfully dry and cool. The first time we've been out of the heat and humidity in over 10 days! We're camping under our wings at the airport and looking forward to being in Montana tomorrow. We're only 30 miles from the state line!

Being in the air for almost seven hours today gave me a lot of musing time. I thought of all the people at Oshkosh who came by and said wistfully, "I'd love to do what you're doing, but..."

It got me thinking about yearnings and dreams deferred.

Someone once said "We regret the things we don't do...not the things we do." And Sue Monk Kidd in The Secret Life of Bees wrote, "“Never underestimate the power of a dismissed dream. There must be a place inside us where dreams go and wait their turn.”

I believe that we all have unfulfilled dreams and yearnings, which we assume we can't make happen. And the more we think about the obstacles, the larger they loom. In an earlier blog post I wrote about taking on a wall of clouds, and seeing how they weren't as inpenetratable as I thought. A wise friend of mine, Ed Warnock, advises taking "baby steps" to achieve our dreams. I think of his advice often.

When pilots would tell me "I can't get anyone at my airfield to go on cross country flights with me" I'd tell then about taking baby steps. You don't start out with 2500 mile flights. You build up to it, perhaps in 50 mile increments, perhaps in 25 mile increments...whatever pushes you slightly out of your comfort zone.

When a friend talked longingly about someday running a marathon, her first baby step was to buy her running shoes. She put them in a prominent place in her home, and seeing them gave her the incentive to start a walking program which she eventually built up to a jogging program and eventually to a running program. She hasn't yet run her first marathon, but I know she will.

I think that determination and persistence - and baby steps - allow us to do much more than we think is possible. So I'd like to have you ask yourself -

• When was the last time – in any part of your life – that you dared to push past your fears and apprehensions, to do what challenges, stimulates, and excites you? How long has it been?
• When was the last time – in any part of your life – that you took a giant leap forward, into a compelling unknown? How long has it been?
• When was the last time – in any part of your life – that you acted on an irresistible, maybe even irrational sense of hope and expectation? How long has it been?

If you can't remember when, or if it's been too long, then you owe it to yourself to take that first baby step!