Going West

Need help going west. A few of us from Alabama are hopefully going west Aug. 30th and return Sept. 14th. Plan to make first overnight at C08 (Westcliffe, CO). Leave early next morning for LXV (Leadville, CO) while still cool. From there to various places of interest and then on to Catalina Island and up to Oregon and take northern route home. Would appreciate any input, advice, etc., regarding good food & fuel stops (I use AIRNAV), as well as overnight accommodations and routing through the mountains, RV friendly airports or anything else of interest. Might be best to email direct rather than use space on this site.
Thanks in advance.

Doug Preston
Birmingham, AL
RV-10 N372RV
[email protected]

Density Altitude

Those high elevations and even moderate temps can get you density altitudes above 12000 feet. Load your 10 to gross and you will need to watch your p's and q's.

Lots of wonderful scenery though and lots of desolation from Grand Junction westword.

Gary
40274 RV10 Flying

Here are a few recommendations

If you land at this airport on the beach (paved runway, ramp and good facility. Ride the jet boats up the Rogue River where they stop for a wholesome family style dinner before returning down river to the seaside community. Eagles, otters and other wild life along the wilderness area. We stayed at Jot's Resort across the river from the airport and rode Jerry's Jet Boats a couple of times. The boats carry maybe 20 people maybe more.

Furnace Creek Inn at Death Valley, California. Sunday brunch is outstanding.

Harris Ranch, their own air strip, best steak in the west.

I love the Monterey Carmel area of California but the fires at Big Sur probably knock that out as an option.

Los Alamos, NM, very interesting place heart of the atom bomb development in WWII. Giant caldera west of town where an tremendous erruption occurred long ago - created the finger of land the contains the runway. Local museum is not to be missed. Many other natural attractions in the area and Santa Fe is not far off - another great place to visit. The National Laboratory is still very much in operation - they don't have tours and secruity is taken seriously.

The National Parks southern Utah - Zion, Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef are well worth visiting

Grand Canyon,Arizona

Munument Valley, Arizona

Canyon De Chelly, NM

Chacao Canyon, NM

Bob Axsom

Bob Axsom

My Humble Suggestions

Doug,
Sounds like a great adventure. I will just name a few places that I know of and have been to, out west.
First of all, I echo the sentiments of the previous poster who admonished you to be cautious at Leadville. This is likely the highest density altitude you will encounter, and your performance will likely be greatly reduced. Okay, now to better topics.

1. Custer, SD (KCUT) - (Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse memorial, and Custer State Park)The Airport manager is a great guy, and will assist you with what ever you need. Rental cars are available at reasonable prices. There are good motels in Custer, but I would advise that you stay in Keystone, as it is closer to Mt. Rushmore and you can have a cold frosty one and a great meal at the Ruby Rose!

2. Big Creek, ID (U60) - Great lodge with good food, hiking, fishing, etc The rates were about $80.00/night + meals and drinks. My bride and I just stayed there and I can email you some pics.

3. Johnson Creek, ID (3U2) - If you are camping, this is a great spot! They do have bunk houses available, but you will have to bring food with you or fly out McCall to get it.

4. Caldwell, ID (KEUL) - Reasonable fuel and DO NOT miss breakfast at the Airport Cafe! Ham & Eggs!! The slab of real "bone in" ham will cover the plate!

5. San Luis Obispo, CA (KSBP) - Nice little coastal town to walk around and enjoy great food. The night to be there is Thursday night! The Farmers Market takes over the main drag thru town, and the food is to die for. That is if you like vegies and fruit picked that day, and the best ribs that one can imagine. You can fly right up the coast from Catalina, and if the fog stays off shore it will be absolutely beautiful!

6. You can continue up the coast to Monterey and Half Moon Bay for some great food and a cozy accomodations. Monterey is a "don't miss" if you are a Steinbeck fan, and also offers great food hotels, and one of the best aquariums in the USA.

Anyway, you get the point! If you need more info send me a private email. If you do decide to fly around the back country of ID, order up the "Fly Idaho" guide to familiarize yourself with the back country before you go. The two airports that I named are totally RV-10 accessible, but you are in the mountains so due caution must be paid.
Good luck!

Westward Ho...

I have made a couple of South East-West jaunts over the years in my RV4
(17) and 5 in my Rocket. A couple of my favorites stops would be:
4F2, Carthage Texas ($4.29 100LL last week) La Junta CO, (Cheap SS gas) Leadville CO (get the T-shirt) Parawan, Utah, great airport, beautiful scenery,(Cedar Breaks, Bryce Canyon close) Free Scout courtesy 4X4. Columbia, CA , Sedona, AZ, Cottage Grove, OR, Johnson Creek, ID, Smiley Creek, Sulphur Creek, ID(I could show you some better ones too, none paved Also, Sheridan, WY Custer State Park, SD...to name a few...


Smokey
HR2
PS: If you have any doubts about your mountain flying capabilities, go to www.mountaincanyonflying.com, they can help.

Additional Information

Bob Axsom said:

Furnace Creek Inn at Death Valley, California. Sunday brunch is outstanding.

Harris Ranch, their own air strip, best steak in the west.

I love the Monterey Carmel area of California but the fires at Big Sur probably knock that out as an option.


The National Parks southern Utah - Zion, Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef are well worth visiting

Grand Canyon,Arizona

Munument Valley, Arizona

Canyon De Chelly, NM

Chacao Canyon, NM

Click to expand...

I just looked at the WX for KMRY (oops, sorry I mean Monterey) and the visibility and WX is fine. They are calling for some low stratus (i.e.: fog) but that is normal at this time of year.

Harris Ranch does indeed have (or had) one of the best steaks you will find. The last time that I was there I was not impressed with the service or the steak. However, even the best places have an "off" night. Sounds like Bob may have been there recently, so I will defer to him. Harris Ranch is is a very nice hotel, with a huge pool and nice gardens. I would make it a final stop in the late afternoon/early evening as there is not much else to do except watch the trucks roll down I-5! However, at the end of the day the nice hotel, a good swim while enjoying a cold libation of your choosing, followed by a good steak and a selection from their wine list will be throughly enjoyable!

I have not been to Harris Rance since I retired in 2004

I have been to Harris ranch quite a few times and it was always outstanding but I retired and moved to northwest Arkansas in 2004 so things may have changed as they always do. We stayed in the hotel during the first few months it existed and it was so rich with fine quality throughout that I felt they had to be trying to establish it as a place to stay just for the hotel itself. There again things change but I'm glad you enjoyed it as well.

I am a John Stienbeck fan and have several of his wonderful books in my collection - including "Cannery Row" of course. It is impossible for me to go to Monterey and not feel a connection with the the characters and the past as he described it. If the group plans to go to Monterey I think reading the book would really set the mood for the visit.

Bob Axsom

Mountain flying

I may just have to show you a good time in the mountains Doug.

Get the Leadville certificate (I was there this morning).

Head towards Walsenberg CO then NW about 20 miles then NNW to Westcliff.

From there NNW to Salida (KANK) then Leadville.

Then south to ANK, west over Monarch Pass to go west or better yet is south to Del Norte, over Wolf Creek pass towards Pagosa Springs (PSO ?) then towards the Four Corners area. West to Monument Valley Utah which is a neat overnight/tour option (gouldingslodge.com)

Beaucoup neat national parks in Utah.

Fly over the Grand Canyon, land at the airport (free shuttle to the canyon).

Big Bear City airport in CA is pretty then over to Catalina Island). Hmm, I just did that a few months ago.

Here is that post:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=28308

Devils Tower in NE Wyoming.

Oxygen will be very useful. I fly at 16,500' going west. Some areas are very desolate. Consider getting at least one APRS system (get a ham license).

PS, my avitar is on the ramp at Leadville.

Leadville Certificate?

I didn't ever get a certificate there! But I did meet my (future) wife at the airport where we were both working toward our PPL (almost 30 years ago now). Density altitude is indeed a big issue - I had a partner who overloaded our 172 and killed himself plus injured his passengers (yes, more than one in the 172 at that altitude is foolish) on takeoff.

Lots of good mountain flying around there.

cheers,
greg

Jeesh, the thread title scared me for a minute. Thought you might be headed to Hospice or something . . .

As Jetjok mentioned you certainly should see the aquarium in Monterey as it is world class. If you are there for a while get a car and visit Carmel by the Sea and do the 17 mile drive through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach. Bring your camera. Then fly north to Half Moon Bay and park at the south end of the airport and walk a short distance to Princeton by the Sea. You will find some excellent eateries there. Then fly north and take a San Francisco Bay Tour. You can see a whole lot while staying under the class Bravo. The transition from Half Moon Bay along the coast to the Golden Gate Bridge is just a bit tricky, especially if there is coastal stratus in the area. Send me a PM if you want some guidance.

If you come through Bend i could trade a nice empty house downtown for a couple of nights for a ride in your plane, we have lancair up in redmond (15 minutes) and cessna (was columbia) here in the bend airport as potential visit.

N526JS said:

As Jetjok mentioned you certainly should see the aquarium in Monterey as it is world class. If you are there for a while get a car and visit Carmel by the Sea and do the 17 mile drive through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach. Bring your camera. Then fly north to Half Moon Bay and park at the south end of the airport and walk a short distance to Princeton by the Sea. You will find some excellent eateries there. Then fly north and take a San Francisco Bay Tour. You can see a whole lot while staying under the class Bravo. The transition from Half Moon Bay along the coast to the Golden Gate Bridge is just a bit tricky, especially if there is coastal stratus in the area. Send me a PM if you want some guidance.

Click to expand...

I just moved to IL last week from CA (lived near Monterey in Salinas) and flew to all the places you mention. How I miss it already

N526JS said:

As Jetjok mentioned you certainly should see the aquarium in Monterey as it is world class. If you are there for a while get a car and visit Carmel by the Sea and do the 17 mile drive through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach. Bring your camera. Then fly north to Half Moon Bay and park at the south end of the airport and walk a short distance to Princeton by the Sea. You will find some excellent eateries there. Then fly north and take a San Francisco Bay Tour. You can see a whole lot while staying under the class Bravo. The transition from Half Moon Bay along the coast to the Golden Gate Bridge is just a bit tricky, especially if there is coastal stratus in the area. Send me a PM if you want some guidance.

Click to expand...

I strongly third this! At the time you're planning, early September, the California coast will probably still have fog so you might not be able to land VFR at either Monterey or Half Moon Bay. Monterey does have an instrument approach of some kind if you're IFR rated. The fog top is usually no more than 1500 ft MSL.

From Catalina to Northern California there is a big chunk of military airspace which may interfere with a 100% coastal flight, check the sectional. From NorCal to Oregon along coast, the only problems may be fog again. The California fires mentioned should be gone by the time of your trip.

Highly recommend you allot a few days to hop around the greater Seattle area (Puget Sound). Numbers of airports and absolutely beautiful scenery.

Two weeks isn't much time to visit all the great places folks have mentioned, so you have a lot of choices. Here's a suggestion you can put on your route of flight and not have to stop to appreciate:

Be sure to fly thru the Columbia River Gorge--spectacular scenery--mile wide river with 2,000 ft. cliffs on each side being worn away by an abundance of waterfalls. Head east from Portland; you can't miss it.

Going West...

Look into Creede, Co. It's a great airport in a beautiful location with a awesome little town. The town of Creede is like going back into the 1800's and has a really wonderful mine tour. Creede is south of Gunnison nestled in a valley where the Rio Grande river runs...

THANKS

Thanks to all that responded. Lots of good info. I will slowly sort through it all and see what stops the group wants to include. Obviously there are too many attractions to include in our time frame. Maybe a second trip in the future will be a possibility. I may get back to some of u for more details.
Thanks again.
Doug
N372RV