Once per year our church organizes a weekend camping trip (Family Camp) to Nehalem Bay State Park. Family Camp is a great opportunity for families to spend time getting to know each other. It is one of our favorite weekends of the year. We usually add a few days to extend the weekend as do about half of the people who attend. The campground sits between the Pacific Ocean and a state owned runway.

We have always driven to Family Camp but decided to fly this year - thirty minute flight versus a two hour drive. The forecast was for an offshore layer of clouds that were to last through the weekend along with morning fog. The afternoons were forecast clear. Winds can be a problem at Nehalem Bay as there can be quite a bit of wind off the ocean while the runway is surrounded by firs that create swirling winds. Final approach is usually flown over the bay which offers no wind protection. So, on windy days you come down on final close to the airplane's limits and then loose the cross-wind, due to the fir trees, shortly before the flair. Anyway, the wind forecast was for winds in the 15mph area which are fine.

We headed out a bit late which worried me some because we were having 90 degree temperatures in Portland which translate into afternoon turbulence. My wife does not mind flying but she does not look forward to it either. I would have preferred a smooth morning flight to increase the odds of her having an enjoyable flight. It was a little after 2:00PM when we left and as expected we flew through turbulence until we got close to the coast. To my surprise as we flew towards the beach, my wife asked when she should expect the forecast turbulence. She sounded surprised when I told her we had spent the past 20 minutes flying through it! I'm blessed to have such a trusting wife.

As you can see from the above picture, we flew over a layer of clouds before reaching Nehalem Bay. God blessed us as the cloud layer ended right at the end of the bay making it a non issue for our arrival. Had the airfield been ten miles to the east we would not have been able to land.

After landing we walked over to the campground and found a friend to bring a truck to hall our camping gear to our campsite.

The following photos were taken by a friend who is studying to become a professional photographer.

I had hoped to spend several of the afternoons taking friends flying but due to almost constant low clouds or fog, I was only able to get up once. As you can see from the following photos, the weather was not quite as forecast as the layer of clouds/fog that were forecast to stay over the ocean made their way up the beach and over the airstrip.

As the end of the weekend approached I began to wonder if we were going to be able to fly home. I met a really nice gentleman named Tom who had flown his beautiful 195 in for a weekend of camping with his wife. He was also wondering if he was going to be able to fly home. The updated forecast was for increasing clouds until Monday when a storm was to roll in. There was hope though as the trof that separated the low and high pressure areas was to pass at 11:00AM Sunday with the possibility of a broken cloud layer. At around 9:00AM Sunday morning, Tom rode his bike over to the campground to let me know that it was clearing over at the runway even though the cloud layer was still quite thick over the campground. He said if he got up he would circle around the campground to let me know it was OK. Sure enough at 11:00AM sharp I could hear a 195 circling overhead. At times I could even see the outline of a 195 through the clouds. We promptly headed out to the runway and loaded the 170. Unfortunately as we loaded the 170, the cloud layer seemed to be thickening up not breaking up. Then as my wife later said, "a plane was sent from heaven." Off in the distance we saw a Piper Colt flying between the low layer of clouds and the bay. He almost missed the end of the runway and circled back around before landing. He said if we fly up the bay and then up the valley we will find some nice holes that he had just flown through. I asked Nadia if she wanted to ride back with friends and she said she would prefer to fly home with me. It was actually quite fun flying up the bay and valley. We could see sunshine on the valley floor as soon as we got over the bay which made it easy to fly to and up through the hole. We then continued on home and made it home before most of our friends made it out of the campground.

For me the best part of the weekend was when my wife looked into my eyes and said she would prefer to fly with me than to ride home with friends. She looked totally content even though she was well aware of the risk of looking for and flying through a hole. I'm a blessed man?