Nikki Bear's Emails

Posted below are the emails from and about Nikki Bear. Her brother Ed Bear will have his own since for now they are off in different directions. These will be updated as new emails comes in.

From: balexped@ihug.co.nz
To: skyangel@nmol.com
Subject: RE: Ed Bear (Noise)
Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 11:58:36 +1200

Dear Ed Bear and of course ma best friend TINA!!!!!! Its Nikki Bear here After a lOOOOONNGG break - hey bears need a holiday too - and I was supposed >to go to ENgland and or ALASKA (too cold for me) and we won't even talk about PUERTO RICO will we!!!! I'M BACK!!!!

I seem to have got stuck here in New Zealand - went for a quick whiz to Australia with Danny Galbraith - and sat on his desk - he did take me to CANOWINDRA where I met a few new friends but I did not get my picture taken - and I so wanted to see a cousin KOALA.

Daryl Dianne and Kieran took me to the SOUth ISland to the Queenstown WInter Festival for a balloon break - We all only got to fly 3 times in the 10 days we were away and that 180 is sooooo big whew I get tired looking at it Daryl took me to 6000' in the T&C and I saw Snow and mountains. It was really cold.

We travelled over and back on the LYNX ferry which is very fast. It travels Cook Strait wheich separates the North and the South Islands of New Zealand. There are no bridges because it is very very deep.

I asked Dianne how I get back to Tina and Albuquerque and she said that they will take me with them when they go back - hey I get to see a heap of stuff in the good of USA. It will be great to he back home and to see Ed Bear again Last night Balloon Expeditions ably assisted by on NIKKI BEAR assisted in a fund raiser for WSPA (World Society for Protection of Animals ) They work mainly with freeing bears that are ttreated badly and made to dance on hot coals and have horrible ring things in their noses and have things sticking in their livers cos some people believe that they can use and abuse them and we think it is not right - so I am working whilst I am out and about.

Will keep you posted as to what I am doing - did hear something about TAHITI - ooh South Pacific adventures here comes one cute bear!!!

Lots of bear hugs

Nikki Bear

Subject: Gidday - hey I can talk Kiwi!

Email from Nikki Bear March 16, 2002

Whew where do we start -- uummhh soory Tina my little social life has been such a worxxx Who durn whirl!!!

uess what I went to a HHUUUGE picnic and there wuz heaps n heaps N HEAPS of other bears I think I was the only pilot bear tho'and Im sure I wuz the only USA bear!! We took heaps of pictures but sadly the camera was what DIanne called a chukamatic and it got "temporarliy mislaid " bigtime Ithink that is Kiwi for "Lost". A kid wuz giving me a big huggy squeeze and she accidentally broke my goggles so we are seeing if the Teddy Bear SHop here has some for me Kinda hard to see with the beautiful clear skies summer and sun we are having here.

Tomorrow I am meeting with Jack and Carol Klein who are flying in from Alaska Will send a picture
.
I wuz to go the England and come back for the balloon fiestas in New Zealand but it could not be guaranteed so I just hung out here. On Tuesday we all go to the Wairarapa. That is at the bottom of the North Island - They have lots of Vineyards and I heard it is a real cool place.

Then it is Easter and after that we go the Balloons over Waikato in Hamilton I hang out here for a coule of weeks and then I heard a whisper about a BIG plane trip to go ballooning somewhere else. Gosh no one tells me anything!

Well I get to sleep an extra hour tonight before we go to fly at a wedding tomorrow morning. It is the end of daylight saving when they shift the time on the clocks by an hour. AAAHHH mee the end of summer - ooh no I get another one of those Hey this is the life Tina follow the sun all year.

WIll check in tomorrow with a note about meeting Jack and Carol.

Nikki Bear upside down

Date: 1/16/02

From: "Balloon Expedition Co, N.Z" (by way of skyangel@nmol.com)

Subject: NIKKI BEAR - the big Adventure Hey Rob wheres me pikkies???

Daryl and Dianne have taken me for a couple of flights A kid stole my one of my Pins and my flags - I did a big bear GGGRRRHH! but to no avail. Dianne did not see that it had happened until the next day and they had flown the coop - well back to Japan actually! Dianne was quite sad that happened!. The next group of people I flew qith were really nice and we took some photos of me over the harbour - ALL that water

It is really hot and humid here and here is me in my woolly bear winter coat and all this leather.

I am going to meet Sarah Fam in Hamilton and the Pepper kids in a week or two. I heard some whisperings about trying to get me to the West Island (I think they call it Australia) to meet some other balloonists - will fill you in when I know more.

Summer holidays have been unseasonably wet - one town had over 12 inches of rain in 2 days - wow! so I have not been able to work on my tan.

See ya soon Gentle breezes, NIKKI BEAR :0)

Never go Indoors to practise a special Outdoor Song which Has To Be Sung In The Snow -Winnie the Pooh

Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 14:22:36 -0800 (PST)

Subject: Love at first sight Dear Nikki.

My name is Theodre M Bear. My friends just call me TM or TMB. I just visited your website, saw your picture annnnnnd I'm in love...

I am going to travel to Madras, Oregon in May. Madras is located in Central Oregon. I love riding in the Pacific Peaks Balloonmobile and we drive over the mountain every year to visit the school kids in the Madras area. It's a lot of fun. We spend a few days visiting the schools after we fly in the mornings, then fly over Madras all weekend.

I hope you can come join me if you're back from your travels. If not, could you ask Ed if he can come. There's lots of really cute girls he could meet.

p.s. We do the same for the Tigard kids in June and the Albany kids in August.

Bye for now

From: "Balloon Expedition Co, N.Z"

Subject: Happy New Year from NIKKI BEAR

Date: Mon, 31 Dec 2001 01:43:38 +1300

Hi Tina and everyone else Kia Ora (Hello) Its New Years Day here and we have an amazing moon it is a deep orange and really huge full moon The colour is because of all the bush fires around Sydney, Australia. The fires there are so big that the smoke gets all the way to New Zealand in the atmosphere.

Daryl and Dianne are hoping they can take me flying tomorrow it looks like FINALLY we get a good day.

Auckland is a really pretty city situated on an isthmus that is about 22 miles across. It has about 7 extinct volcanoes and three harbours the Kaipara (kipaara) Waitemata (Whytaymmatter) it means "sparkling waters " in Maori, and the Manukau (Manoocow)- these make for interesting weather conditions. Each harbour has its own micro climate yet they all as a whole affect the weather andf therefore the flying consitions. Auckland has a lot of hills.

Yaaawwwn Oh I have been to a New Years Eve "bit of a do" and I am getting sleepy - have to be up early to help with the weather check - so Tina and all my friends, I will write again soon and tell you about my flight. fingers crossed

Haere Ra

Nikki Bear

Subject: Nikki Bear Update - Merry Christmas!

From: Robert Redinger

Subject: Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all from "sunny" Antarctica! The high temp here for Christmas Day (Today) is forecast to be 41 degrees F. Nikki Bear should be back in New Zealand and on our way to Texas by Thursday, 27th. A short stop over in Christchurch and a day or two in Auckland are anticipated. If there's anybody - Crew or Pilot - that would like to meet me in Christchurch, Auckland, or Los Angeles and could expand Nikki Bear's journey to Australia, the Orient, or the West Coast of the USA, please let me know as soon as possible. I'll make arrangements to meet with you. I won't know my exact travel itinerary beyond Christchurch until I get there.

Thanks

Bob Redinger Piratepilot MSBF Meteorologist

P.S. Our NSBF/TIGER balloon is tracking nicely around the Antarctic continent. So far, so good! http://198.120.3.105/icecam

Subject: Nikki Bear Antarctic Update Dec 14

From: Robert Redinger

Greetings, All,

Well, the "Pathfinder" Balloon didn't show us what we needed for a circumpolar flight with the "TIGER" payload, so we're still waiting. The charts I receive from Goddard Space Flight Center are not showing much change at the 125 Kft level where we want this balloon to "float" around the continent.

We've had additional, minor complications. For those of you who know what this is, you can understand why it's complicated our mission.

NZWD TAF 141515 (150404L) 17035G42KT 0100 -SN BLSN VV003 QNH2846INS >GRID34035G42 BECMG 2301 (151214l) 17025G35KT 0200 -SB BLSN SCT000 OVE015 QNH2852INS GRID34025G35KT BECMG 1113 (160002L) 15020G28KT 0400 BLSN VCSN FEW000 BKN015 OVC030 QNH2845INS GRID32022G32KT

Basically, our weather is, well you insert the expletives to suit your understanding of what's going on. Very similar to what North Dakota, Montana, and others experience in the winter months. And this was not the worst of it! Winds yesterday were recorded at 54KT! It was warm, though by Antarctic standards; our lowest wind chill was -26 degrees C / -16 degrees F. The storm should pass through by Monday, then the digging out begins. We should be operational again by Wednesday, and based on the upper air charts, we may fly another "Pathfinder" on Wednesday or Thursday. For all the Junior Balloonists out there, Nikki Bear is snuggled safely away in the warmth of the Telemetry Building, keeping watch over all our instrumentation. She's not too keen on traveling out in this weather. Will keep you up to date as we get closer to launch.

Bob Redinger Piratepilot NSBF Meteorologist

Subject: Nikki Bear Update November 23, 2001!

From: Robert Redinger

The journey continues! Nikki Bear is leaving Palestine TX, headed for the DFW Intl Airport and ultimately to a soft landing At McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Enroute, she will make stops in Los Angeles, Auckland, and Christchurch, New Zealand.

We will be off the Reflector for about six days, then back on, from the "ICE", around the 1st of December.

Bob Redinger Piratepilot NSBF Meteorologist

Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2001 14:58:57 -0800 (PST)

From: Robert Redinger

Nikki Bear and I arrived in Auckland, on Sunday morning and changed planes to head South to Christchurch. The weather in Auckland was excellent for balloon flying; a light northeasterly breeze, fair to partly sunny skies, and cool, around 8 degrees C (42 F).

We missed the McKee's - they were probably out flying, and I don't blame them! We'll try to hook up with them on our way back North. Nikki Bear and I attended the Christchurch "Santa Parade" on Sunday afternoon, and will be here taking in the sights until Friday morning when we leave for Antarctica.

More news on our adventure as we go,

Nikki Bear

Bob Redinger Piratepilot

 

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