{"id":11142,"date":"2015-05-22T19:52:54","date_gmt":"2015-05-23T00:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/?p=11142"},"modified":"2015-06-15T16:00:59","modified_gmt":"2015-06-15T21:00:59","slug":"down-the-chisholm-trail-to-pond-creek-oklahoma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitzvideo.com\/skysurfing2\/2015\/05\/22\/down-the-chisholm-trail-to-pond-creek-oklahoma\/","title":{"rendered":"Down The Chisholm Trail to Pond Creek, Oklahoma"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chisholm Trail<\/h4>\n

One of the great delights<\/strong> of\u00a0flying around\u00a0this region<\/strong> is the opportunity to visit places of historical import<\/strong>. Before Hollywood<\/strong> (for the most part)<\/em> turned its back on\u00a0Traditional American Values,\u00a0<\/strong>“The Old West”<\/em>\u00a0was prime material\u00a0for its image mill. Those were the times of my youth. “Westerns”<\/em>, as they were called, dominated television<\/strong> and movies<\/strong>. During this time, Hollywood<\/strong> fashioned\u00a0the cowboy of the old west<\/strong> into a mythical\u00a0icon representing\u00a0Truth, Justice<\/strong> and The American Way<\/strong>. Roy Rogers, Will Rogers, Paladin, The Lone Ranger, John Wayne, Broncho Billy, Chuck Connors, Clint Walker, Gary Cooper, Gene Autry, Glenn Ford, The Great James Garner, James Arness, Joel McCrae, Lash LaRue, Randolph Scott, Richard Boone, Slim Pickens, Tex Ritter, Tom Mix, The Cartwrights, Steve McQueen – and this is just a short list<\/strong>! They weren’t always the guy you wanted your Daughter to bring home for supper but they all “did the right thing”<\/strong> by the end of the show.<\/p>\n

You might not have heard of Pond Creek<\/strong><\/a> before but it has a place in the history<\/strong> of\u00a0The Chisholm Trail<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0which figures mightily in The Real<\/strong> (and\u00a0Mythical)<\/em> Old West<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A Sign<\/h4>\n
\"IMG_6794\"<\/a>

Before sunrise<\/strong> an interesting triad of luminaries<\/strong> bid The Sky Surfer<\/strong><\/a> on his way.<\/p><\/div>\n

That morning, the scene above greeted my arrival at Blue Sky Aerodrome<\/strong>. I wish the photo\u00a0were sharper<\/strong> but I am glad I captured what I was able. I steadied my camera on the roof of the\u00a0car and pushed the shutter button as lightly as I could. This was the best of three… I had seen this early morning triad<\/strong> before but falsely assumed it to be The Moon, Venus and Mars<\/strong>. I checked the “star history” for that morning on\u00a0EarthSky.org<\/a><\/strong> and discovered\u00a0this was The Moon, Venus and\u00a0Jupiter<\/span><\/strong>. Very Interesting. I had no idea one could see Jupiter<\/strong> without a telescope.<\/p>\n

Was this a “Good Sign”<\/em>, a “Bad Sign”<\/em> or just “An Ever Repeating, Inter-Stellar Phenomenon Seen \u00a0From Different Earthly Perspectives\u00a0At Predictable\u00a0Times Signifying Nothing”<\/em>? You be the judge.<\/p>\n

Beat The Wind<\/h4>\n
\"IMG_6803\"<\/a>

Sunrise Under My Left Wing<\/p><\/div>\n

Because the wind<\/strong> was already building<\/strong>, I took to the air as soon as I could. After climbing to 600′ AGL<\/strong> to pass over The Kansas Turnpike<\/strong> and houses in the area, a glance at my GPS<\/strong> showed the Southwest headwind<\/strong> had deteriorated\u00a0my ground speed to 10.8 miles per hour!<\/strong> As soon as I could, I descended to Ultralight Flight Level 30<\/strong> which put me under said wind. My SOP<\/strong> (Standard Operating Principle)<\/em> requires\u00a0at least<\/strong> 30 mph across the ground<\/strong> to continue a Sky Safari<\/strong>. Down on the deck for the rest of the journey I was able to maintain a ground speed<\/strong> of\u00a030 mph<\/strong> and up to 40<\/strong> at times.\u00a0Pond Creek<\/strong> was a Go<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

\"IMG_6813\"<\/a>

A train heading West out of Wellington, Kansas<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"IMG_6808\"<\/a>

Milo<\/strong> near harvest time is as beautiful<\/strong> as any field of<\/strong> tulips<\/strong> in Holland<\/strong>.<\/p><\/div>\n

Sunrise Silhouettes<\/h4>\n

I am intrigued by images of my plane’s shadow<\/strong> on certain early morning flights. They don’t happen that\u00a0often<\/strong>. To produce them\u00a0requires a perfect combination of events:<\/p>\n