Dear friends,

            This is a thank-you letter to all of you who made our trip west such an exciting event. It was so nice to visit with you, and we encourage a return visit to our home in Tallahassee. We learned a lot, envied your nice homes and successes and sympathized with your problems.

            Following is a little travelogue that I would like to share with you. I also have a few pictures that you may find enclosed.

            We took off in our Skyhawk (Cessna 172, N 5021 Hotel) on Monday, July 12 with me at the controls and Margret and Steven alternating as copilot. Weather in the south in July is characterized by frequent thunderstorms which are very dangerous. The first huge black cloud came near Pensacola, and it appeared wise to land. Since it appeared we could sneak along the Gulf coast, we took off again half an our later and made it to Gulfport, Mississippi. That’s a nice tourist place, but we did not go into Marinelife, since we saw this stuff in Florida. Walking along the beach, we saw a skimmer and various ducks. Next day we flew as far as Abilene, Texas where we met a huge threatening storm cloud. The next day our fist stop was El Paso which had the most expensive gasoline on our trip ($2.06/gal). This is right where gasoline is made! Following the Mexican borderand flying through very hot, bumpy desert air, we made Douglas, Arizona . This was our first visiting stop, and Ruth Morse from the southwest Research Station, Portal picked us up. We enjoyed two pleasant days observing wildlife and swimming a lot. My friend Vince, with whom I worked in Oregon, showed us around. He is director of the station and seemingly couldn’t be happier.

            Back in the air after a take-off at high altitude and great heat we flew over Tucson, Gila Bend and landed in Blythe, California where it was 104 degrees F. We fueled up and flew west. Over L.A. my vacuum pump gave out and the gyro and artificial horizon quit. I landed in Burbank, thinking it was Santa Barbara . There was no service for little planes there, so I loaded my crew and flew west into the sinking sun using my magnetic compass. Eventually we landed in Santa Barbara right on the Pacific Coast. The evening was cool there, but the usual fog had not yet arrived.

            Susi and daughter Ingrid came to pick us up, and we had two beautiful days with them and Toni. We saw the native botanical garden, the courthouse and many beautiful flowers. The food was strictly Austrian, but the wine was Californian.

            After the morning clouds lifted on July 18, we flew north, fueling up in Stockton and then climbing the Sierra Nevada. Lake Tahoe was fantastic, and the mountains still carried snow. Reno was our stop, and we wanted to see Dr. and Mrs. Seals with whom I worked at Florida A.&M. University. Again, we were most graciously received and shown the town, including the imposing N.G.M. Casino.

            Now we were anxious to fly on to Oregon. The mountains, Crater Lake and Diamond Lake were breathtaking. There were so many mountains between Klamath Falls and Eugene that I started to worry about places for an emergency landing. We made it, though. In the Willamette Valley, farmers were burning their grass fields,consequently there was a lot of smoke.

            Salem, Oregon, where we returned after 22 years, had changed. Our former real estates were difficult to recognize. Kim Hyatt (and Paula) took us around. On our second day in Oregon we saw Jim and Louise Hyatt. It was the actual day(July 20) of their golden wedding anniversary. Jim seemed to recover from his severe heart condition, partly with the help of oxygen. He was quite alert and told us several good stories.

            Later I had a chance to return to Oregon State University. I visited with Charles Leach, Ed. Trioni, Ron Cameron and President McVickar. I met the latter again at the Memorial Union and showed him and Steven the Swiss flag I procured for O.S.C. in 1953.

            Next day Kim and Paula took us to their weekend house at Roads End on the Pacific. It was nice, but the water was icy cold and I thought I prefer the Caribbean waters over which I flew in June. We stopped on a roadside stand, where I bought cherries, filberts, apricots and raspberries. These fruits are greatly missed in Florida!

            Next morning, before take-off, I had a pleasant visit with Rex with whom I used to fly. He graduated to a Centurion, a much fancier and faster airplane than my Skyhawk. He can also fly much higher than I.

            From Salem we flew to north of Portland and could see the squared-off Mt. St. Helens. We followed the Columbia river to The Dalles and later crossed the Blue Mountains to descend to Baker for fuel and rest.

            Burley, Idaho was our next stop. Then we changed plans from flying to Rock Springs and Cheyenne to a southerly heading because of weather. The Great Salt Lake with its several islands vas very interesting. We flew under a Learjet on his way to Salt Lake City and landed in Provo, Utah. Dark clouds were closing the mountains.

            Next morning we flew over Spanish Fork and met a bit of rain between the mountains. We landed in Grand Junction which I preferred over Gunnison which is at 7668 feetand might have created take-off problems.

            The Rocky Mountains here were beautiful but presented quite a flying problem. Monarch Pass is 11312 feet, and the Skyhawk had a hard time climbing. I used updrafts and circled.Several times I lost altitude and had to try again. At 12300 feet we crossedand soon descended because we carried no extra oxygen.

            La Junta, Colorado had a record heat of 105 degrees F when we landed. We continued to Gage, Oklahoma and called it a day. We stayed at the very rural motel Sun and Fun.

            Next day we flew to Holdenville, Oklahoma for a fuel—stop. Then we overflew the Ouachita Mountains to Texarkana. Here I filed instruments(IFR) for Jackson (later amended to Meridian), Mississippi. At Meridian I was set up for an ILS approach when I saw lightening over the field. Quickly I abandoned the approach and traffic control lead me to Clark County which was in the sun. The operator there then drove us to the Holiday Inn at Meridian where we met torrential rain and lightening.

            Our last leg was from Clark County to Tallahassee. It was strictly IFR. First, morning fog was the obstruction, later we met up with some real huge clouds. We flew from 9000 to 10000 feet and detoured every which way. Once it rained quite hard and was very turbulent. The artificial horizon turned right, while we felt the airplane turning left. “Get the wings level, slow down” was my way of getting us through, but none of us liked the ride. Traffic Control suggested a detour through Montgomery, Alabama. This worked, and we flew parallel to this ugly weather. There were a few more, less vicious clouds near Dothan. Tallahassee had scattered clouds and presented no problems. By now it was Sunday, July 25.

            After arriving, Steve changed a flat tire on our waiting Dodge Colt. Then we drove home, where Sandra had everything under control.

            Back home things go well. There were a lot of bills and magazines but no big breakthroughs. Some high government people got in trouble for allowing family members to ride in state airplanes. This seems quite smallish for a big state like Florida. I need to go back to work at FAMU soon to defray my expenses. Now I am using the Apple computer to practice.

            In closing, I really thank you for your hospitality and wish you well.

Sincerely,

Julius, Margret, Steven Heinis.