Page 6 - The weather is a no go for now

     November 10, 1952. I awake before sun up, check all the things I will need to make the trip. "Pilot" can sense my excitement, and he likes to fly and will be a good companion.  I open the door of the trailer home to find the fog so thick you could cut it with a knife.  I go over to the office. I can't even see the runway lights. It is so foggy. I call San Francisco tower to see about the weather to find it is no go for now.
     Just like the dreams have been telling me.  These dreams will not turn me loose, as it is late in the year and it will be near mid morning probably before the fog clears. I will call each hour and hope they don't get irritated with me.
     Before going on this flight, I had talked about some of the fuel stops with the San Francisco Land Company which had a Dehavaland Beaver. They would tell me that when I get to Winnemucca, Nevada not to land at the first airport I would come to as it was closed. With no real cross country experience and having never been up in the Winnemucca area before, I will remember what the San Francisco Land Company told me.
     How I would like to get an early start! I'm nearly overwhelmed with excitement. It's near noon, and the fog is so thick I can hardly see the end of the runway at the San Mateo airport. One o'clock. I call the San Francisco tower again. No go. Finally about 2pm they called me by name and gave me a clearance to cross the Oakland Bay at a certain altitude.
     I bid my wife and daughter goodbye as Pilot and I enter the airplane and started on our way. Weather is marginal, but I'm on my way. Sacremento is the first fuel stop and all is okay. Reno, Nevada, the second fuel stop, and all is okay. Now it is late in the afternoon, go or no go, it is on to Lovelock, Nevada, and the sun is about to set. I have to be very careful as I decide to go on to Winnemucca. Can I make Winnemucca before dark? Now, the sun is down. As I fly on, I begin to lose surface detail. I see car lights, but not the shapes of the cars. As I can probably see the lights of Wennemucca, I see a lighted airport. But the Land Company said that airport is closed!