A Look at Pilot Gary H.'s Letters to Trenton Middle School

FROM THE ADOPT-A-PILOT CREW: Following is a an excerpt from Pilot Gary H.'s letters to his students. This is a great example of how "adopted" Pilots correspond with their classes while away. We'd love to hear from more Pilots and classes on how you stay connected. Tell us by clicking on "Share A Story" or send us an e-mail at adoptapilot@wnco.com.

Hi TMS 5th Grade!

I am writing you today from San Francisco again, but because I'm flying the same trip I flew last week, I thought I'd give you the routing from a trip I flew earlier in the month. Go ahead and put this day on the map and add this to the flying log. The first day of the trip went like this:

DAL to MSY

MSY to TPA

JAX to BWI

BWI to BDL

During my actual flying today, I crossed the Rio Grande River, the Arkansas River, and the Colorado River. Like the Nile River through Egypt, the Rio Grande and the Colorado wind their way through the desert. Along their banks, towns spring up and irrigation makes the otherwise barren desert productive.

We also flew over El Paso, TX, where from 40,000 feet you can look north and see the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, near Hollomon Air Force Base. The sand is so white that every month on a full moon, they open a safe portion to the public to have midnight picnics - they say it as bright as the day on the white sand.

From 40,000 feet you can also see the slight curvature of the earth and notice how dark blue the sky is up where there is so little air.

We also flew by Lake Havasu City, part of the Colorado River and formed by Parker Dam in the 1930s. The city was the brainchild of outboard motor & chainsaw manufacturer Robert P. McCulloch. Here there is an island attached to the main city by the London Bridge...not a replica, but the actual London Bridge! McCulloch bought it from the city of London for $2.5 million and had it transported and reassembled between 1968 and 1971 at an additional cost of $7 million. Today, over 55,000 people call Lake Havasu City their home.

On our arrival into Los Angeles, we passed about 30 miles north of Salton Sea. The sea was formed in 1905 when, responding to farmers' concerns about irrigation channels from the Colorado River that were choked with silt, the Army Corps of Engineers created a temporary diversion of the river which later was breached by floodwaters. The Colorado emptied almost exclusively into the valley for over two years before it was finally contained. Today the Salton Sea (which sits about 200 feet BELOW sea level) is an important and very productive inland fishing source.

Have a great day and let me know if you have any questions!

Your Pilot,

Gary