Blue Ridge Parkway / Wintergreen Resort
Nelson County, VA
Nearing the end of his journey Bill Rice, a flight medic from Texas with Petroleum Helicopters Inc. (better known locally as AirCare5) made a stop in Nelson County Tuesday afternoon – July 1, 2014. He was welcomed by brother and sister crew members with AirCare5 based at the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport in Weyers Cave. Members of Wintergreen Fire & Rescue also met with Rice and took him over to the Laurel Springs Landing Zone at Wintergreen Resort where a chopper from Weyers Cave landed.
Members of AC5 from Shenandoah Valley Regional in Weyers Cave (including AC5 manager Betsy Smith of Nelson – 2nd from left) pose along the BRP near Dripping Rock Overlook with Bill Rice. (Far Right)An AirCare5 medivac chopper lands Tuesday afternoon – July 1, 2014 at the Laurel Springs helipad at Wintergreen to meet fellow medic Bill Rice from Texas who is making a cross country trip from Oregon to Virginia in memory of three crew members who died in a Texas crash several years ago.Bill Rice of Texas makes his way down the Blue Ridge Parkway Tuesday afternoon – July 1, 2014 to greet fellow local members of his medivac company. His OR o VA is estimated to be at 4,233 miles covering 10 states.Bill Rice, a fellow medic with PHI / AirCare5 from Texas poses for a shot with local AC5 members and crews from Wintergreen Fire & Rescue Tuesday afternoon just before he left to head back out on the final miles of his journey.
After getting back no his journey Tuesday afternoon, Bill winds up the trip in Yorktown, VA.