“The Mississippi Delta was shining like a National Guitar”. That was the soundtrack in my head as I surveyed the surrounding scenery from four thousand feet. It was Friday evening, roughly six thirty daylight time, and we were being vectored into Memphis International expecting to join the visual approach. As we turned south to intercept the 18R final, the music continued “I am following the river down the highway through the cradle of the civil war”. The song and my daydream were interrupted by “Bonanza six echo alpha, you’re number two, follow the CRJ ahead and to the right, caution wake turbulence, cleared for the visual 18 right, contact tower now on 128.42.
I was dividing my attention between supervising the pilot flying, making radio calls, scanning for traffic, and trying to catch as much as I could both out the window, and on film before we had to land ending my magical moment.
“Going to Graceland, Memphis Tennessee, I’m going to Graceland” rattled through my brain as I read back the clearance and changed frequency. I’ve always loved that song and seeing the sun setting, reflecting off of the Mississippi as we descended, for a moment I saw it through Paul Simon’s eyes, making me think of the scores of people who had passed through here before me.
Memphis, King Cotton, the Mississippi delta, some of the most fertile and productive farm lands anywhere in the world, fed by the constant flooding and the sediments left behind by retreating water. The city’s role in the civil right movement cemented by Martin Luther King delivering his ‘I’ve been to the mountaintop speech’ only to be gunned down a day later. Memphis the musical center - Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, BB King, Sun Records, Beale Street.
We were on the ground some minutes later taxiing into Signature which is housed in the original passenger terminal at the airport, built with stimulus funds, by the WPA during the last great economic meltdown. Dinner later was at Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous for some spectacular BBQ pork ribs, slaw and beans, where the only thing that’s changed on the menu in three generations are the prices.
A week earlier we had crossed the Mississippi westbound up river some 230 nautical miles at St Louis. I felt a similar sensation watching the Gateway Arch appear out of the mist as we joined the final for runway 30 Left at Downtown Airport. Yet another historical city that had flourished on the banks of the magnificent Mississippi river. We spent a night at the Marriott downtown located at the historic Union Station which, for a while, had the distinction as being the largest and busiest rail station on the world. We visited the Arch and the museum of Westward Expansion that resides underneath it while we waited for the fog to burn to circling minimums.
These cities were developed initially because the river provided thoroughfare. Wagon trails then railroads connected them further, creating economic engines in the Southern and Midwestern United States. The interstate highway system along with the airline industry betrayed these places as it was no longer necessary to travel into them on your way to your destination.
The transportation revolution has limited our travels to navigable destinations served by airlines or interstates. But thinking of our country as a series of airline hubs or freeway exit ramps really does most of these wonderful destinations a disservice
Were Memphis and St Louis out of our way? Only if you consider the straight line route when flight planning. We would have preferred to take the most direct way, but when we departed Wichita Friday afternoon much of northeastern Kansas all of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio were a mass of red and yellow radar returns with lightning bolts overlaid on them. Could we have waited another day in Wichita and proceeded on a more straight line routing in the morning? Absolutely, but the weather is, what the atmosphere provides, at the given moment we decide to operate an aircraft within its confines.
Flip Wilson's Geraldine used to say "what you see is what you get" so when presented with a real opportunity to make progress towards your ultimate destination, you go the way you can.
Forecasts, while technically sound are produced by computer models highlighting a variety of different scenarios. The official one we see is only a person’s prognostications on what they feel Mother Nature is planning for a particular swath of planet earth. There are no guarantees that what the forecasters are saying will occur, rather they are all educated gambles -structured speculation. This is why forecasts are revised every six hours and only cover 24 hours from that point.
We traveled through these cities because it was where the weather allowed us to proceed. Our ultimate destinations were Wichita Kansas then Danbury Connecticut. The routes we took were immaterial as we knew when and where we needed to be. The journey on these trips is the destination, as we are flying aircraft that are not equipped to penetrate heavy weather. This leaves us with two options, to accept the direction that nature gives us, or simply not go that day.
Operating a light airplane to and from distant locations, and in this manner, really allows you to see and experience places out of the ordinary. Chances are some of these places you have only either read about or studied back in school. It is difficult to experience the vastness of our country by looking out the window from 30,000 feet or being funneled through the major communities that were fortunate to receive an exit ramp off of the interstate highway systems.
Judy and I have seen some great places and have met some fantastic people on these “air ventures”. We consider ourselves to be geography scholars attending a multi-year long course of study by simply travelling to where the weather is not at the particular time we find ourselves to be flying.
If you are reading this you likely are a licensed pilot, or well on your way to becoming one. One of the freedoms we enjoy as citizens and pilots is the ability to command our crafts to any destination that we choose, our time and expense permitting. So the next time you need to go somewhere, take the road less travelled and fly yourself. It may take more time and it certainly won’t be cheaper than taking the airlines or driving, but by picking the route based on where the weather isn’t, you will experience new places while creating memories that will last a lifetime.
