Day 14 - Friday, September 12

We left Nebraska at noon, taking a route to the South to make an end run around a weather front. We encountered rain and some wind enroute to Oklahoma City before turning more Easterly to Ft. Smith, Ark, and then on to Mena, Ark. That was a 3 and 1/2 hour flight!!!! After parking at Mena, I noticed a flat on my left main tire. Thanks to Brian Pyatt who brought a jack in his plane. I was fortunate to find an individual on the field to give me the needed help. Doug, Ed, Tim and Brian continued on to Birmingham. Ginger and I stayed to fix the flat. The generous man, Rick Yahn, took me into town to have the the tube patched and offered us his van for the night. He also allowed me to store the plane in his maintenance hangar. I really don't know what we would have done without him. I checked the weather tonight and it looks promising for an early flight to Decatur, Alabama. If we don't leave in the morning, the hurricane remnants will not clear out for several days. So, stay tuned. Hopefully, we won't write but one more time!