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Tennessee to the PNW and back again.

Capt Sandy

Well Known Member
Roy and I departed 04TN in N174RT, our RV-7A, May 13th, with the primary purpose of visiting our new grandson in Mesa, Arizona. Because we were traveling in our RV, we were unconstrained by flight schedules and highways, so we added some stops along the way. First to visit our friend Scott Card, at Breakaway Airpark:

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From there we continued west, to Mesa, passing by the imposing peaks of San Guadeloupe Mountains. This trek included a fun, chance meeting at Marana where we ran into Darwin and Kelly! (Nice RV-10!)

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At the parents request, no photos of the new grandbaby will be posted online. Take my word for it, he is ADORABLE.
After a week in Mesa snuggling the baby, we tackled REAL Mountains: The Sierra-Nevada’s, seen from 15,5, just past Mono Lake.

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Great visit in Sacramento with Sharkbait, then a back-track to the central valley for a wonderful stop to see David Howe. We continued north in the afternoon. I was delighted that Nancy’s cafe in Willows is still open, and the blackberry pie is still delicious. We crossed the Trinity Alps, with a view of the southern Cascades and Mount Shasta. Mount Lassen was visible in the distance, but too far away for a photo.
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We spent a foggy night in Cottage Grover, Oregon, then later in the morning, we were fortunate to have clear visibility, above a 5k ft deck. The Star Duster Cafe in Indepence, Oregon still has great food, and Amy greeted us as if we hadn’t been away for 3 years.
A week later, after a fun visit with old sailing friends, we lucked out with clear and unlimited for our trek back east. Pictured are Mount Baker and Mount Rainer. We could also see Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, Mount Hood, The Three Sisters, Mount Jefferson and Mount Washington. Ah for a telephoto lens on the iPhone. The last image is Sucia Island, the northern most of the San Juan Islands, which are a sunken mountain range.
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On our way home, we stopped at Sunrise Airpark in Idaho to visit our friend Ken, then on to Ottowa Kansas for a visit with Crab Andy and family. I loved the tour of the farm from Pi and Weston. Then, yesterday, Home! We enjoyed every one we spent time with - and what a great traveling machine!
 
More info regarding our cross country travels. The AFS 5600 shows an additional 36.77 tach hours and 41.49 hobbs hours for the trip. About 5500nm from ForeFlight. Assuming tach time is the same as flight time, that computes to an average speed just under 150 knots! Just over an hour of our trip was IMC with an approach into KMEI and an approach into KSLE. We broke out high enough on the approach into KSLE to cancel and fly to Independence as Sandy noted. A big bonus of running into Darwin (RV7Guy) and Kelly, was connecting with Myron Nelson (woxofswa) to use his hangar while we were in Messa. THANKS Darwin and Myron.

Two key takeaways from the trip: Our RV-7A (and probably most RV's) is a remarkable, flexible travelling airplane. We have made great friends across the country through the airplane/RV community.
 

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So glad you guys made it home safe.
It is always a pleasure, and we enjoyed the most chillaxed guests ever, as usual.
 
Roy and I departed 04TN in N174RT, our RV-7A, May 13th, with the primary purpose of visiting our new grandson in Mesa, Arizona. Because we were traveling in our RV, we were unconstrained by flight schedules and highways, so we added some stops along the way. First to visit our friend Scott Card, at Breakaway Airpark:

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From there we continued west, to Mesa, passing by the imposing peaks of San Guadeloupe Mountains. This trek included a fun, chance meeting at Marana where we ran into Darwin and Kelly! (Nice RV-10!)

View attachment 89183

At the parents request, no photos of the new grandbaby will be posted online. Take my word for it, he is ADORABLE.
After a week in Mesa snuggling the baby, we tackled REAL Mountains: The Sierra-Nevada’s, seen from 15,5, just past Mono Lake.

View attachment 89184

Great visit in Sacramento with Sharkbait, then a back-track to the central valley for a wonderful stop to see David Howe. We continued north in the afternoon. I was delighted that Nancy’s cafe in Willows is still open, and the blackberry pie is still delicious. We crossed the Trinity Alps, with a view of the southern Cascades and Mount Shasta. Mount Lassen was visible in the distance, but too far away for a photo.
View attachment 89185

We spent a foggy night in Cottage Grover, Oregon, then later in the morning, we were fortunate to have clear visibility, above a 5k ft deck. The Star Duster Cafe in Indepence, Oregon still has great food, and Amy greeted us as if we hadn’t been away for 3 years.
A week later, after a fun visit with old sailing friends, we lucked out with clear and unlimited for our trek back east. Pictured are Mount Baker and Mount Rainer. We could also see Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, Mount Hood, The Three Sisters, Mount Jefferson and Mount Washington. Ah for a telephoto lens on the iPhone. The last image is Sucia Island, the northern most of the San Juan Islands, which are a sunken mountain range.
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On our way home, we stopped at Sunrise Airpark in Idaho to visit our friend Ken, then on to Ottowa Kansas for a visit with Crab Andy and family. I loved the tour of the farm from Pi and Weston. Then, yesterday, Home! We enjoyed every one we spent time with - and what a great traveling machine!
Sooooo awesome. I love these trip reports, they are inspiring!
 
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