anything but ordinary

one of the things i like about this job is that every day is different. i may do the same chores, etc but there is always something different. today was one of those. this morning started out normal..got the perkins gear all ready to fly, and off they went. also took the guys from scotland to the airport. went on a nice hot run today, it was 80-83, it varied. love the sun. actually got a bit pink. early this afternoon was alright. rob was flying all day. after he dropped the perkins off at their spot to float, he was to fly out to get the fish alaska people. 3 of them, and 2 guides plus gear. so, we're all hanging out waiting to hear him on the radio to make airport runs when rob calls on the sat phone to say his plane is down. i mean not working properly. so..this is really when the day starts. he's quite a ways out on a very small gravel bar in which not many pilots can actually land. i will say that rob is a very talented pilot. i'm still amazed at some of the spots he can land. anyway, we call greg who tries to get a hold of dan (who is also a seasoned pilot), because at 5 the fish alaska people are expecting to be picked up and brought here for the night. took quite a while to locate dan, but we did and off he goes to pick up the first client. so..it's a 20 min flight there, then he has to land, load and take off, and then a 20 min flight back, to unload, refuel and back again, and again...to get all 3 clients, 2 guides plus gear one at a time. then we had to give him gps cord for where rob is. rob just walked in the door 15 min ago. he's been on a very small gravel bar with no water (his own fault - he had only coffee) 2 sandwiches and 2 candy bars. no dog, no sleeping bag (which is normally always in the plane) since 1pm. at 9 rob calls and says dan can't land there b/c the gravel bar is too short and the wind was swirling. the thought was he would be staying the night without any protection but the plane, which isn't that comfy. dan circled 3 times before finally landing. but because the strip is so small and you have to be as light as possible rob wasn't even allowed to bring his backpack with him. only his thermos. this is because the plane had to be as light as possible. so...in the middle of all this, laurie (gregs wife) comes in and says that 10 firemen arrived who have been fighting fires in the mtns from the storm yest and they haven't eaten all day and are starving. so...with a house full of people who are eating dinner, we whip out 2 sandwiches, a bag of chips, candy, cake and soda for each fireman. i can't tell you the look of relief and hunger these guys had when laurie and i showed up with all this food. the fish alaska people thought it was great and took all kinds of pics of us preparing food in such a flurry. they also have been talking about the article they will be writing about their experience on this float...will be really cool to read. whew! quite the day!