May 2, 2023 Traversing Spring

The Liberty Gazette

May 2, 2023

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: Flying through the Great Basin, a desert that covers Nevada from the Sierras eastward into Utah and up to the Rocky Mountains, I am in awe of the beauty of these vast, lonely places. High-peaked and lower mountain ranges spread in a north-south pattern, the rocky masses thicker in some places than in others. Wide, flat valleys lie in-between. It’s an area full of mines – gold, silver, and copper. And other minerals, like lithium, barium, uranium. 

I’m escaping what’s been of late a heavy, stress-filled work schedule. We’ve been planning this for half a year now, and it feels good to be free, but we know that this time of year, foul weather can interfere. We left the Houston area just before strong storms rolled in, and we’re enroute to see family in Oregon and Washington.

Spring is kind of in the air, but there is still heavy snow at the highest elevations; some of the summits are not completely visible because they disappear into the cloud layers. Below, as we fly along a valley, we observe more mountains. They are over fifty miles distant and bathed in sunshine. High winds whip the crests, slowly chiseling the palisades. Snow showers obscure some of the smaller passes; the wider passes and the valleys remain clear except for a few light flurries we can easily skirt. That wind also hinders our progress because we are flying against it and are bounced in its turbulence across the ranges. 

This is my first opportunity to land at Yelland Field just west of Great Basin National Park in Ely, Nevada. I’ve wanted to land here for years. Our last stop was Winslow, Arizona, and in between there and here, we traversed Marble Canyon at the northeast end of the Grand Canyon and flew over Zion National Park. We span a final pass, and the Elyminator’s wheels emit the familiar chirp as rubber settles gently onto asphalt. 

A quick refueling and a moment for selfies in front of Ely Jet Center (the business is no relation that we know of, but the town was settled by a gold-miner ancestor). We power up again to be propelled further northwest. Elko, Nevada is the cowboy poetry capital of the world. There’s been an annual gathering here since 1985 for a “week-long coming-together of people rooted in the poetry, music, and arts of cowboy country.” Maybe we’ll check it out next January, but we are eager to continue to our first destination: Madras, Oregon, where we will reunite with my sister and one brother. The last time we were all together was seven years ago. Since then, our older brother has passed. 

Together, my siblings and I are part of this western landscape of deserts, mountains, and oceans. We are drawn to the wide-open spaces, both dependent on and independent of each other. Seasons come and go, and we weather the highs and lows and appreciate the beauty in our relationships.

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