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.