The fall ceilings were starting to look like we’d have to cancel the trip due to fog over the valley, but as the morning progressed, the skies opened up over KSLE as seen in this photo during a south-bound climb-out from Salem.
Once airborne, the weather turned out as forecast with the fog extending south to Eugene and then clear towards Klamath Falls. There were no concerns for the return trip as the fog was expected to clear well before our return arrival to KSLE. The flight down to 2S7 was beautiful and we passed just West of Crater Lake for some photo opportunities.
Our route this day was to head South East towards Creswell (77S) and then loosely parallel V452 until Crater Lake and Klamath Lake were in view, then proceed to 2S7. For those who haven’t flown to Chiloquin before, the airport’s location is deceiving as it’s between two ridges and not next to Agency Lake as it appears on the sectional. The landing was uneventful and we taxied to the parking area near mid-field adjacent to Highway 97.
Everyone was hungry and as our anticipation grew for a traditional café breakfast, much to our surprise after crossing the highway, was that the restaurant was closed. By the look of things, apparently the café has been INOP for a while (note to self, call ahead before flying 148 miles to get breakfast). Thanks to modern technology, we punched in our location on the smart phone and discovered that we were only a short walking distance into the town of Chiloquin. So, we trudged across the airport and followed a path that led to the main road into town. From there we spied a roadside diner and after all was said and done we walked about 20 minutes from the tie down area. The diner grub was excellent, and think everyone had the pulled pork, but their burgers and other fare looked really good too. After filling our bellies, we walked back to the airport and performed our pre-flight duties and departed for home. Since there were some pretty strong headwinds forecast for the return flight, we opted to stop at 77S for fuel on the way back in order to not have to worry about arriving at KSLE near or below fuel minimums.
