Day 15 - Saturday, September 13

As hoped for, Ginger and I were able to take off from Mena, Arkansas at 8:09 am. Last night, the flight briefer was correct in his forecast. He said an early take off might get us out before the rain starts at 9:00 am all the way to Little Rock. Boy, was he correct. The rain had already started just northwest of Mena as we left. We bumped around at about 1400 feet, just below the clouds, at full throttle toward Hot Springs.



As we approached Hot Springs, the mountains appeared about our same level. We diverted slightly to miss the peaks and towers and flew pretty much over downtown Hot Springs toward Little Rock. All this time, Ginger was keeping track of our whereabouts on a map, knowing where the nearest airports were in front and in behind us so that we could always have an escape route in case of rain showers. Luckily, we experienced no rain! Visibility was adequate, but rain would have diminished it greatly causing a quick chase to the nearest airport. Trucking on to Little Rock area, I could see improvement, but still at 1500 feet. Ginger was on the lookout for tall towers. We flew just between the outer Little Rock airspace circle and a group of tall towers. The Arkansas delta flatlands were a welcome sight. The flight briefer had told me that once I made it to the Mississippi River, it would be smooth sailing. And, he was correct. We were able to finally get on top of the lower broken clouds and pickup welcomed smooth air. Incidentally, we had strong headwind until we reached Alabama. So glad to land at Decatur and get in my easy chair. We had a great once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget. Thanks for tuning in. BTW, Ginger, my sweet wife, proved to be a real trooper on this trip. I suppose she is a keeper!!!!

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!

Sept. 11 - Thursday, Day 13

We arose this morning in Jackson Hole with frost on the cars and 31 degrees F. After a good breakfast at Bubba's Family Restaurant, we drove the rental van back toward the airport (10 miles) to get some good photos of the Gran Tetons.



Doug and Ed looked at weather and plotted a course Eastward to hopefully avoid the bad weather.



It was decided to continue after takeoff Northward and make a 90 degree turn Eastward down a valley at 10,500 feet. Our path took us over several VORs and airports in order to dodge the low clouds and rain showers. The planned destination was Casper, WY. The weather report at Casper was iffy, so Ed Banks, our navigator, had several options in case of inclement weather. Doug Preston was in the lead, with me 2nd, and Brian Pyatt in 3rd position.

Doug's plane


Now, I am the slow climber with the 160 hp engine, while ole Brian's RV-7A is equipped with a constant speed prop and 180 hp engine. Boy, does the 20 more horses make a difference. Well, upon reaching Casper (over 200 nm), the bunch decided to take a left turn and fly to view Rushmore and buy cheaper fuel at Custer Airport. The airport manager gave us much needed instructions regarding the Monument fly-over. After a circle, we proceeded Eastward to see if the weather would let us get to York, NE (2 and 1/2 hours flight), knowing that it had rained there all morning. As we proceeded, the ground was creeping up in elevation, and the clouds getting lower. With lots of luck and good navigation by Ed, we had a smooth ride and just a few drops of rain. The rain had just reduced at York to a slight drizzle. The landing was without wind and non-eventful. We are spending the night at the New Victorian Inn. Tomorrow's weather toward Alabama doesn't look good. So far, Doug reported after Custer that we had flown 3,992 nautical miles and 28 hours. We are 630 nautical miles from Decatur, AL.

Wednesday, September 10 - Day 12

This morning our destination was Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Since gas is near $7 per gallon at Jackson Hole, we diverted to an airpark in Alpine, Wyoming for cheaper fuel. We encountered cloud buildups as we approached Alpine, and could see rain showers in the direction of Jackson Hole that is only about 30 miles from Alpine.



We quickly took off for Jackson Hole and had to circle a few times over the Alpine valley until we could reach 9,500 feet. The flight took less than 10 minutes. As we let down for the landing on the 6,400 feet altitude runway, a heavy rain shower was moving across the approach end of the runway. I was number 2 following Doug Preston. On the down wind leg, I lost sight of Doug, but had anticipated this situation and put sufficient distance between us. As I turned on final, I still could not see Doug, and had some difficulty in my depth perception due to rain on my windshield. Doug knew to land long and allow me a lot of runway. As it turns out, it was probably my best landing on this trip. We rented a van and checked into a Jackson Hole motel.
The four corners of the downtown square have arches made out of elk antlers. Hundreds of elk come to Jackson Hole in the winter and they shed their antlers in the spring. There are all sorts of things throughtout the town made of antlers.

It has rained lightly off and on this afternoon, and it is COLD here. The weather outlook is not good for tomorrow, so we might drive up to Yellowstone. Stay tuned.

Day 11, Tuesday, Sept 9, 2008

After a nice breakfast with several of the Independence airpark residents, we took off for the Spruce Goose and Space Museums at McMinnville, OR. You have to see the vastness of the beast to understand its size, and that it is made of wood! The Space museum opened just 3 months ago and is worthy of a visit. I was able to identify with several displays about the Apollo Program, Skylab, the Shuttle Program, and the new NASA Program, Ares 1 and Ares 5. In one of the enclosed photos you can see me standing near one of the actual Saturn 5 instrument units(IU) that I think was one of the test articles that was my project at MSFC in the 60's. It is 33 feet in diameter, while the new Ares 1 IU that is currently under development is 18 feet in diameter.

For those fellow Ares guys at MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center, at Huntsville, AL), the museum has a scale model of the Ares 1 and 5 that you will see me standing near.

From there, we took off eastward toward Portland and followed the Columbia river at a low attitude over the large river to enjoy the gorge view.

Well, the winds got so bad that we had to climb to 5,500 feet to find smoother air, and finally to 7,500 feet. You have to experience these winds to appreciate the effects. Our destination was a grass strip nestled in a narrow mountain valley. I decided that I would have no part of landing in such that would require special maneuvers to get in, and then to get out. So I opted to land at a small airport at Council, Idaho and wait for the other 2 planes to come back. They flew about 40 miles to the strip and decided that the wind was too bad, and with the loaded RV-10, Doug Preston decided that it was too risky to go down to the strip. After their circling the strip, they returned to Council for gas. Council is literally in the middle of no-where! We pumped gas knowing the gallons, but no idea of the price per gallon. Ginger's and my Verizon cell would not work. Ed Banks' AT&T worked for making a call to the local motel, The Starlight Motel. A quick call revealed that they had no vacancies. So, as it was getting late, Ed made a call to Boise, Idaho and found some rooms. We made a quick departure for the 36 minute flight and landed at the large main airport. Tonight, we are staying in a very nice Suite (Cambria). Tomorrow, we plan to fly to Jackson Hole to tour the area for the day and spend the night. Our next hopeful area to tour from the air is Mount Rushmore and surrounding sites. From there, no plans other than heading South. The weather forecast ain't looking good......Stay tuned.

Day 10, Monday Sept 8, 2008

We had a good breakfast this morning where we ate with 2 guys from Jackson, Miss. They had just purchased an RV plane from one of the airpark residents and left this morning with their first stopover at Page, AZ. Bob Brown took me to an alternator rebuilder in a nearby town, Salem, OR. The rebuilder tested both the alternator and voltage regulator and assured me that both are in working condition! So, back to the plane. When we removed the regulator earlier, I recalled the wire connector was unusually loose. We focused on that component first while the alternator was being reinstalled. We cleaned the connector and made some mechanical adjustments to have more insertion friction.

We pulled the plane out of the hangar and cranked the engine. Lo and behold the alternator worked. After lunch, we made a short flight from Independence to Van's factory in Aurora, OR. After a short tour, we returned to Independence to spend another night at this fantastic airpark.

Tomorrow, we will take a short flight to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum that houses the Spruce Goose. From there, Doug Preston, our trip leader, says we will fly up to visit some Idaho mountain grass strips. Stay tuned.

Day 9, Sept 7

After a good nights sleep, we drove back to the Coos Bay airport and had to wait for the heavy fog to lift. As I pulled my plane from the hangar, to my surprise, I was barely able to start the engine, dead battery! Well, the battery was ok, but the alternator had gone south! Since we were going to an airpark where there are over 53 RV's housed, I decided to make the flight without battery power (no radio, no instrumentation, no gas gages, only the standby airspeed indicator).

We three planes flew up the Oregon coast line for several miles before turning inland toward the Independence, OR airpark.

We were met by one of the RV residents, Bob Brown, who had made prior arrangements for lodging with RV owners. They also had a covered dish (plus ribs) supper for us where we met several residents. This place is paradise for flying people. The taxi ways and road are laid out to accommodate airplanes. RV construction is going on everywhere. I wish we had such back home. Well, back to the bad alternator. I was able to pull the plane into Bill Boyle's hangar where we removed the alternator. Bob Brown took me to several auto parts stores, but none had one in stock. In the morning, he will take me to a electrical rebuilder close by. Assuming I get the alternator working in the morning, we plan to go see the Spruce Goose at a museum not far from here. Then on to Van's factory for a tour. Beyond that, our schedule is flexible. The remaining desirable stops are an Idaho grass strip, Mount Rushmore, and Jackson Hole. After that, we will likely head home. Again, you have to see this airpark to appreciate it. The houses and hangars are built as one, and are they nice!!

Photos from days 6 & 7

Looking down from Hoover Dam


Catalina Islands




Bryce Canyon airport



Brian Pyatt in flight

New Postings

We finally have the internet. So please see our blog postings for Days 6, 7, and 8 and our pictures from days 4 and 5. Hopefully we will be able to get back to posting on a daily basis!

Pictures from Day 5 - Wednesday, September 3

Our group at Bryce Canyon - Jerry Hoggatt, Ginger and Bob Butler, Brian Kuntz, Tim Purvis, Ed Banks, Brian Pyatt, and Doug Preston


Natural Bridge - Bryce Canyon




Bob and his plane at Monument Valley




Monument Valley








Monument Valley from the airplane

Pictures from Day 4 - Tuesday, September 2

From the train trip to Silverton






Silverton, CO




Bob and Ginger on the train





Going around one of the mountainous curves






View from train






Another train view




And another train view

Day 8

We spent Friday nite at a quaint lakeside motel that was a neat place like you see in a picture postcard.


View from the balcony of our room

We said goodbye this morning to two of our guys who were heading back to Alabama - Jerry Hoggatt and Brain Kuntz. We miss ya'll and were glad you were part of the trip. The town of Big Bear sponsored a weekend long marathon of running, biking, street music, etc. Getting back to the airport Sat morning was a problem since most of the town streets were blocked for the 2,000 runners. We finally took off for Truckee-Tahoe, CA over the mountains.



Bob checking the plane before take off

Approaching the 6,000 ft elevation airport over the large Tahoe lake was also a picture postcard scene. We counted as many as 4 gliders in the air. They call this area the glider capital of USA. Again, the takeoff required a very long roll and the climb out to 10,500 feet was extremely slow. This was a very bumpy 3 hour flight across rugged mountains to Coos Bay, Oregon.


Mount Shasta (on the way to Coos Bay) from the plane

Coos Bay airport’s altitude is only 20 feet above sea level. The wind was as bad as I have ever witnessed. It was blowing 25 knots, and gusting to 35 knots. Just as I was about to touch down, a gust lifted my right wing up, and before I was able to recover from that, another one pushed me back up in the air into an unusual attitude that required fast stick motions ! I finally got the plane under control. As we stepped out of the plane, we could hardly walk in the stiff wind. The FBO guys were good enough to allow us to house the planes in their hangar overnight. We borrowed a van from the FBO and now spending the night of needed rest at the Best Western. Incidentally, I failed to mention that we could see a fog bank rolling in as we approached the area. As we landed, the far end of the runway was fogged in and it stalled at this point, thank goodness. Stay tuned for tomorrow.

Days 6 and 7

As planned, all but Ginger and I took a 3 hour hike down in one of the Bryce canyons. Ginger and I had a leisurely breakfast at Ruby’s, paying $2.50 per cup of coffee!! When they returned, we departed Bryce Canyon airport to Boulder City, Nevada. We got up to 12,500 feet to get over the high ridges. On takeoff from Bryce, I thought I would never gain any altitude. I am the slowest climber in the group, so it took forever to get there. Boy, was it a bumpy ride over the ridges. While I may be the slowest climber, Doug had difficulty in keeping up with me in his RV-10 after reaching altitude! This was a surprise to all. My little 160 HP and fixed pitch prop RV-6A is running real good. We made a letdown over the Hoover dam for aerial photos, leaving the cool air for 99 degree heat at Boulder City airport. After spending the night, we took the Hoover Dam tour on Day 7. This was very interesting and informative. The project was done in the 30’s, completed 2 years ahead of schedule , and below budget. Think that could happen today ? We departed Boulder City around noon for Catalina Islands. This route took us thru and over several large airports and military areas. We could easily see from 10,500 feet all the way from Hollywood to San Diego. The Catalinas are 26 miles from the coast line and could also be seen long before reaching the shoreline. The landing on the 3,000 ft runway, located on top of a ridge, was very eventful with multiple unplanned touchdowns! Well, we were able to walk away from it and have lunch. Some of the guys had buffalo burgers. The landing fee is $20. Ginger thought they should have paid us for making the visit. After takeoff, we circled the Islands for photo opportunities before climbing up to 7,500 feet on our way to Big Bear, CA. Upon approach to Big Bear, we were lined up a little too close. I made a 360 to gain needed distance behind the plane in front of me. The area elevation is 7,000 feet, and my landing was very eventful. I had a fierce crosswind, coupled with a big downdraft that took me down about 30 feet just prior to reaching the runway! Boy, did this get mine and Ginger’s attention. Fortunately, the final touchdown was a relief.

Lack of Internet Access

Just wanted to let ya'll know that we are in Big Bear, CA now. We have had difficulty with Internet access the past couple of days. Right now are using one of the guy's laptops that has a satellite internet connection. We are headed to Lake Tahoe this morning and will send more details and pictures when we are able to get on the internet. Have a great day.

Still having problems with pictures

Good Morning All. We are still having problems with uploading our pictures. Hopefully, we will be able to get them done sometime today. Have a great day!

5th DAY

Well, we finally got back in the air this morning (Wed) with flight from Gunnison to Monument Valley UT for breakfast.This was a beautiful 1.5 hour flight at 12,500 feet. As we circled the monuments before landing, Ginger took several inflight photos of the valley that are included here. In this region, the wind always blows in the wrong direction making landings very challenging. Since the runway was paved, the air traffic has really increased at the Valley. Before we left, there were a total of 13 parked planes. We enjoyed a big breakfast at the Navajo restaurant that you can see in the photo background of me standing by my plane. After an enjoyable meal and fellowship, we departed for Bryce Canyon in clear blue sky. We started out at 6500 altitude and diverted to fly over Powell lake area. Sam Buchanan will recall the same extremely rugged area that we flew over some years ago when we toured Arizona from the air. As we approached the Bryce Canyon area, we had to climb to 8500 feet since the airport is around 7900 feet. The crosswind was around 20 knots, gusting to 30 knots. We are staying at Rubys Inn along with a large crowd of visiting hunters. We spent the afternoon driving thru the National Park as shown on photos herein. One of the photos shows what years of rain and frost erosion can create, such as the Natural Bridge. The other photo shows the entire travelling crew, namely, (left to right}, Jerry Hoggatt, Ginger and Bob Butler, Brian Kuntz, Tim Puris, Ed Banks, Brian Pyatt, and Doug Preston (our leader). Tomorrow, some will do some hiking in the Park. Later on tomorrow, we will fly to tour the Hoover Dam and spend the night. It is truly a small world, Ginger and I met a Mississippi couple at Silverton that are high school friends of a lady that we attend church with. And, today, while in an overlook in the Bryce National Park, I ran into a lady from Huntsville, AL that I have know since early 60's. What a coincidence !!!! Stay tuned.

There is currently a problem with uploading the photos. We will add them as soon as we can. We will also post the pictures for day four when the problem is corrected. And thanks Don Hull for helping us remember what day it is. We are having such a fantastic time it is hard to keep up with!!

Day Four

Today we boarded the Durango & Silverton Narrow Guage Railroad train at 8:30 am. This is a 127 year old steam powered train that travels through the San Juan Mountains. The views were absolutely breathtaking The ride is about 3 1/2 hours. We ate lunch in Silverton and walked around the town for a while and then headed back to Durango for 3 1/2 hours. The train traveled at a speed of about 15 mph. At one time, we actually had a skateboarder pass us! We saw a mama black bear and her cub on the mountainside. Once we arrived back in Durango, we drove our rental cars back to Gunnison (a 4 hour drive). It was very late last night when we got in, so we are writing this on Wednesday morning. We are getting ready to FLY to Monument Valley for breakfast and then on to Bryce Canyon. We will post some pictures later today.

Day Three

Well, even though the weather prohibited us from flying today, it did not keep us from having a great time. After our continental breakfast at the motel in Gunnison and after checking numerous weather maps, the group decided that we would not be able to fly as planned today. We got two rental cars and headed toward Durango, Colorado. We already had reservations for a train ride from Durango to Silverton for Tuesday morning, so we decided to just come on to Silverton today and spend the night here, so we would be ready for the train ride in the morning. The ride to Durango was beautiful - gorgeous mountains, waterfalls, and streams. And many, many curvy roads going up the mountains, some without any guard rails! We thought we had reservations at Day's Inn motel, but when we got here it was Days End!!! We walked around the town this afternoon - a lot of quaint buildings and a lot of tourists. We are looking forward to the train trip tomorrow.

Day Two

The Westward journey started from La Junta, CO on its second day with an early takeoff toward Col Springs to meet up with two local pilots to guide us around Pikes Peak (see picture) and unto Leadville, CO. We had to climb from 4400 feet to 12,500 feet in order to transit the Peak. This long slow climb took a very long time. As we approached the south Peak side the guide pilots knew what was the safe path to take in a 30 MPH south wind! We finally climbed to 13,700 as we approached the Peak, which is over 14,000 feet. The guide pilots are friends of one of our pilots and fly RV's like mine. The valley approach to the Leadville airport (9,900 elev) was a new experience for me to land at such a high elevation. My touch down was not pretty, but was safe. I thought that I would never stop rolling. The Leadville takeoff was one to never forget. I rolled for a very long time before finally getting airborne, and then could barely climb at around 100 mph. Our destination was Canyonland, at about 200 miles. About half way, the lead plane with weather radar announced rain showers ahead. We continued thru some of the showers in hopes of continuing the trip. However, the rain closed in all around us and a decision was made to land ASAP. So, we turned back and landed at Gunnison, CO for the duration of the weather. We may just rent cars and drive to Durango,CO since we have rooms reserved there and we planned on taking the narrow gage train to the mines. Stay tuned. Having a great time. The showers got Ginger rather nervous, and I wasn't too comfortable my self !

Our first day

We left Decatur about 7:50 this morning and flew to Mena, Arkansas where we met up with the other 3 planes and 6 guys (from the Birmingham area). We bought gas and headed on to Elk City, Oklahoma, where we again bought gas. We then proceeded to La Junta, Colorado. The flight was a little bumpy on that leg of the trip. The clouds were beautiful, as was all the scenery. We arrived in La Junta about 4:20. The circle on the map is where we are now. We had a delicious steak at the Boss Hogg Restaurant and Saloon! Everyone is pretty tired. We are leaving about 8 in the morning for our next exciting day.

Here's our route out west. If the weather cooperates, we will leave Decatur on August 30 and return on September 15. Click on the map for an enlarged view.

Here are the towns where some of the airports are located.

Mena, Arkansas (MEZ)
Elk City, Oklahoma (ELK)
La Junta, Colorado (LHX)
Leadville, Colorado (LXV)
Moab, Utah (CNY)
Durango, Colorado (OOC)
Monument Valley, Utah (UT25)
Bryce Canyon, Utah (BCE)
Boulder City, Nevada (61B)
Avalon, California (AVX)
Big Bear City, California (L35)
Stockton, California (SCK)
Aurora, Oregon (UAO)
Big Creek, Idaho (U60)
Cascade, Idaho (D74)
Jackson, Wyoming (JAC)
Rapid City, South Dakota (RAP)
Atchison, Kansas (K59)