Paul and his wife Leslee had flown up to Alpine, WY earlier this summer so we decided to go there again with a big loop up to Yellowstone National Park and a flight back down the east edge of the Tetons. We launched at dawn and enjoyed smooth air all the way up at 9,500, past Bear Lake and up the middle of the Star Valley in western Wyoming past the airport at Afton, WY. The loop past Jackson Hole and Jackson Lake was pretty in the morning light and the Tetons were just incredible. Paul had told me that the view from the north in the air was much more awesome than the view from the south that most folks see and he was absolutely right. Unfortunately, I left my nice 35mm camera at home so the photos are from my little snappy camera and they don’t do the view justice.

After passing the big rocks of the Tetons, which were still way above us as we cruised past at more than 12,000 ft, Bill and I decided to cut across the south end of the range past the town of Victor, ID and into the valley to the northwest of the town of Alpine, WY and Palisades reservoir. We were trying to find a dirt strip up there that Bill had once seen that lies close to the Snake River. We dropped down into the valley, found a different strip close to Swan Valley, ID (not the one we were looking for) and flew to Alpine over the reservoir. Normally the approach to runway 13 is right over the lake but the water level is so low right now that the reservoir is a couple of miles away. The approach to runway 31 has to be fairly short due to a mountain about a mile of the extended centerline. I ended up making a modified right base to 31 so I could see past the long nose of the Cherokee from the right seat. The runway at Alpine is narrow but long and the Cherokee 6 was down and stopped in less than a third. The pavement is in good shape. Paul and Leslee were already there so we parked and were off to town for a bite to eat.

The restaurant we ate at in Alpine is called the Red Baron, named after the Red Baron Air Race team of 1970's fame. The restaurant is owned by Ed Browning, who also owned the Idaho Falls FBO of the same name that sponsored the RB-51 Red Baron air racer flown by Steve Hinton and the F-104 Starfighter flown by Darryl Greenamier. Both Steve and Darryl achieved speed records in their respective aircraft while under Brownings sponsorship and, sadly, both aircraft were destroyed in crashes, the RB-51 crash nearly killing Steve, the pilot of the F-104 ejecting safely. Memorabilia from those aircraft and the general air racing scene in the 70's can be found throughout the restaurant, including what appeared to be the actual FAI world record document for the piston powered speed run. The food was good, plentiful and served with a smile. The restaurant, while on the small side also has the feel of those that serves the legions of snowmobilers that frequent that part of the world during the winter where folks like to hang out on bitter cold nights. It was a fun place to visit and only about a 15 minute walk from the airport (roughly a mile).

After breakfast and perusing the photos and posters it was back to the airport and we were off for home. Paul and Leslee went to Malad, ID and Bill and I headed back to SkyPark to put a new set of tires on his plane. Along the way Paul was able to pick of Steve Durtchi on the radio as he was heading home from central Idaho in his 185 which added a bit more fun to the flight.